#don't mind me I'm rereading my own fanfiction in hopes that I can write the next fucking chapter 🥲

[batfambitches]

Damian just talking about his pet cow whenever he's feeling awkward and doesn't know how to connect with someone is so real of him

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

As someone who writes and someone who reads a lot of writing, I have something I'd like to say to other creators.

At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I never leave comments. On anything. It's actually a habit I'm actively trying to break out of as I get further along into my writing career because I know how much comments mean to me and so I want to provide that for the creators I come across.

But the grand grand grand majority of work I have read and loved? I have never commented on. To this day, I have never written a review on Goodreads. Not even for books that have stuck with me since I was a child. I've never written a comment on any of the fanfiction I've read or on any Tumblr art that I come across.

I am speaking about work that has literally changed my life. There are fanfictions out there that I have remembered for years after I read them. The authors have no idea. I never wrote a comment letting them know. They have no clue how much their work meant to me and impacted me. Just yesterday I was thinking about a fan fiction I read when I was early in my teen years (so about 10 years ago or so). To be fair I don't think I could have written an eloquent comment at 13, but that's not the point. The point is that I remembered that fanfiction after 10 whole years and the creator doesn't have the slightest clue in the world that their words re-entered the mind of someone who has not revisited the work for a decade.

There are so many fanfictions that I have bookedmarked that I genuinely love to death, and I've never said anything under them. I still reread them to this day even though I bookmarked them when I was much younger. There are certain lines in them that have given me feelings that I have tried to replicate in my own writing. I hope that people who read my work can feel how I felt when I read some of the fanfics that I have saved on my phone. The creators, again, have literally no idea. Don't get me wrong: their fanfics have gotten comments from other people, but if I'm anything to go by then there are so many other people who never verbally expressed their love even though they absolutely do have love for the work.

To be quite honest I am just not the type of person who thinks to write comments. Even though I fully understand how much comments mean to creators (which is why I'm going out of my way to be better about leaving them), I just... Have never been the type of person to write about how much a piece of art means to me. A piece of art can shake me to my absolute core and imprint on me and I will never tell the person who made it how much I love it.

As someone who also creates, I know how it feels to get low engagement on work you have spent an inordinate amount of time on. I know it can be discouraging and make you feel like what you make isn't worth anything. I also know firsthand that someone can have an indescribable amount of love for what you do and keep that to themselves. I am not the only person out there like this. That's not a guess. I've heard people before say that they feel weird commenting on work that is "too old" even though they love it. Or they feel like creators don't want to get a notification for a simple "woah".

Someone can love your work dearly and not think to comment for a number of reasons. That doesn't mean that your work isn't valuable and it doesn't mean nobody loves it. And honestly? Even if your work really does only bring you joy, I still think that you should create it! But that's a point for another post. My point for this one is that a lot more people silently love your work than you realize. Unfortunately (or very fortunately depending on how you look at it) they probably outnumber the people who do comment.

So I'm sharing this with all other creators. You have so many silent lovers. Secret admirers exist in the world of creating, too, and I think that that is very important for you to remember. If you ever feel down about the fact that people may not say the things that you want them too? Consider that they're thinking it instead. Keep creating!!

[sansxreaderbraindump]

Stored Away Headcanon pt 1

If the Sans's found out about your old fanfiction and drawings UNDERSWAP! SANS He found out by finding a certain shoe box in your room, at first he thought "wowie new shoes!" but what he opened instead was slightly crumpled papers. He was a bit disappointed of not getting shoes but was curious on what was written on the mysterious papers. "A LITTLE READING SHOULDN'T HURT" oh boy he didn't know what he was going into. he saw his own nickname with "x [name]" he was ecstatic to see his very own fanfiction about him and you, but when he starting reading the romantic parts of you and him dating. He couldn't help but swoon at the drawings and dating scenarios between you and him, it could have some rewriting but overall he loves it. he was giggling and kicking his feet when your character kissed him! (he had to set it down to hide his flustered face and giggles) * WOWIE I DIDNT KNOW THE HUMAN HAD SUCH PASSIONATE LOVE FOR ME! I SHOULD TAKE THEM ON A DATE!! While he was reading the 2016 fanfiction, you rushed in and to your horror you see Swap reading your old fanfics. Quickly, You snatched the papers and fanart away from him. You screeched as quiet as you can, questioning Swap. "Why are you in my room!" * I WAS TRYING TO FIND YOU! BUT YOU WERENT IN YOUR DOMAIN BUT I WAS CAPTIVATED BY THIS BOX! "HOW MUCH DID YOU READ!?" * EVERYTHING!! AND HUMAN I MUST SAY, I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD SUCH STRONG FEELINGS FOR ME!! CAN'T SAY I BLAME YOU" Your world shattered and you crumpled into the floor, groveling into your self loathing and embarrassment with the papers spread out on the floor. You felt like your going to die any second now, you don't wanna even look at him therefore you tug your hoodie strings to hide your face, muffling a question to Swap. "Are you disgusted with me?" * DISGUSTED!?!? Swap immediate lift you by the arm pits and proudly stated. * HUMAN TO THINK YOU WOULD WRONGLY GUESS ME, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS BE DISGUSTED BY THESE PASSIONATE AND GENUINE WRITING!! AND I MUST PROCLAIM THAT THIS LOVE SHALL NOT BE UNREWARDED!! * HUMAN HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ON A DATE WITH ME AND THE OTHER ME'S? TO MAKE THINGS FAIR. "wait wut." Swap set you onto your feet to pick up your fallen fanfiction, You open your hoodie cocoon in disbelief You didn't know how to react to his statement. While you were trying to collect your mind, swap noticed there were other more fanfiction for his other "me's"! * IT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE MORE OF THESE LOVE LETTER FOR MY OTHER SELF'S. * WE SHOULD SHOW THEM YOUR LOVE! "WAIT WAIT WAIT NONONONO!" You try to plead with Swap but he's already out of the room. "well that's it I'm going to kill myself :/" Extras - Swap will always take care of your love letters and fanfiction. will guard it with his life. - When it is night time US! sans will always reread the fanfics. 100% will giggle like a schoolgirl because he loves it so much!

