#i also wrote a (very general) outline for once which i never do usually so i can already tell this will destroy me

[madin-writes]

i ship nico and leo SO MUCH

[swordsmans]

i really enjoy all of your works and so i have to ask, how do you write such long fics???? or do you have any writing advice at all?? i have a lot of trouble focusing on writing cause i can't seem to find a flow to it- it's so impressive to me reading all of your stuff cause of how well the story progresses in such a neat way!

aaaa hello!!! first of all ahhh thank you so much!!! ahh!!!! i'm so happy you enjoy my fics!!! that means so much to me ahshlkdhjfsd !!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

as for writing advice... i dont know if i have anything specific, but some of the main things i do are 1) outline pretty much everything first before i start writing; i keep a big master doc with my outline + any ideas that may or may not make it into the story, and i dont start writing-writing until the outline part is complete. and...

2) i write out of order! i do something i call the spiderweb method, where i start with the climactic scene or somewhere in the middle and then work outward from there until i have the rough framework of a story, then i go back through and build on that skeleton... if that makes sense? someday ill sit down and explain properly how this works but basically!! yeah!! i never write in order! i just write what i feel like writing and then when my first draft is finished i go through from the beginning and clean everything up.

usually by the time i get back to the "first" scene i wrote, i change it entirely (its just a draft, after all), but ive always found it extremely helpful to know exactly where im going when i write things. if the "place i want to go" is already laid out, then working backwards through the "getting there" is much easier for me. even that isn't always in order--i tend to jump around a BUNCH!!! this is the main reason why i post stuff all at once instead of in chapters, heh. sometimes i write the very first scenes last!

i think struggling to find linear flow is a pretty common thing, especially when building mid-size or longer stories, which is why i tend to avoid it altogether during the writing process. its much easier for me (personally) to see the shape of a story when its in pieces, so i know exactly where to cut or where i need to fill in gaps!! and also... i think its just more fun in general to only write what you want when you feel like it, yknow? why torment myself trying to write X part because its "next" when today i really want to write Y part because im inspired, etc etc.

it doesnt work for everyone, obviously--and its definitely not a method you can do easily if you skip "step 1" (the outline part), but ive had good luck with it over the past few years and its made writing much more fun :3

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

WIP title ask meme

Prompt: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

-

I was poked to do this months ago, twice at least - once by @docholligay and I think the second was @jeejyboard, but I can't find the tag for the life of me. SORRY. I felt like doing something a bit more meta today re:writing and post about The Process, and this was a perfect excuse - thanks for thinking of me. So here's some actual effort! I went and dug deep, trawled through some really old stuff, which was fun. I write and scribble down way, way more than I actually polish and post (which I assume is probably normal, but who knows). 

General info, for whoever is interested: I mostly use Google Docs with offline backups for fic writing, as I shift between computers a ton, and I put fandom tags at the start of my filenames for organisation. I have a ton of prompt/meme/ask/event collection files - for example, the very latest: "[BG3, STRAHD, SM] Fic Prompts 2024". In these I jot down both the prompts people send or that are listed and the ideas/outlines/notes for each, then when I really get going with a certain fic I spin it off into a separate document. 

I hate coming up with titles and usually do that last, so most of my document names are silly references for my own amusement or just a boring old brief description of the main concept. For instance, my latest posted fic Cerimonia Compedum was for most of its WIP-hood known simply as "[BG3] Tadpoled Isobel". Sometimes I keep different versions/revisions/parts of the same WIP in different files, and if that's the case I've grouped them here. Note that for simplicity's sake this post includes my "solo" fic only, no collabs or coauthored stuff, of which there is also a bunch. 

Some of these are ancient and hit me in the face with "12 years ago" timestamps. Some ficlets will never make it out of the mixed prompt plot bunny dumping grounds into their own doc. I think Sailor Moon 10-ish years ago was the one outlier fandom where I actually wrote most of my concepts out fully and posted them. The ol' brain is currently overproducing stuff for the more recent BG3 flavoured moon lesbians (and no, that ship name will never stop throwing my HaruMichi-loving ass for a loop). Note that some of the SU WIPs on the list I've already posted about here, here, here, and here.

Obviously all of these vary wildly in terms of completion level, word count, refinement, and age (and capitalisation, apparently). So yeah, here's the list, roughly sorted by fandom - ask away, if you feel like it!

[BG3] Moon-chosen, Moon-guided | Moon-chosen, Moon-guided - Part III [BG3] Cerimonia Alārum | ISOBEL TO THE RESCUE AU [BG3] Tremulous Cadence followup | The Return of the Moon Daughter [BG3] Wizard Tower AU | Aylin & Rolan stuff [BG3] Karlach/Minthara Act 2 conclusion aka why are paladins Like That [BG3] I'm having something very strong indeed

[STRAHD] The d'Avenir Treatise verse tidbits [STRAHD] Road Trippin' [STRAHD] In-character notes & ficlets

[SU] eeEEeeeeEE BISMUTH | Bismuth ficlets | Like talking to a wall | Muse. Galatea. Suffering. [SU] SU Daemons HDM AU [SU] The Adolescence of Rose Quartz | But I don't think anyone turns into a car  [SU] Freedom To And Freedom From | Pearlrose Fixit | i love suffering!!! [SU] Forge Showdown AU [SU] Pearl Playing the Field TM | All I need in this life of sin is me and my pearlfriend [SU] The Grand Aventurine Heist (Not Really Grand And Only Slightly A Heist) | oh no who let Rose read the Scarlet Pimpernel

[SM] Future Vision blatantly ripped me off THANKS REBECCA | PUU fic [SM] Outers fall of SilMil | michific | The End is the Beginning is the End

[DS9] Kira fic bits

[TLOK] Five Times Kya Healed Lin and One Time She Couldn't | Kyalin fluff [TLOK] R.C. Noire | Lin BAMFong

[WATCHMEN] Silhouette fic bits

-

That's it! I don't think I have a single person that I know writes fic left that hasn't already been tagged in this, so feel free to do it (again) if it strikes your fancy.