DUSTTALE! SANS - At first, he didn't believe it when Swap told him about the fanfiction that was once he was when swap showed him the papers in his face. - You in the meanwhile, finally got the energy to chase down swap but it was too late. Dust was reading it, you wanted to die all over again right now. You try to ask for him to hand it back to you, but your pleads fell silent to a murmur instead. - you went back to groveling in your self loathing and embarrassment again. all he did was silently read your 2016 fanfiction, you can't see what expression he was wearing by his hood and was uncomfortable by how silent he was. You thought about the negative reaction he was going to show but he didn't.... - instead he carefully fold the papers with care and silently stored it in his hoodie pocket and then gone back to what he was doing before.

".....huh?" *SEE, HUMAN! I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO LOVE IT! (alr im going leave it off here. i will make a pt2 with fell, horror, and snas headcanon reaction later so yea hope u like this one :p)

[crystalyssa35]

A General Guide to Writing Well, Now, & Consistently

In all my years writing, I have struggled with keeping writing as a fun and healthy habit. It took me five years (and many instances of writer's block and giving up) to actually have a basic set of guidelines to keep my writing going...

And I would like to share these "rules" with you all today!

Now, a bit of a disclaimer: developing the quality of your writing skills comes with time, research, and thinking. It may sound frustrating to hear, and you may hear it often, but the only way to get better at writing is to write and read often. Many times, just by jotting a silly thought down or reading fanfiction, you can spawn ideas without realizing it.

Now, to the list of tips that (I hope) will help you on your writing endeavors!

If you are not having fun writing your story, your readers will not have fun reading it. It sounds silly, but it's true! If you're enjoying your writing, you're more likely to write more and input more ideas into it!

Even if you have people to check your works, reread them on your own anyway. This may be a little frustrating tip for some, but let me tell you: I used to HATE checking my own stuff. The worst way I learned that personally checking it is a necessity was when my aunt checked it and pointed out tens of mistakes within my grammar, storyline, and characters. Check yo work, it will save you a LOT of embarrassment in the future.

Write anything. Read everything. As ambiguous and obscure as it will sound, it makes sense with context. As I mentioned before, the only way to get better at writing is to write and read often. Write anything your mind desires, that's simple enough. But read EVERYTHING; not only books, blogs, and articles, but also games, texts with friends, billboards, pictures with text, and (sorry, students) even homework as well. You'll be surprised how much your vocabulary expands when you actually pay attention to anything that is written (for me, it was video games. Seven-year old me knew vocabulary that I was taught in seventh grade because of it). And on that note...

Research what you don't know. Please, this one is genuinely important (I'm biased because it's one of my pet peeves). This includes words you don't know the definition of, spelling, and even generic, real-life information you want to add into your stories (e.g. I actually spent four hours researching how gemstones are categorized for my sci-fi story: Eco-Adstrum). Unfortunately, sometimes researching and fact-checking your ideas before writing them down can prove to be unmotivating, especially when you're wrong. But, it's always good to stay optimistic and be creative enough to twist the actual fact to mold it to your stories. Unless you're writing non-fiction, then maybe don't do that last bit.

If you have no ideas, keep wiggling your pencil. To those that recognize that phrase, yes, it is not my own. This is a piece of writing from former Tumblr user "officialtheonite" (I was only able to find the post because it has been reblogged multiple times) and their fifth grade writing teacher. Essentially, even if you have no ideas, keep writing. Write ANYTHING, even if it doesn't make sense. You will always be able to double-check it later and you will save yourself a lot of wasted time sitting around trying to stir the soup in your brain.

Balance the usage of your names and pronouns. To this day, I still struggle with this. I tend to use an abundance of pronouns when I'm referring to a character, so much so that sometimes, it becomes unclear on if we are still talking about aforementioned character or if we're talking about a different character entirely. Use names when the focus or action of a character is on stage; use pronouns if we are still talking about said character (even if we are talking about the same character, make sure you at least reiterate their name when there's a new paragraph).

I'll be editing and reworking this list as time goes on. I hope these tips can be of use so some of you all. Feel free to ask me any questions if needed. Enjoy writing and keep at it! I believe in you all!

[eerna]

Heyyy i actually really loved the first Throne of Glass book back when the book first came out, I was rereading and rereading it before the 2nd book came out it was so good imo

Assassin girl who loves shopping but then who also has morals? Hot guys in the opposing side? Evil guys idek why they're evil for now (then)? Mystery and magic? Sure! Premise any 17 year old would love!

No my innocent 17yr old mind couldn't comprehend the killing off of the one poc character was totally unnecessary for the drama effect. Not yet by then but my senses were tingling. I was learning.

And then the 2nd one came out and she just began butchering the story. Look I'm not saying I'd be a better writer but the way she just ripped apart the characters that were supposed to have been on the mc's sides in the first book, blaming them for everything, moves on...and then uses the conflicts to basically make them into the bad/gray characters?

....then in the same breath just meets these new characters who's cooler (?) have more powers, and then she keeps unlocking more names (??) and became infinitely more powerful like a pokemon,

...her choices were All Right and the people she left became the Enemies?? It could've been sm more interesting to have the mystery and magic actually have had terrible cause and effect, an actually Good magic system instead of basically plummeting the mc into....magicdom of rightness

This is why HB magic series is so much better

ToG was just....it reeked of something like...a child's story, like if a teenage girl had a writing idea and then became too hormonal to write an actually good story. If we can rename an entire series, I think I wanna rename ToG as 'She Was Always Right'.

I'm not saying we can't have characters make bad decisions but to totally dunk them to make the mc look good?? No accountability on the mc because she's just All That?

And so I began hating on the series. I kept following up on the rest of it tho to see if it gets better. Spoiler, or not, it doesn't.

Then Acotar came out and i heard more things about it. What I picked up on was that the main male character Rhysand kept coming back to the bad guy to just rip him apart even when he's not doing anything to them. Rhysand is also a hot fae (im gonna vomit) similar to Rowan who's basically the Best male main character there is compared to anyone else

And it made me theorize, of how...this may have been venting of some sort by the writer from their own experiences lmao like what if sjm had an actually bad breakup that she keeps using as the punching bag in her mind for the characters that she dislike? just like Chaol that she hates sm to the point she had to cripple him, then make it like all was his fault? And then whoever this guy in Acotar is? Who's basically the placeholder for bad bad guy because now...that seems personal the way her main characters are always right.

I can't be the only one who thinks she's projecting herself into her characters, and not even in a good way

And so now i stay away from her books. You could've been cool, SJM, I'm sorry I thought you were

ToG anon here, lol i just wanna say that. I think for me and my bestie who adored the first book, and now can't and won't touch sjm books with a 1000ft pole, we were just really disappointed with how it turned out. And hate as we know is sm stronger when it actually started with loving something a lot. It Could've Been Good. Lots of magic stories are good in a way that her stories aren't. She just takes alllll the magic system and make it the mc bitch because she buffs them up sm her mcs are basically untouchable beautiful powerful ladies, it's Stupid. It became a fanfiction of selfprojection and self-righteousness and no accountability. If other people think we don't like her books because Sex. Then they're wrong. I couldn't care less about the sex. I read lots of books that have em that don't annoy me. Ok I'm gonna stop now sorry lmao

(I hope this is the ask you meant to continue on, my inbox is a mess rn so I'm sorry if I connected 2 different people)

Vent your frustrations, you're welcome here!! She has a tendency to discard the initial cast and write a whole new one for the MC and this romance/friend group is the bestest and the most powerful and the coolest found family in the WORLDDDD!!!! Years ago there was a supposed interview where she said she names characters she dislikes after her ex boyfriends, but I can't find a source for that so take it with a grain of salt. BUT I do have to say that in ToG she at least tries to fix it, giving Chaol an entire 600 page solo book and allowing Chaol, Dorian and Aelin have their entire "besties who have forgiven each other" conclusion in the final book. And also I didn't mind that retcon all that much bc all of my fave characters showed up thanks to it, and I really disliked Chaol from the get-go so I liked how everyone kept clowning on him bsdjakbaksfk. But it is totally a valid complaint, it is understandable that seeing characters you're interested in be discarded and character assassinated is really annoying.

[atiyasnake]

Yall, I gotta ask, exactly just how normal is it for you for stories to be on your mind 24/7?

Like for me, it what I think about always. I'm thinking about this fic, that fic, and a possible new fic. I'm thinking about a prompt or rough outline I created a doc for almost 2 years ago or 2 weeks ago.

I'm thinking about what the next chapter is about or how I want the plot to progress. Or that one moment I've been gnawing on like a dog with a bone.

I drive to work and while making sure it's safe to switch lanes, I think about how X character will deal with the next situation I'll put them in.

In-between work phone calls and tasks, I'm itching to open my doc and write a few lines. Reread my outline, maybe rewrite a draft. Even though I only have access to them on my phone and I can't type on that, cause it honest to God has caused me pain in my hands and -like I said- I'm at work.

Even right now, I'm at work. It's an hour until we close and I'm the only one working the front desk hoping no one calls cause I've having a good time daydreaming about how I want one of my stories to go.

In my jumbled up mess inside my head, I'm twisting and turning around all the components of a story. What POV will it be, how the dialogue will go, and what is the next thing I need to write? I'm switching bullet points and little snippets of notes I've written on a sticky note or typed on my phone.

I'm trying to piece it all together into something I can and want to write. It's all I think about.

It's not just fanfiction either. I have my own original stuff. Stories I'd love to write, would love to read.

I think about rewriting short stories I've written in writing club in my notebook or typed up on my computer. I imagine scenarios to put characters I haven't even created in.

I don't know their names or the color of their eyes, but I know they'll fight with a smile and blood staining their teeth. I'll know that their friend will run their fingers through their hair. I'll know that they don't like it when people yell and are bad at cooking.

When I go to sleep, I would basically tell myself a story. It used to just be scenarios with some unknown character, but now it is filled with my brainstorming, wondering how things could go in my stories.

Especially my fics, since those are stories I know people actually read. It's crazy to think about.

There's a person, more than one, who read something I wrote. Who decided they liked it and would like to continue reading. It's absolutely mind boggling to even think of one, nevermind a dozen, a hundred, a thousand people have read something I wrote.

I think about them.

I wonder what they think of the words I strung together. What image comes into their head when they read them? I wonder what my words have made them feel.

I honestly can't describe just how much stories mean to me. I think about them all the time. From the moment I wake up till the moment I go to bed.

They're all I ever think about.

I don't know how someone can talk to me about stories without feeling as if their chest was about to burst. As if they're scrambling to find the proper words and could only yell and shake their hands with how it makes them feel.

How can you not want to scream, laugh, and cry when you think about stories and all that they are, all that they could be?

How can I just go on about my day knowing I have access to thousands of stories, am sharing a few of my own, but also will never know thousands of other ones that have yet to be created?

I honestly think I live for stories. Whether it was to read them, write them, or just think about them. I think they might be one of the reasons I'm still alive today.

Which funnily enough, is a story of its own.

[violyane]

Hello Minasan I KNOW I said that I'll be more productive now BUT I had an internship to finish for my uni which took me a month and even though it wasn't very hard I was still too exhausted to do anything after work hours so sorry BUT now, with the last day of the internship remaining, I can turn all my attention to writing again. I decided to set a goal during this holiday and return to work on Master Plan again. I decided I would write every weekend, so hopefully there will be weekly chapter updates on that one. So I highly recommend rereading the first chapter (it's mostly an introduction so you didn't miss much). If you are more curious about what it will be about, I'll try to write down the most important aspects below :)

Kaga x Megami — this fanfiction is about Kagami. It's going to show the development of their relationship through the good and the bad. The story will mainly focus on Kaga; I want to show how his perception of Megami changes over time. There will also be secondary characters who are close to the two of them (student council, science club, club leaders, Midori, etc).

Pre-canon — the story starts before the main story of the game (which means it takes place before Ayano finds her Senpai). In the first chapters, Megami is in her first year and Kaga is in his second year. But the fanfiction will consist of the main story lore… just later :)

From loose chapters to something more intense — since we know almost nothing about the year before the main game story, I decided that the pre-canon chapters will be looser. They will look more like one-shots than a linear story, but their main focus will be to show Kaga's feelings towards Megami and how they change slightly from chapter to chapter. The story will get more intense, I promise ;)

Canon differences — this is actually the main reason why I postponed writing this fic, because I really don't want to mess with the storyline. But you know… If I have to wait an indefinite amount of time for Megami's Week to be released (who is the tenth rival, and we are still at the second one), it would never come to life. So I have to come up with my own ideas for her week. And as much as I don't want to, I have no choice. The pre-canon events will also affect the main story, but I think it would at least be justified, considering we'll be going through them with every chapter.