[earlgreytea68]

the way you write dialogue is so good, it seems so natural and accurate. especially with Pete and Patrick. could I maybe get some dialogue tips from you, just in general? it's something I struggle with. I always either make it too silly or quippy and I end up deleting it because it sounds stupid, or it's like every line is trying to be the most serious deep important thing on earth. idk where the balance is, it's hard for me but you do it so well.

Some of it is honestly just practice. Years and years and years of reading and then writing dialogue.

But some of it is finding your style of dialogue that works for you. I consider myself, chiefly, a writer of dialogue. I'm never going to be huge into descriptions. I can do them every once in a while, but they're not really my thing. And that's okay! I'm not upset about that! I lean into what feels natural to me. So, with dialogue, I think some of it is finding the dialogue style that feels like it works for you, that you're comfortable with, that doesn't feel like it's artificial. I look back now at stuff I wrote years ago and it feels like I was trying to copy other people, which is fine! But it took me a while to find my groove, to be okay with things like saying flat-out "he says" a bunch of times. A lot of writing advice will tell you not to use "said" more than twice a page or something like that and I decided I didn't like that advice, it didn't work for me. The characters are talking too rapid-fire for me to want you to worry overly much about what verb they're using to communication. I don't always use "says" but I don't freak out if I use it more often than someone else would have said to, because honestly it's only there to make sure you don't lose track of who's speaking where.

Also, I will sometimes try my dialogue out loud. Like, I'll write the scene by acting out the parts in the shower. This requires me to remember what I said, but as long as I've got the rough shape of it, I'm okay, and I think that exercise helps my dialogue feel more natural and back-and-forth. If you're worried about remembering it, you could maybe record yourself doing this.

You talk about striking the balance, and I was trying to think of advice for this, and I realized something: Sometimes my characters have extremely deep conversations. Those are usually the scenes I've planned for and I know are coming from a long way off. "There needs to be a huge declaration of love," or "they need to talk about this problem they're having." Those scenes are kind of like their own things, because they have a very specific goal of some deep communication that needs to happen. Those are very different from the connective tissue scenes that I write to get to those scenes. And, because I don't outline or heavily plan my fics, often I have no idea what's going to happen in any given scene. Like, I'll start writing a scene, like the scene I posted in the Christmas fic tonight, and all I need to happen in that scene is: Pete and Patrick pick out a Christmas tree. Now I could have just skipped that scene, like, what's really happening in that scene? Really not much of anything. But to me I don't skip those scenes because I think those scenes are the important scenes where you really get a feeling for the relationship between the characters, you get to see them interact. So, in THAT kind of scene, it's basically all quips and jokes. And when I run out of quips and jokes lol, then maybe there will be a serious moment of self-reflection in there.

Again, because I don't plan my fics out very much, oftentimes I just let the characters talk to each other until some kind of point emerges. This means I have to actively come up with things for them to talk about. Random things, not story point things. And, because of that, I think the dialogue naturally feels more spontaneous and unplanned and meandering, because that's how the scene is unfolding. So I guess I would say that the balance is struck by knowing what the scene needs to accomplish. If it's a light, frivolous scene, then I just let them go where they want to go. If it's an intense scene, I have more of an idea in mind, and so there's less brainstorming through the dialogue.

I have no idea if this is helpful!!!! Another thing I would recommend is to find a writer whose dialogue you really like and spend some time with it, thinking about what you like about it, why you like it, and how you could keep that in mind as you write. I tell this story a lot but the first piece of writing I ever saw by Aaron Sorkin was "The State Dinner," which is an episode of "The West Wing," and it, like, took the top of my head off, the way he was writing dialogue. I watched a lot of Aaron Sorkin throughout my twenties, anything and everything he did. (I still watch Sorkin's stuff, because I can't help it, he taught me a lot of what I know, and even though his style has become highly mockable, it was really formative for me.) Anyway, I used to spend a lot of time trying to think about what about his dialogue made me so impressed by it, and some of it was the speed, and some of it was how he wasn't afraid to make it repetitive and confusing and silly and pointless. I mean, it's not like real talking because nobody REALLY talks like an Aaron Sorkin character but it FELT like this approximation of reality that really appealed to me. I remember the first time I wrote a character say something like, "I don't want to turn into one of those couples who's all like, 'We can't do anything solo.'" My beta at the time circled it and was like, "This speech is too informal." Because way back when in the twentieth century, that was how we thought about dialogue, that it had to be this more formalized thing, cleaned up from how real-life speech is. Sorkin kind of taught me that it didn't have to be. (I'm sure other people could have. He happened to be who I found.) So I used to watch a lot of West Wing to get its rhythm in my head, and then I would write my own stories, and as I did that, I found I sounded more like Sorkin. That wasn't actually my goal, and I think I sound less like him now, twenty years down the line, but it WAS my goal to really hone in on my dialogue the way he had. It made me not afraid to tell a story mainly through its dialogue, where I had been before him. Idk. This turned into a whole Aaron Sorkin thing and I didn't mean it to be but it was a huge turning point in how I wrote and I think about it a lot hahahaha. ANYWAY. Yeah.