OOC — I didn't want Kaga and Megami to be out of character, but I think I screwed that up lmao. I think Master Plan will portray Kaga (and maybe Megami too??) as much more romantic than he should be, so I'm sorry about that, but I just can't help myself when it comes to fluff. Mostly I'm changing him from a gremlin and freak to a charming and manipulative gremlin and freak.

Unlikable? — The characters may be a bit unpleasant at first (especially Kaga), but this is necessary for their character development. Basically, I want to show how Kaga sees Megami from "a tool to help him take over Saikou Corp" to "a beautiful and stunning woman living under the shadow of responsibilities and a traumatic past". So in the first chapters, Kaga might seem like a total asshole (which I think is somehow canon??? idk). Saikou Corp / Saikou Family — One of the motifs of the story is Saikou's unhealthy family relationships. It's mostly used to justify why Megami acts so cold and distant. There won't be much about them in the beginning, but they will be important in the canon part of the fic. (I'm already thinking about a sequel that would focus more on Kagami and SaikouCorp/the Siakou family, but that's waayyyyyyy too far in the future, so I won't talk about it now teehee).

I think that's all I have to say. I hope nothing will interrupt my plans as always and I'll finally write the fanfiction that I had planned since 2016 (yes it's been in my mind for 8 years)

See you soon :)

[lowlywriter]

I hope it’s not too annoying that I basically come here every time “Lost in Paradise” gets updated but like….. how can I nottttt? (*'▽'*)

I haven’t fully finished reading the latest chapter (honestly I wanna reread it once I have more time) but aghhhh… this is probably the second only time travel fanfic I’ve read that has handled the whole Geto killing a village thing—and ngl I like yours more simply because Satosugu stick together, I don’t think my heart could have handled Geto snapping or crumbling and defecting still (he was thissss 🤏 close and that’s so scary in its own way)

Geto’s emotions mwah. It’s always a treat to get his POV once in a while; he’s a sweet, patient dude but there’s… definitely potential in him to do some awful things if just pushed the wrong way for too long. ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ= = =

Also! I know people don’t typically like ocs in fanfics, but I already love Suguru’s mom. Like her smacking him over the head with a magazine made me almost laugh in class. I think ocs can be a fun addition to the story and honestly necessary sometimes—in this case with building that emotional case and contrast from past!Suguru and the future!Suguru.

Anywayyy sorry for the rambling but honestly your writing is like a weekly savior for me at this point XD hope you have a great day!!

Hello again!

The asks aren't annoying at all, don't worry about it! I love that you're so enthusiastic about the fic! It makes me happy to know you (and so many others) enjoy it as much as I do!

I absolutely love student Geto as a character (not much of a fan of cult leader Geto, or Kenny Geto though). He's such a joy to work with! You can just tell he's such a sweetheart in the beginning of the second season by how is acts with Gojo himself and the girls in those flashbacks. Poor guy is just so lost after everything bad that happened and that village is his last straw. I mean, I'd be pretty pissed seeing kids treated like that too! I honestly think if he had of called Satoru, he would've felt exactly like him. Depressed Geto, isolated makes me so sad :(

Geto's mom was so much fun to flesh out! I love her.

I just wanted him to come from a nice home where he's loved so the whole world doesn't feel like it's against him. I know the show (and maybe the manga?) say he deliberately went to and killed his parents, which doesn't exactly paint a happy, healthy relationship, but it's my world and he gets to be happy! He deserves it!

I'm of the same opinion with ocs! I don't mind them at all, unless they turn into a major character and start stealing the show from the main cast (unless specifically tagged) that I'm looking for!

To each their own, in the end.

Fanfiction is a truly self-indulgent hobby, so I understand people wanting to add their creations into the world! I really only make small ocs to fill the world (and families)! And if something's going to be a little oc heavy, I like to separate it from the main stuff just so everyone can read what they're looking for!

I'm so honored that people are waiting for LiP to update! It's so motivating! Hopefully I can keep up with it! :D Thanks for the ask, and for reading the fic!

[vacayisland]

HIII! YOURE LIKE MY INSPIRATION I HAVE LIKE A QUESTION SOO,,im having trouble writing a fanfic

do you plan out your stories beforehand?

(because personally when i write i would want to add a bunch of things and ended up dragging the whole story)

i did try to make a plan but i keep changing it because if i added something, i will want to change the whole thing. and it will get me nowhere (i hope it makes sense)

I LOVEE YOUR WORK THEYRE AMAZING 💕💕

Okay I totally gets this, because this happens to me with longer fanfictions! It's a real struggle for many writers I've talked to, so you're actually not alone in this. But for starters, for my one-shots or "head-cannon" like stories I don't really plan them out. I have a vague idea of where I want to go and just kind of follow the flow with most things. But that's how I do it, and I know not many people are like that. I have a friend who needs to plan everything out, reread their stories thrice and then change things they don't like. Which is totally fine! Remember writing is a creative art, it's meant to represent the person who is typing the words just as art is meant to represent the person drawing it.

So, going into planning works gets a bit more complex because it means you might actually have to stick to a vague plot. I'm going to try and explain this through the rough idea that I have going for the Mafia! Trolls au that I've scrapped up. You'll want to start with a basic idea first. You cannot get anywhere without a starting idea to bounce off of! (and this does not mean this has to be your story through and through, this is just a starting idea. It can be changed. But too much change might mean you'll be writing a different story than what you started with so be weary of that.)

Example: Brozone Mafia au where the reader gets sold to Brozone.

A one sentence starting idea is your baseline. From there, depending on how long your fanfic is you'll go between two options.

Shorter fic: what is the plot that I want to do? Longer fic: How can I make this fit into the already established world and/or how do I make it fit?

For shorter fics, you don't need as much world building as longer fics. This is because they're meant to be little chunks of your writing; think of it like a snack instead of a full meal or maybe a sampler. Shorter fics are meant to be digested in relatively one sitting, they're meant to be sweet and fulling but not stuffing. As such, that'll severely hurt how much you want to put into a fic! Personally, I do an average 2-5 scenes for a short fanfiction. And for those, if you really need to structure and limit yourself, pick the top 2-5 things you want and/or need to put into the short fic. Remember, not everything has to be used, the more you store for later fics the better! Because one day you're going to run out of ideas and wish you didn't shove them all into one fic when you could have expanded it out between multiple. Furthermore, I don't know if this will help but to stop myself from dragging on I remember one rule:

If you get bored writing and reading your own writing other people will get to!

Literally, if you're sitting there bored out of your mind writing something because it keeps dragging and dragging and dragging very few people will want to read it. And it's not because your writing is bad it's just boring because scene A keeps dragging when scene B should have started and there is a lot of dead space between actions of dialogue. Remember you can achieve the allusion of time passing with words instead of writing full paragraphs detailing everything a character is doing. Furthermore, you can also achieve the same illusion of background characters doing things without fully describing what they're doing! If it's not important don't spend more than three sentences on an action!

In example, say Branch is doing bunker up-keep in the background and Poppy is trying to talk to him. Would you rather read: Option A "Branch come on!" Poppy exclaimed towards Branch, standing in the center of his bunker tapping her foot. watching as he climbed his later to grab his ration jars. He was doing his daily bunker upkeep, counting out his food and tallying his water all the while Poppy kept pestering him. or Option B "Branch come on!" Poppy exclaimed towards Branch, standing in the center of his bunker tapping her foot. Branch was scaling up his latter to grab jars of peanuts, nuts, berries, and anything else he had managed to scavenge from the wilderness; Bringing them back down to pour on the table as he began to slowly count each nut. Poppy was less then amused watching this, hearing Branch's slow counting as he went from one to two to three to four.

That might have been a poor example because I'm not in my writing mode, but it serves its purpose. Most readers know what Branch is like, furthermore what his rations is and how he's about them! So option A gives off the same idea as option B in fewer words and it lets the reader to visualize it a little more in their own way. Which also goes into knowing your audiences. If you're writing fanfictions you're writing to a specific audience who knows your media! In which, you don't have to describe as much as you would for a story you've just made up. Readers know what Branch's bunker looks like, what Pop village looks like, who characters are and what they look like. You can describe them, always, but don't go full out and be like:

Branch is a grey toll who stood a little higher than me. His dark-grey hair stood up in and... etc.

Know your audience, only describe what is needed. Such as facial expressions, differing clothing or hair that a character has in your story than cannon, if someone is losing or gaining their colors, and honestly anything important. I'll say this again, a good way to kill a story is to get bogged down in the unimportant factors.

Backgrounds and scenes are important! Setting a tone and mood are important! Setting a place for your readers to visualize is important!

But they're not more important than your plot. Do not spend 1/4 of your story describing a village that people know. Do not spend 4+ sentences describing what background characters that are adding nothing to plot are doing. Do not spend your effort writing something the readers will forget by the end, spend your efforts on other things! Of course, there is no defendant rule to how everything should go and how everything should be. There is no oh, this should be x sentences or x paragraphs. Writing is an art, it's meant to be free styled, to the most part, and a lot of this is decided upon the writing and their style. As such, you can push the boundaries of things, you can describe some things more in detail and some not at all. The most powerful tool you have is honestly your imagination and that's all you need to start writing. But here is just a few things I believe personally kills stories and I try avoiding, if you want to reference them:

1) Describing what villager B is doing for a whole paragraph or more. 2) Handling too much and doing way too much. Let there be one major plot point over arching the story and not several that keep stacking upon each other. It will confuse the reader. 3) dragging out plot points. 4) Unnatural reactions or speech 5) Plot holes or unexplained plots later in the story.

And that's honestly just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. Personally, I've only been writing since 2018-2019, so I have a little experience but sure not a tone. Much like art and theatre, or anything else creative, writing takes times and practice and effort to make good. Listen to your gut more, let yourself just write. Soon you'll find some sort of balance between everything that'll make it work. Because trust me, my first stories were all over the place and those will forever remain locked in the wattpad vault. Also, much like art, don't be afraid to get inspired by other people's writing styles. Identify what you like about them, wording choices, transitions, flow, etc. and try using it with your style! It's a lot of experimenting, a lot of revising, and honestly (for me) a lot of turning off my mind and just writing.

For bigger stories, it's a lot more complex. It takes more effort to plan everything out before you can actually begin writing and that's honestly a whole separate post upon itself. Since oneshots are snippets and not full stories they don't follow the natural flow of stories, they don't have those extremes ups and downs, they're kind of always dissected straight from the middle of a story, a don't have a true ending or beginning. So with longer stories you need to spend time actually plotting it out, trying to figure out how it'll go and get a good plot going with some sub plots to make the story feel alive. That requires a lot of different little traits such as world building, character building, and understanding troupes, and growth, and plot. Longer stories are always going to be harder because it encompasses so much more and it's harder not to go off once you set a plot down for it. Because unlike oneshots they're a continuous story being told in different snippets called chapters and those chapters are different parts of a full meal. If you choose option A, which is like potato, and you throw in option B mid way, which is like brownies, they won't mash and just taste and read awful together. So you have to plan it much more than oneshots.

But honestly writing is supposed to be fun, even if it takes a lot of time and a lot of practicing to do so. So please do not stress yourself over it, things can be changes and things can and can't be helped. Just keep writing and find your flow, it'll come and you'll impress yourself will all the things you do.

Writing is an art, I will say this over and over. And like any art it takes practice, patience, referencing, and time to develop. It doesn't just grow off trees and while some people might have some natural talent they still need to practice and develop it like everyone else. It's okay to be burnt out, take a break. It's okay to not have the perfect story, it's practice. It's okay to not like a work, you're not always going to. It's okay to write something you're not going to publish, it's your decision. It's okay not to write everyday, you need breaks. It's okay to take writing at your own pace and time. It's okay to get through things fast or slow. It's okay to do whatever you need to do to write in a way that makes you happy, in a way that makes you want to pick up a pen or a keyboard or laptop and write what's in your head.

But it's never okay to give up. You can take breaks, pause from writing for however long you might need. But never give up.