[heytheredeann]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @cha-melodius, thank you! <3<3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

439! The plan is posting two more tonight so hopefull that will soon be 441 LOL.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

939,623! Almost a million yay!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment mostly TMFU, I have been getting into writing Banana Fish fic too, and I write for The Witcher, though less frequently than TMFU.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Stretch (Buck/Eddie+Christopher, 911, 3x02 AU)

Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace (Harvey/Mike, Suits, soulmates AU)

I held your hand as you shook in the middle of the night (Geralt/Jaskier, The Witcher, 1x06 fix-it)

Leave it unspoken (Harvey/Mike, Suits, a serial killer on the loose AU looool I had forgotten about this one)

Concession (Geralt/Jaskier, The Witcher, Geralt likes being the little spoon fic)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yesssss, I'm like constantly behind and sometimes I answer months late, but I love answering because 1) comments make me so happy and I want the readers who took the time to let me know they enjoyed the fic to KNOW THAT, 2) talking about fics is SO much fun, I think that discussing things in the comments is the best part of posting.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

LOOOOOOOOOOOL filter for MCD on my Ao3 and take your pick. But I'd go with either Forever is the sweetest con (Napoleon/Illya/Gaby, TMFU) because the story is told backwards, so you start with post-MCD and end pre-MCD, so the ending is happy but. well. the happiness is gone already and you know it LOL, or maybe Meaner than my demons, colder than this home (Napoleon/Illya/Gaby, TMFU), purely because generally speaking when I play with MCD I kill just one of them off and leave the other two to pick up the pieces, but here there's just Napoleon left, so. probably worse than the others LOL.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Sooo, I tend to write one-shots, and I HAVE written fluffy fics, but I think I'll go with Something gets lost from a safe distance (Napoleon/Illya, TMFU) because it's part of a three-part series that's all emotional hurt/comfort, and then it ends with fluffy kissing so.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Eh, it has happened, I think it's inevitable if you have been doing this for long enough LOL.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not usually, I did write a TMFU/Supernatural crossover though LOL.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yesss, more than once and it's always extremely flattering that someone would want to go through all that effort <3

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Right now I feel particularly strongly about the TMFU OT3 but like. I love so many.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I HAVE MULTIPLE LONGFICS SITTING IN MY DRAFTS DAMMIT. I just never want to post longfics unless I have either a first draft for every chapter or at the very least an extremely detailed outline for every chapter, which means that I end up always posting one-shots LOL. Two notable mentions among these longfics are a "Napoleon gets amnesia and bullshits his way through it to avoid telling anyone because he has trust issues" fic and an AU with Illya as a ghost that's a whole angsty mess. help me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Eeeeeeeh the emotions I'd say. Or I HOPE so, since that's pretty much 80% of my writing loooool Also there a lot of lines of dialogue that I come up with that I unironically like.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots for one, I just tend to write snapshots with no real plot most of the time, and action. I don't LIKE writing it, which means I can never tell if it's boring or if I'm just projecting, and I tend to avoid it. ...also romance/attraction/getting-together. My aroace ass never knows what is believable romance and what are just tv show tropes that are not actually real LOL.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I generally don't do it and keep to the language of the narration, just clarifying "X says in German" if there's a change of language. I write limited third POV, so I just see it as "filtering" everything through the lens of the person that we are seeing the perspective of. If I'm writing from Gaby's POV, for instance (she's German but fluent in English), I feel like TECHNICALLY the narration should be in German, so by writing in English I have already chosen a filter that is not 100% accurate. But that's the filter I'm going with, so English is the language that Gaby is communicating to the reader in, so everything should be communicated through English lens: if she's talking to someone in English, I will just write the lines with no specifications, if she's talking in German I still write in English and write "in German" in the narration, and if someone speaks a language she doesn't know I don't write the actual dialogue because she doesn't understand it, so the reader doesn't get to see it either.

I hope this makes some sort of sense LOOOOOL, I don't really mind any way I've seen this done, but this is how I prefer to go about it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Fallen book series. LOL.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Evil question, go directly to jail, do not collect 100$. This answer will absolutely change every five minutes, but right now I'm particularly feeling Souvenir from a life left behind (Napoleon/Illya, TMFU), just a tiny dissolution of UNCLE fic with Napoleon angsting.

.

Tagging: @imgoingtofreakoutnow @ikeepwatchinghelicopters @thetamehistorian @huggiebird @deducitetemporacarmen @set-phasers-to-whump @cherryjuicegf @geralt-of-vengerberg and anyone else who hasn't done this yet and wants to play <3

[rescue-ram]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @majorbaby :3c

Tagging @dustbunny105 @lyledebeast @tirednecromancer @optimisticfruitcup @itwoodbeprefect @lukestarkillerisgay and anyone else who wants to try it out

How many works do you have on AO3?: 51

What's your total AO3 word count?: 318,236

What fandoms do you write for?: MASH, X-Men, Transformers, and Star Wars primarily, with a few other fandoms mixed in as the spirit moved me :3

What are your top five fics by kudos?: Matched Set (DBH), Turn, Turn (Sandman/Old Guard), Better Than I Know Myself (Moon Knight), Resolute (Star Wars), Expedient Means (DBH)

Do you respond to comments? Honestly not usually. It just wasn't much of a thing in the corners of fandom I came up in, so I never formed the habit or expectation. I do appreciate all comments and periodically try and go through and respond, especially to very nice ones!!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Come and See (Hannibal) ends with murder/suicide...