[pixlpxie]

hi fellow yunho liker! this isn’t really a confession but i wanna start writing fanfiction on here and idk where to start :[ could you help me out maybe?

if you can’t, then don’t worry! lots of love btw, your stoner yunho fic had me clawing at the walls 🩵

Currently I am not actively writing but I've written tons of fics and smuts so maybe i can help with my own experience🥹

I feel like the best way to start writing is to open a sheet and literally start writing whatever comes to your mind in however ways. Don't try to make it make sense while you're starting out. In my experience, it helps you to solidify the scattered ideas, scenes, dialogues, senses or literally anything. So you're basically doing stream of consciousness and freewriting. Actually you can keep doing this even when you get better at writing because, in my opinion, constantly trying to construct a writing plan gets in the way of your creative abilities and states. After you're done, reread what youve written. You will see that even if it doesn't make any sense, there is still a plot and an idea. Now that you see what you wanted to really narrate more objectively, the plan and the structure becomes more clear to you. So now you can easily start planning what your plot will be, who your characters will be and how their personalities will be etc etc. And read as much as you can so that you become more familiar with different writing styles.

Overtime, trust me you will feel more confident in your writing. Don't expect to write like a classic novelist in your first tries. If you do, you will only be disappointed in yourself and lose your interest in writing.

I'm not sure if this was what you wanted but I hope I was able to help 🥹🫶🏻 I'd love to read your work so please just start writing, don't 'think'. I hope you will enjoy my future work too luv u take care 👩🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏻

[itsjaywalkers]

For my summerween celebrations this month I’m reading and watching all things spooky which means it’s you guessed it time to reread making ghosts which means it’s I’m gonna cry reading a fanfiction o’clock again. I do really love this little story so so much though it’s touched such a place in my heart. Maybe it’s because of my own rough relationships with my siblings, or the way I’ll never speak to my older brother ever again, but making ghosts makes me feel both intense sadness and also extreme comfort and the knowing that somewhere out there siblings come together again. Sorry for rambling in your inbox I just wanted you to know your story and words have touched my soul and i appreciate the time you’ve taken to share it with us💚 I hope your week has been full of love and good things

nonnie first of all the term summerween might be the best thing i've ever heard in my life. i love that. i love summer. this is Perfect

once again someone telling me they like any of my stories enough to go back and reread it fucking blows my mind. it's just so !!!!!!! it makes me feel very emotional and soft and happy and i hope u enjoy this lil reread <3 and that it's at least as good as the first time <333

and oh darling, i might be tearing up a little, i can't believe making ghosts has managed to touch ur heart like this and that it's such a special and dear story to u. this is everything i've ever wanted to accomplish with my writing and i truly don't know what to do with myself. at its core and despite the romance (or maybe even because of it) making ghosts is a story about grief and about siblings so !! i'm so glad that's the part that's hit u the most !!

also don't apologise babe, i appreciate u sharing this with me <3 i'm so sorry to hear about ur complicated relationship with ur own siblings, but it's so lovely to hear that u at least manage to find some comfort in sirius and regulus and their dynamic in making ghosts. some things can't be fixed and we have to learn to live with that, but other times life can be surprising in the best way, and what seemed lost forever can come back to u when u least expect it <3

thank u so so so much for ur sweet words, i'm sending u all my love and giving u the biggest hug in the world. u can even have my heart if u want nonnie

i'm wishing u all the best <333

[ladyhindsight]

i feel rude for sending so many asks (and still wanting to send maaaaaany more) even after you said you don't have much time, and i had a holiday + weekend free that i used to stuff your inbox...

i too hope you have been well during the last year!!! the effort you put into this blog is amazing and admirable, and i hope you know how much it's appreciated. not only your work of going through so much material, but also how you are open to discuss different point of views and respectful to new opinions

i was very interested to see you've finished chain of gold, i have also just finished my chog reread and there are specific stuff i would love to talk to you about. there's also another post of yours that i was very invested in and hope to talk to you about later

and maybe you have noticed but i also have been spending a lot of time on cc's tumblr reading every one of her posts, because i want to understand the timeline of her perspective on the tsc world and catch stuff that didn't make the books. i'm doing all this bc i have plans to write fanfiction about robert. he has been my favorite character since i was fifteen (several years ago) and now that i can't enjoy the books anymore i want to do my own stuff to indulge my love for him (also bc he's a minor character anyway so, not much to go for). that's why you see me going after timeline and worldbuilding inconsistencies/holes, it's stuff i want to figure out a way to fix

all of this discussion will happen in your time tho, i hope you are taking care of yourself and getting your rest ❤️

Nooo, never feel rude! I'm happy we're so in this together. 😂❤️ No worries, I'm trying to catch up with the blog whenever I have appropriate time, and I'll try to get to your other messages as soon as I can (I'm about to sleep for a bit, lol). I'm elated that there is still so many things to discuss and get really down on the timeline and worldbuilding stuff because that is what I really like the best, the deconstruction of it.

Also happy writing! I'll be waiting for your thoughts on Chain of Gold and whatever you have in mind. 😊

[quasisuspect]

First of all, I hope that wherever you are in life you're healthy and as happy as you can be. I also must confess that I did reactivate my tumblr account from eight years ago to send this message.

In high school, I used to read your Glee fanfics at night alone in my room when I was so far in the closet that I was eating fucking Turkish delight in Narnia. Those stories breathed life into me and unraveled a beautifully complicated and seemingly unattainable fantasy where two women can be together romantically. Granted Santana and Quinn did have a hard time staying together, but you get my point.

I used to get butterflies in my stomach when I saw that there was a new chapter update, not only because I got to crawl away into a queer world, but because the creation of this world was done so carefully and artfully. The complexity of LIALTHI and IBYM are impressive and exhilarating, it was better than watching a thrilling movie. While much of the thrill was the queer representation--if it can really be called "representation," when it was simply was just the queerNESS--but the writing and storylines were beautifully crafted while both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I felt like I experienced every emotion outlined in the text on screen of my iPhone 3 before I panically cleared my browsing history out of fear someone might discover my sins.

You didn't ask, but don't worry, things got better. I'm out and have worked through plenty of internalized homophobia. Even in a healthy gal pal relationship. Glad I didn't place bets on how my future would pan out when I was that sad sack in high school because I'd have lost a lot of money.