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Genuinely don't know. I feel like a lot of my fics have tonally similar endings, where they're happyish or hopeful, but there's an element of uncertainty of bittersweetness...

Do you get hate on fics? No.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Ahaha... Yee. Pretty much exclusively gay or robot sex. This year I descended fully into The Id Vortex which was genuinely a psyche changing experience in a positive ways highly recommend.

Do you write crossovers? I had forgotten the Sandman/Old Guard fic was a crossover until I looked up my fics by kudos XD

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No

Have you ever had a fic translated? No

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? No

What's your all time favorite ship? TrapHawk was a primordial OTP that has fully taken over my brain kdjdjd...

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Only You Can Find Me or as I call it X-Men Band AU... I fully have like 4 acts outlined, and very elaborate backstories for all the characters in the AU, but it took a lot of research into really weird stuff to actually write, and it just got to be overwhelming, and I kind of lost confidence/momentum in it...

What are your writing strengths? I don't know how to describe it. I think I'm pretty solid? And I have read enough I know what annoys me and I don't do those things XD I think I generally do a good job of keeping things in character and clearly motivated, I think I do a good job setting and maintaining a tone, and I try to be pretty intentional with the scenes I write. I also am pretty fast once I get going.

What are your writing weaknesses? I have a bad habit of "listing" (and this happened and this happened and this happened), and I think I don't elide as much as I could. I also worry about being too introspective or self-indulgent, and I think I have a pretty specific writing style and I always worry my narrators sound too similar. I also do 90% of my writing on my phone so I'm locked in eternal battle with typos and autocorrect correcting the wrong thing.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I indulge in this sometimes- was having a little too much fun with the sci-fi conlangs in Star Wars fic lol. I've done it a few times in other fandoms for color, but I try and make sure that what's being said is clear in context or translated afterwards.

First fandom you wrote for? Agh, like Digimon fanfic in 2001 or something crazy XD

Favorite fic you've written? Genuinely struggled to pick one, but I think Making the Most of It was both really fun to write, really fun to read, and I am proud of how it turned out- it accomplished what I set out to write and then some...

[hollow-dweller]

20 Questions (for fanfic writers)

tagged by @abcd-em, thank you beloved <3

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

26!

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

134,413

3. what fandoms do you write for?

mostly spidey and pilgrimage, but i dabble in other fandoms--mostly voltron, which i had thought i had escaped the sucking quicksand of but alas seems not to be the case

4. top five fics by kudos?

all the wonders i have seen (i will see a second time)

leave the rest to the gods

Unconscionable

when darkness comes upon you

sew your fortunes on a string

5. do you respond to comments?

i try to! transparently, i sometimes get overwhelmed and while i love receiving comments and re-read every single one a million times, i do sometimes have a hard time actually responding. i cherish every single one but also my brain was cursed by the gods.

6. what is the fic your wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably my pilgrimage fic, everything's growing in our garden. it's very rare that i write for vibes but phoebe bridgers' Punisher had me in a chokehold and that is definitely reflected in that fic, short as it is. it's my most "closure denied" ending, that i've posted anyway, and i think that ups the angst factor.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

pilgrimage fandom gets the top spot here too, with love sent to me. it's probably the most straightforward romance/get-together fic i've written, and AU to boot, which are both anomalies for me. but i have a great deal of affection for that fic, and i love the tenderness of it.

8. do you get hate on fics?

the closest i get in spidey is generally people being demanding about updates, which i usually just delete. there is one particular troll in pilgrimage who crops up every once in awhile to leave "hate" comments on various peoples' fics, and i've been hit with that a couple times, but that's just a pathetic person wanting attention so it doesn't really count.

other than that, i really have the best commentariat anyone could ask for.

9. do you write smut?

yes! i firmly believe erotica is an important tool for examining characters and their relationships

10. craziest crossover:

i don't write crossovers exactly, so i'll cop out and point to the spidey/twilight fusion au since it is crossover-adjacent

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge! and hopefully i never will

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

again not to my knowledge! there are few things i would find more flattering

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

alas, no. i love the prospect of it, and have gotten to the outlining/ideating stage with a few people in the past, but again i'll be fully transparent in that i'm not the most reliable person to attempt that kind of project with. maybe someday, and i'm definitely open to it!

but also: it's me, hi! i'm the problem, it's me.

14. all time favorite ship?

i'm a libra with adhd, asking me to choose a favourite is a hate crime.

from the lens of fannish engagement or creation, which to me is different but not unrelated to loving/shipping a couple as it is represented/written in the text, it's probably any combination of Ned/MJ/Peter, either platonic or romantic. i love an OT3, i love frenship, i LOVE where NWH left us and the possibilities we can explore with their relationships to one another.

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

if i truly doubt a wip will get finished, i don't post it. everything i've posted is something i fully intend to finish, i just can never say when that might happen. i can't predict the future obviously, so maybe that'll change, but i re-read my posted works relatively frequently and have a genuine desire to see them all complete at some point. even the ones that i reread and can see how my writing has since improved, or think i could have executed better, i still have love for and interest in. if i didn't, i'd delete.