I recently reread LIALTHI and IBYM , they were wonderful again as I expected. And while we've come a long way in access to queer storylines and leading characters and shows, I can't seem to stop thinking about Quinn and Santana's story in this series. I'm left a little hollow thinking about them swimming around in the abyss, unfinished, unrequited, undeserving of being left on the precipice.

Let me be clear, this is NOT me shaming you for not finishing the story. These characters are creations of your brain and they don't "deserve" anything. You did unpaid labor that probably benefited thousands of people, and for that you should not feel bad about dropping off. This was meant to more be a "thank you" for creating this world. And while I'm sad the world now exists in a plane that doesn't intersect with our own, I'm better off for crossing through it for the time that I could. Sometimes I like to think that unfinished stories go off into space and finish themselves (wanky) purely for their own benefit.

Like many, I was devastated about Naya's death. I felt like she played a character I knew in so many other ways, from so many other non-canon stories, and now they were all lost. I thought I would feel queasy reading anything in this world again, but it felt like coming home to friends. To friends who were there for me when I needed them most. And who I'm still invested in after all this time.

Now I know I just (genuinely!!) said I feel no type of frustration or sense of injustice that you didn't finish the story, because you're a person who has a real life that exists outside of fanfiction.net. And I can't emphasize enough how that is far more important. However I would low key pay you to finish lol. Kidding, not really, name your price, jk... :)

Anyway. Thank you for giving so many extra layers to these characters and for serving a community with your creative mind. It was special for me to be able to go back and read one of my favorite stories. Again, I truly hope you are out there living a life you love. Stay well xx

Whew,

This is a such a gift of a message. I wish I could ping you in some way, Anon, to tell you that I've finally responded to this.

Love the Narnia reference. The wanky one later as well.

Writing fanfiction really helped me. I had been "out" for years before I started writing but my imagination when it came to queerness really expanded when I began writing and engaging with the community here.

I want you to know that they got a happy ending. That was the only plan ever for me. They are healthy (working more towards whatever that is bit by bit) and happy together.

Feel free to message me off anon and we can discuss the things I had planned or how happy you are with your gal pal. I am happy for you and I am fucking proud of you.

[littlelambdrgnfly]

Ok since you reblogged that one post I hope you know I reread The Sum of Them for the 3rd time, maybe like a month ago, up until the last chapter and i never finished it cause i didnt want to experience it ending again (if that makes sense), i wish it never ended. I wish they could play baby games forever but its so important it does end because the ending is soo beautiful but so devastating, and it's beautiful because its so devastating, and my heart cant take experiencing that again :'-(

i already sent a message on here saying that your fic was the first fic to make me cry, possibly the first piece of LITERATURE in general to make me cry (i could be wrong but i cant remember any piece before that), and it made me cry 2 times when reading it for the first time. It is truly my favorite piece of McLennon fanfiction, but the only reason i dont fully consider it mine is that if someone were to ask me, it'd be too taboo/freaky to say but its truly one of the most heartfelt and complex ways ive ever seen anyone portray John and Paul while also feeling completely accurate and realistic. My god. And i love so many of your other fics too but The Sum of Them really means so much to me and I cant even say that enough. i wish you could just live as me and be inside my mind to fully grasp how much of an affect it had on me, I dont think i will ever be able to explain it sadly </3. But just know out of every McLennon fic ive ever read (and ive read many), THAT one is my very favorite out of like 100+. The way you characterize them is just so completely different from any other fic ive read and its so intimate and raw and holy shit i dont even have the words. Sorry i know im rambling at this point but I just think about it a lot! Also your fics are the only fics i enjoy anymore, (recent) beatles fics have gone down the drain in my opinion and yours are the only ones i can be satisfied with because, as far as im concerned, anything you write is automatically in-character for them after reading The Sum of Them lol x) thank you so SO much for writing cause it's truly exposed so many of my own desires and hidden , sensitive parts of myself that couldn't be excavated any other way without your work 💖

Dude... this is legitimately one of the best comments I've ever gotten. I wish I could memorize all of this and replay it for myself whenever I'm feeling blue. Thank you so so much, it means the world to me! I think all writers insert their own thoughts and emotions into their work, and I definitely do that in all of mine, but especially The Sum of Them. This fic is basically my wishlist of things I would do with a partner, as well as coming to better terms with my own kinks, so I'm glad it's been able to resonate with people. I'm also glad that I managed to keep John and Paul in character, even if John is crying every other paragraph lmao! I totally get what you're saying about wishing I could experience what you did, I wish I could too. Sometimes I reread my fics with the mindset of someone reading it for the first time, but it's just not the same. I'd give my left tit for more writers on my level or higher who wrote bottom!John or even ABDL fics, I swear. I don't read a lot of fics these days, but I'm usually disappointed whenever I check the Beatles tab. I'm also really really bad at remembering titles and author names, so I never remember what fics that I like! Thank God for bookmarks. I definitely understand not wanting to tell people that this is your favorite fic though, lol! I've been writing Beatles fics for a long time, but I created a new account on AO3 when I started writing these fics. I'm comfortable talking about this stuff, but only with the help of an alternate profile. I'm really really happy to help people explore this side of themselves though-- too often fics like mine are just really gross over-the-top and completely unrealistic portrayals in my opinion, and I guess I wanted to bring something sweeter and more realistic to the table. <3

[aeligsido]

bold of you to assume I fight it off— /jk

Okay in all seriousness, here's a few things I think can help, maybe, I hope at least!

→ do something else. I feel like, often, when you start having those kinds of thoughts, it's best to distract yourself from it. Idk, I treat them like I treat my intrusive thoughts: I don't like you so I'm going to be busying my mind with something else. You wanna be mean with my self-confidence, I'm gonna FORGET you were ever here in the first place. Things like going on social media, reading, or watching TV is not exactly the kind of activities I would go with as it would make me think more of it than anything, so I'll offer things like baking, cooking, decorating your room/apartment, crafting, running, walking outside, gardening, etc. Get your mind off of things for a little while with things you love and you'll end up feeling better and more assured to confront those thoughts.