16 & 17. what are your writing strengths and weaknesses?

combining these two because my writing strength is a reflection of my writing weakness: i'm very good at elaborating on ideas, not so much on coming up with them whole cloth. what i mean by that is i'm most comfortable, as a writer, coming up with creative and even novel divergences from canon, and making the corresponding changes in characters and plot that would result from those divergences. i'm good at the "what if" of fic.

the converse is that i'm not great at speculation, of figuring out "what happens next". so much of my post-NWH stuff, for example, is about exploring potential emotional and relationship-based realities, but doesn't have "plot" in the sense of being developments of the story of Peter Parker as i imagine it might happen in the MCU. even fics like we said our dreams will carry us, which i bill as a kind of post-beyond the spiderverse speculation fic, doesn't actually deal with the nitty-gritty of what i think might happen in the next movie. how things actually happen in this imagined version of beyond the spiderverse is secondary to the emotional fallout of those events, and that's what i'm writing about.

both these flow from my primary analytical strength/weakness: i am great at interpretive analysis, and fucking terrible at predictive analysis.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

it is. incredibly difficult to get right. i studied languages and translation in university, and i still hesitate to write dialogue in other languages into my fics. it's not just a matter of getting the language itself right. that in and of itself is difficult, but anecdotally speaking i find that most native speakers of a language who read fic are incredibly kind and polite when making corrections to the language.

what takes me out of a fic is the manner in which other languages are integrated, and how very poorly that is usually done. "oh sorry it's hard to switch back" has become a meme, but a lot of the use of languages other than English, when written by non-native speakers of the languages in question, read as just that clunky and incredibly disconnected from how polyglots actually speak and switch between languages.

having said all that, language is an INCREDIBLY important part of culture, which makes it an equally important part of the characters who speak--or whose families speak--other languages. as someone in spider-man fandom, Miles' Puerto Rican heritage and both his and Rio's relationships to that heritage and the spanish language are important elements of his character. when i write Miles, and especially Miles & Rio, it's important to me that that is incorporated. like anything, it takes research, and thoughtfulness, and humility--try your best, and be ready to be corrected if you get it wrong.

19. first fandom you wrote in?

harry potter (derogatory), back when i was a wee skelly

20. favorite fic you've written?

i once again point to the libra with adhd of it all, and then direct you to my favourites series on ao3

Tagging: @weezly14 @mysterycyclone @saltwaterpanda @gooddaygalaxy @ambivalentcats @shrinkthisviolet @anarchyduck and anyone else who wants to!

[opalescent-cheetah]

weird questions for writers - 22, 24, 32! :3c

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

I like to think I'm pretty organised (mostly bc otherwise, the brain fog makes me forget a bunch of important stuff 😂) At the moment I mainly use a channel in my personal discord server to take notes, and I also have a google doc separated into chapters, which I use both for general planning and also to sort out the notes into chronological order. Please enjoy one note from my discord channel:

(usually they're longer/more serious... and then sometimes it's just stuff like this lol)

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

(I hope you don't mind the long answer for this one, I got a bit carried away phfjdhf)

It feels like a lot tbh, especially for longer fics like Destiny, but I do thoroughly plan everything regardless of how long or short it ends up being. (There are exceptions, like Wings, which I wrote in pretty much one sitting, without any prior planning, just because I was bored and sad that day lol. But that's not how I usually work)

Once I've got an idea in my head, my planning usually goes something like this:

Brainstorming. I'll sit down for an hour or two with an A3 sketchbook and coloured pens and just write down all my thoughts. I like doing this by hand as I can get really messy with it. Any notes I've put in my discord over time will also be included with this, often as a starting point that I then expand on. Once I feel like I've got everything down, I'll mark ideas with different colours to organise them. Here's the very first page I wrote out for Destiny:

Organisation. This is done in a planning document (like the aforementioned google doc separated into chapters), and is basically just a neater (and chronological) version of what I put on paper. By this point the outlines are still very general, especially for chapters far in the future if it's a longfic.

Chapter breakdowns. I find I can't write effectively without a roadmap of sorts to follow, so I get pretty detailed with these, right down to the specifics of each scene. Here's a little planning snippet from chapter 9 of Destiny:

And then I finally get on with my writing, lol. I do enjoy the planning stage, especially the part on paper, but I mostly do it because I struggle to write anything without a solid plan 😅

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

This is hard tbh, my memory is not good enough to remember specific lines pdfjjfh (also I pretty much don't read anymore bc brain fog 😔) but! I can tell you some of the fics that have resonated with me, and that I still think about often:

moonstones and heartstrings by soverane (Shenhe/Yelan from Genshin Impact)

but that night was different from all the others by pyresque (Eula/Shenhe from Genshin Impact)

observations of one barbara pegg, penned by rosaria by oofmilk (Barbara & Rosaria from Genshin Impact)

Undone by veronicasanders and 4theloveofdrag (Courtney Act/Bianca Del Rio from RPDR)

forever is composed of nows by beanierose (Trixie Mattel/Katya Zamolodchikova from RPDR)

all the love I never gave (before I left you) by holtzbabe (Erin Gilbert/Jillian Holtzmann from Ghostbusters (2016))

Tysm for the questions anon! :D

[charmmycolour]

Hallo chrammy Colours (sorry if I got your name wrong) i have a question,

I recently got into your fanficana normal life. And because some of the chapters were postet for from another this made me wonder:

How do you keep track of your story? Do you right every chapter out in concept before you start writing? And did it ever happen to you, that you got an idea while writing a chapter, which you really liked and wanted to implement into the story? Would you change future, already planned chapters for it (under the condition it's not a massive plot change).

I was wondering bc your 12th chapter was my favorite one despite being posted later then the others. There's no shift in writing style either so I'm just curious. How do you manage that?

I'm looking forward to an answer.

greetings from Québec's Sweethearts.

I hope you have a great day.

My my this is such an interesting question. Thank you!

About my writing process, I have my own steps system (note this doesn't apply to fics I co-wrote with other authors, where I use a different one, only those I wrote entirely myself). For me writing a fic usually goes like this:

Idea: I have an idea for a concept I find interesting or a scene that would be cool to do. Sometimes these ideas don't tie to anything, they're just small fun scenarios I make up for fun, but if I like them a lot, I will develop them into the next step.

Outline: Now I have a core concept or situation I want to write, so it's time to decide how the rest plays out. I think of a beginning, an ending, and a general line of events that happen in the middle. It's a written draft and not set in stone, but has the general feeling (romance, comedy, angst, etc.)

First Draft: I will start writing whatever scenes I'm more excited to do. I usually work on the first chapter too so it's easier to set the tone later. The big events should be set in the draft, mostly, but can still change if needed; all the small things can wait. If I don't know how to write a part I jump to another.

Second Draft: Now we have a bunch of little stories! It's time to tie them together with the boring parts. It's not as exciting to go over exposition, or have the characters move around, but it's necessary. It's also the step where I make sure everthing is coherent and it's not contradicting other parts of the story.

Usually at this point is when I will clean the first chapter and start posting. I usually haven't finished the fic when the first chapter is up, but roughly half of it if not more will be written or planned. Note the first chapter will first go through step 6 and 7 first.

Final Draft: I rewrite everything correctly, polish the details, cut the filler and in general focus on making the flow dynamic and interesting. At this point it's possible I had a better idea for a future scene and I change it, but once something is published that detail is FINAL and will stay until the end.

Beta: I ask someone (usually my boyfriend) to revise and correct the chapter, fix the grammar and tell me if something is confusing or they have noticed a mistake in the timeline. This is important because I'm NOT English so I make a lot of mistakes lol

When I posted chapter 1 of ANL, up to chapter 9 I think? Were already in first draft at the very least. Some scenes from the ending had been the first I wrote, but as I developed the story and had new ideas, they have been heavily altered from the first idea.

Currently ANL is written to second draft completely, and the only reason I'm not faster uploading is because I'm lazy making the proper rewrites and drawing the illustrations that come with it (sorry!). The ending of the story went through several changes but I think I'm happy with the current one - nonetheless I never discard the idea of implementing changes if needed.

To keep the tone and writing consistent, I read the chapters together with the prior one (from the same character) together to make sure the narration flows the same way. Even if I learned a way to do it better, I try not to make it too different - I think keeping the flow is more important.

Often I will go back and correct things on prior chapters, but only grammar or oddly-written sentences, never events.

I hope this answers all your questions! Please don't hesitate to send more if you have them, and a big big thank you for reading my story! It makes me so very happy.

Have a wonderful day!

[urdreamgirls-dreamgirl]

(StrengerSteddierThings here on main) Writer asks for you!!

1. When did you start writing? How? 5. Do you plan? Or do you “wing it”? 18. Which is more difficult, the title or the summary? 27. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

1. When did you start writing? How?

I started very very young and I used to make my parents pay for my stories lol a quarter a story. I wanted to be a journalist for a really long time and I was in the Harry Potter fandom back when we were all on LiveJournal (I feel SO old saying that). Now I do it for my job (grad school) which is more serious and a lot less fun.

5. Do you plan? Or do you “wing it”?

I wing it lol. I generally know the basic plot points I want to reach while I’m writing, but planning stresses me out (it’s the ADHD). I write out of order and then build the narrative from there. So sometimes I’ll start with a scene I know is at the end and then I’ll write something I know has to go in the middle. Then I have to figure out how to get from point A to point B. But I never outline. I probably should. I’ve noticed that my writing is generally better when I think abt it for a while, but I’m so impatient and impulsive, it’s really hard for me to do that lol

To be honest, I just open a word doc and start from wherever! I generally will have the climax of a fic written first because it’s the big emotional moment that I can’t get out of my head at all and then I write the fic around that. Sometimes that necessitates changes, which I HATE, but sometimes it happens exactly how I envisioned it. In “sorry about the blood in your mouth”, I had to completely change the climax. It originally included a confrontation between Max and Eddie arguing abt the characters of Lucy and Delilah and who they actually represented (Eddie was adamant that they were based on Max and El but Max was sure they were Eddie and Steve)—this ultimately and unfortunately didn’t make sense once the rest of the narrative was written out. But the climax of “when I don’t touch you” is almost exactly how I originally wrote it (and was the first scene of that fic that I wrote at all—I knew I didn’t want that one to change much, so the rest of the narrative is built out of that happening).

18. What is more difficult, the title or the summary?

I usually think the title is more difficult! I generally just use a chunk from the first or second chapter for the summary, so it’s relatively easy for me to do that. Titles are harder. Sometimes I start with a title and know I want to write a story that embodies what I think that title means. Epigraphs are also really important and meaningful to me—sometimes I hear lyrics or read a poem and I know I have to write something. So titles in general are more difficult for me. Sometimes I’ll title something and post it and then stumble across some lyric or quote that has the perfect title and I just want to kick myself lol

27. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc.)