→ reread your own writing. And I'm not talking about the last fic you've been writing and stuck on for days; I'm talking about the old WIP you haven't touched in months, a fic published years ago you've forgotten all about it, even stories you used to write when you were ten or twelve or fifteen. Reread it, and be surprised and charmed all over again by your own writing, by how far you've come, by how much you still love it, by how much it makes you laugh and cringe with fondness at your past self. Read it and love it all over again. Fall in love with your own writing and never stop doing so.

→ reread your comments. I feel like it's something a lot of writers do! Just read the comments left on your fics; personally, I also read the bookmarks people left on my fics, their tags or little comments (sometimes they write way better summaries that whatever I could have come up with, seriously), and I have a specific folder on discord where I collect every little nice and loving little things reader or mutuals or friends said about me and my writings, so I can go back to it and feel comforted when I need it. It always brings a smile on my face!

→ once you're finally settled and feeling better in general, go back to those thoughts to think about rationally. Okay, so I'll say I'm perhaps a little weird for this; I do like dissecting my own thoughts to know where they come from, why they're here, and how I can make sure they won't come back again. I guess it's a little bit like in therapy, when you talk about something, try to understand how it happens, what your feelings are about it, etc? I would say it's not a mandatory part of it; as I see this as intrusive thoughts, once you feel better and relaxed I think you won't have them anymore, so there wouldn't be any need to force yourself to think about it if they're not here anymore and you don't want to. Though, if you want to do this, I'll suggest using a friend as an attentive ear to clear you up and make sure you don't self-spiral out of the good vibes™.

If you want to do it, here's some thinking on the subject, and questions you can ask yourself then:

What's the difference between fanfiction and original work? What's the difference in writing between fanfiction and original work? Why would one be better than the other? Does your writing change that much when you write fanfiction or original work? Why would one's writing be different or better than the other? Do you like what you write? Do you like how you write? Does it make you happy? Does this difference really matter to you?

And here's some of my thoughts to go with it, if it's of interest:

Fanfiction and original work aren't that much different. Some writing may change — there will be much more exposure in an original work, as in fanfiction one can assume the reader already knows the setting and/or the characters. I still write my fanfiction and my original works the same way, because my writing is what it is and I'm content with it. Everything is worth being written, and it will always find at least one reader, even if this reader is you. All creation deserves to exist, no matter how ugly or broken or unfinished it is. What matters is your passion and your love and everything you choose to pour into this creation. There's nothing you could write or create that wouldn't resonate with at least one person, even if this person is you.

Your stories are worth it, but nothing is more worthy than you.

Question for fellow writers

How do you overcome/try to fight off the belief that your stories aren't worth it?

(or that your writing is 'only' good for fanfictions but that your original works wouldn't appeal to anyone?)

[waywardsalt]

For the fanfiction asks

1, 2, 12, 21, 23, 27, 51, 72, 73, 78,

Thanks for the asks! This ended up being long, so I put it under a read more.

1: I do a whole lot of daydreaming, and I don't usually put anything to paper unless I get really inspired, or until things are concrete enough in my mind. Not to mention, I don't always have access to the way that I write, so daydreaming is my main way of keeping things in mind before writing.

2: Honestly, a good majority of the ways that I come up with Zelda fics is the thought process of 'haha it would be fun to put linebeck in this situation', for the recent oneshots, it's more wanting to practice and expand on how I write him and other certain things. I have a few crossover aus in mind, and those are usually a mixture of 'I really like this piece of media' and the usual 'haha linebeck in fun situations'. Honestly, linebeck is the main driving force for my Zelda ideas. But for non-Zelda ideas, I usually need room for creating my own story within a set story; for example, the Warrior Cats world has plenty of room for me to create my own characters and stories. But overall it's the loose string of 'hey this would be cool' that very quickly becomes it's own thing.

12: Most of my older stuff was just planned straight out of my mind, but recently, I've been planning out future projects in ways that fit said projects (a calendar for post-ph, an excel document for a convoluted fic, and simple footnotes for a shorter five-chapter fic). Oneshots and less complicated ideas usually just stay in my mind. More emotionally-driven or abstract ideas will also just stay in my mind (vent fics, a horror idea I'm considering). I'm not strict about planning, but it keeps things coherent. Detail also varies; for example, the fic outlined with excel requires more detail than post-ph. I tend to stray in small details, but try to stick to the big story beats.

21: Overall, I'll say multi-chapter. I get more time and space to linger on worlds and ideas and characters, and I can practice with longer character arcs and writing tools and stuff, and my more wild ideas are easier to pull off when they're longer.

23: Writing beginnings of anything is hell for me. Endings are similarly difficult, but it's a lot harder to smoothly get into something rather than transition out. The middle is easiest; things are already flowing, and while it can get hard, I don't have to worry about big introductions or setting the scene.

27: Dialogue. I've gotten compliments on my dialogue, and I'm very particular about dialogue in bother things I write and things I watch or read; it's very easy to pick out 'bad' or unnatural dialogue. I don't have trouble making dialogue between characters seem natural, but exposition is tricky.

51: A bit. When I write, I'll try most any genre since I consider it a test of my abilities, if I can handle writing within that specific genre. I usually reread old books and stick within fantasy or related genres, so there is a fair bit of disconnect between what I read and write. Even with in the sphere of fanfiction; I write a lot of Phantom Hourglass fanfiction, but I don't actually do a whole lot of reading when it comes to new stuff.

72: I don't really think I have a specific compliment that's my favorite... I'll take any compliment, really, but I guess it's just nice to see if people like my stuff or not.

73: I'm not sure about this one, mainly since I didn't get many varied readers before joining Tumblr, and even now it's still limited... But I think even outside of fanfiction, I get the most compliments on my literal writing? Not story or character of dialogue, just... stuff being well-written, like well-phrased or something. Specifically in fanfiction, though, I think I've gotten the most compliments about my portrayals of characters, mainly in my recently ph oneshots.

78: It's half wanting to see my ideas fully-fledged and to write about my favorite characters, and half hoping that people like what I write; since I started writing fanfiction, there's always been the desire to write for a fandom that doesn't get a lot of fanfiction, so part of my motivation is hoping that there might be someone who's been looking for something that I write. It's definitely a 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' kind of deal, since ph fanfiction is generally rare, and I decided to quit waiting and start writing for myself and whoever else wants it. And, yeah, the feeling of solidifying my ideas. It's just fun to write, even if it gets rough.