I won’t write (or, generally, read) first person in fanfiction. It just rubs me the wrong way for whatever reason. I can’t really think of a genre or style I won’t try (would love to try horror but probably would never do murder mystery because I’m not smart enough lol), but for tropes, I definitely would never write “bully romance” (this was big on tiktok last year) where a character falls for another character who brutalized them in childhood/high school. Don’t like it, won’t do it. I’m sure there’s other things that would probably be limits for me, but I can’t really think of any right now!!

Thanks for asking me !!! ❤️❤️❤️

[kinetic-elaboration]

July 29: Today's Projects

I don't feel especially satisfied with today but objectively, I did get stuff done and was accomplished--way more accomplished than usual for a Saturday, honestly. I cleaned out and rearranged a couple of my kitchen cupboards, which was a big and obnoxious project that has been on my mind for a while. I also tried to fix the drawer that's broken but got absolutely nowhere on it, not even a sort of functional partial fix. I'll have to call in a service request for it, which is fine except that... I don't really know what they can do. My guess is the thing would have to be replaced. A part of me is worried they'll want to replace the entire cabinet structure, but then another part is like, nah, they're way too lazy for that.

Anyway. I also caught up on dishes and did some general picking up about the place cleaning, and organized a tiny corner of my closet that has been particularly dysfunctional lately. The truth is I have no idea how to tackle the project of the closet as a whole, but at least my life will be a little easier with this one part in check. And I started clearing out the bookshelf corner in the living room, which is my next to do item. It looks a lot better now because I did the easy stuff that also has the biggest cosmetic effect. It's not done but the satisfying part is done.

The thing with cleaning is that anything I do feels like so little in comparison to what there is still left to do. It's never satisfying. But I can only do so much at once. I'm trying to be proud of what I do get done and build good habits and stuff but...yeah, emotionally, it's always more draining than anything.

In the evening, I did some additional organizing work: some bits and pieces in my gmail, some typing up of notes, and some writing note organization, which was the biggest thing.

Tomorrow I'd like to focus on writing. I've had this stupid Troped outline for two weeks and haven't written a frickin word of it because I'm just always too tired or whatever other lame excuse. I didn't want this fic to become something that just hangs over me forever; I wanted it to be something I just wrote. But it's been very stalled. Heading into dangerous territory here. Maybe all I need to do is start and then it will really get rolling... I'm still worried about the tone and style of the intro in my head not matching the sort of mood I want for it, but I gotta actually start writing to deal with that. I don't know. Anyway that's on the agenda for tomorrow and I hope it goes well.

[screadingchallenge]

Behind the Keyboard Volume 24

Behind the Keyboard is a series of interviews with different Schitt’s Creek fanfic authors. The series will last as long as there is interest (from authors) and capacity (from me). If you are an author from the Schitt’s Creek fandom who would like to participate, send a DM to this account.  

Each author was given ten questions. The first five questions are the same for every author, the last five will vary.

Let’s meet our next author:

@stereopticons​ / stereopticons

How many fics have you written? 

I’ve published 32 Schitt’s Creek fics! Not counting the numerous WIPs or things I wrote for old fandoms. 

When did you publish your first fic on AO3? 

October 2021! 

Describe your writing process from “Oh, I have an idea” to pushing publish on AO3. 

This really depends on the fic! Sometimes I will get an idea and go immediately to pouring words into a doc. If it’s a longer or more complex fic, I will write out some notes or a vague outline (for 5+1s, I usually write out the general theme of each of the 5 things). I tend to write very linearly, so I’ll start at the beginning and work my way through, though sometimes I’ll get ideas for later scenes or lines of dialogue and if I don’t put them down, I will definitely forget! Once I have it written, I will read back through it a couple of times, or make someone else read it for me, and then post. 

Tell me about your most recent fic? 

What do you love about it? Is there anything you think you could have done better? My most recent fic was the ocean grew hands to hold me which was written after I spent two days sitting by a lake! I really like how it turned out and I definitely poured a lot of my own feelings about water into it, so it’s a really personal fic for me. It was one of those fics that I just started writing and I didn’t spend a lot of time editing or developing the idea, so it probably could have used some more editing! And maybe I would have expanded on the end some more, but I like the way it ended and maybe I’ll delve more into it later

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about publishing their fic for the first time? 

I have two pieces of (potentially contradictory!) advice: first, write for yourself. You don’t owe anyone this part of yourself. Write what you want! Your stories will be better if you write something YOU want to write. The second piece of advice is to just put it out there! I know putting your work out for everyone to see is scary, especially if it’s something really personal to you, but even if you write for yourself, hearing people’s comments and reactions and kudos definitely help 

Do you use a beta? Why or why not? Do you beta for other people? 

I do sometimes! For shorter fics, I usually just make one of my friends look over it quickly though if it’s really short, I sometimes don’t even bother with that. For longer things, I definitely try to get someone to read it first. My brain moves faster than my fingers when I type sometimes so even if it’s just to catch the words I forgot, it definitely helps to have someone look at it! I do beta when people ask, and am open to beta-ing for others, feel free to send me a message!

Would you rather find a title or write a summary? 

Oh god, neither, lmao. I guess title? I have a running list of potential fic titles on my phone (song lyrics, mostly) but somehow they never seem to fit? Sometimes you just know what the title is going to be and sometimes it’s the hardest thing. Summaries are my enemy. I do not know how to make my fic marketable in a few lines! I am also bad at elevator pitches in general!

In what way are you most like your favorite Schitt’s Creek character? 

I am filled to the brim with anxieties, just like David. And I can’t control my face. 

Who is another fic writer you admire and why? 

Oh, there’s so many! If I name specific people, I’m sure I’ll forget someone. I admire people who can build whole worlds using the characters we know so well. I admire people who know these characters inside and out and you can see it in their writing. I admire the people who write with such elegance that it makes me want to cry. I admire everyone who takes their very specific interest and writes about it. I admire the people who put little pieces of themselves in the things that they write. 

What is the favorite scene you’ve ever written? 

This is so hard! I can’t pick one (they’re my bebes!) I’m going to go with the first kiss scene from the lie between your teeth, the “I never stopped loving you, either” scene from if i’m not beyond repair and all of yeah i’m afraid (but i’ll follow you anyway) 

[infernalrevenge]

Cuddle Bug

Fandom: Resident Evil 8: Village

Pairing: Cassandra Dimitrescu x Reader (Gender Neutral)

Rating: G/T

Summary: Despite what Cassandra Dimitrescu may say or do, you know that she is not above snuggling in bed with you.

Notes: Honestly, I wrote this because I wanted to have the title “Cuddle Bug” and relate it to one of the Dimitrescu sisters. I also love the thought of the tough and sadistic Cassandra getting all soft and whiny because she wants a hug from her beloved. I think everyone (who wants it) deserves a good hug, you know? So this is that :P Also I know that technically all the staff in Castle Dimitrescu were women, but you know what, Maggie said everyone is welcome inside therefore reader is still gender neutral (and also as long as you’re willing to make yourself useful, who are they to turn down the help, right?)

----------

House Dimitrescu.

Their family name alone striked terror in the hearts of many, especially those who knew the stories. Of maidens going missing. How their screams could be heard in the castle dungeon, never to be seen or heard from again. But if they were – they never came back the same.

The reputation they upheld was of fear and respect. No one dared to deny these women what they wanted, lest they suffer the consequences.

At least, that was what Cassandra told you, glaring at the back of your head as you went about your work.

“What do you mean you’re busy?” You could practically hear the pout in her voice.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Miss Cassandra, but I do have duties around the castle that I really need to attend to ‘lest I suffer the consequences’ of your mother’s wrath.”

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and planting herself back onto the couch. “Ugh, but what’s one hour? Come on, Y/N, can’t you indulge me for just one hour?”

You turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised, “One hour is still an hour too long not spent doing what I need to do. And besides, I know that when it comes to you, one hour is not just one hour.” It’d be more like three hours, at least.

“Not just one hour,” she muttered under her breath mockingly, almost unaware that she was technically making fun of herself in that regard. It was funny seeing her like this, acting quite childishly when she didn’t get her way.

You knew better than anyone the reputation Cassandra had not just as a member of the Dimitrescu family to outsiders, but also to her own family. She was the ruthless hunter, calculating and cunning. She may not be the fastest or the strongest, but she knew how to take down prey like she was born to do it, with efficiency and wit. She treasured her weapons for this reason and consistently honed her skills so that she could do her mother proud.

Not only that, but she was considered the least forgiving of the staff’s mistakes (second only to Lady Dimitrescu). She had zero tolerance for fooling around, and if she caught anyone making even the smallest slight against them, she would have their head on a silver platter in a second, ready to serve it to the lady of the castle.

She didn’t like showing her favoritism toward you where others could see, despite your relationship being an open secret at this point, because of that reputation. In everyone’s eyes, she had to have that same tough exterior, to show no mercy, and to never let her guard down – everything that the Cassandra Dimitrescu was known for.

But at the end of the day, when those same eyes that watched her every move retired for the night, she would seek you out – then she would show another side to her.

The one that wanted to be kept warm and held under dim candle light. Who wanted her hair played with while her beloved talked about their day, soothed by the sound of your voice. Who wanted to rest her head on your chest and feel your heartbeat against her cheek, and the rhythmic rise and fall of your chest as you eventually drifted off to sleep.

And the brat. She was quite the brat. She wanted to have her way the moment she would ask, and when she didn’t – oh, she would get it no matter what. You would say she rivaled her sister Daniela in that regard, and it often got them in trouble.

You were part of the lucky few allowed to see those other sides of her, when she could let the mask slip and just be herself. Not as the second daughter of Alcina Dimitrescu, not as the best hunter of the clan – just as herself. As Cassandra.

You loved all of her, like she did you. But you will spare yourself from Lady Dimitrescu’s scolding and punishment if you could help it.

She seemed rather determined to ignore you when you stopped replying, already faced the other way as she sunk deeper onto the cushions. You just knew she was still pouting about it though, and with a fond roll of your eyes, you walked in front of her.

“Cass, after I do my chores, I promise we can have our alone time together, okay?” you said, smiling softly.

When she finally decided to give you her attention, eyebrows still furrowed and lips pursed, you could pinpoint the exact second her resolve melted away as she mirrored your expression. A dramatically exasperated sigh escaped her, leaning back. “Fine… Same time as usual?”

“Of course.”

----------

Night had fallen, and the only light in your small quarters came from the moonlight spilling in through the window high above the wall. You were just about to light a candle on your nightstand when a gentle knock came on the door.

It came as no surprise to see a familiar brunette on the other side of it, her golden eyes glowing in the dark. You silently invited her in, closing the door behind her. She was uncharacteristically quiet then, for such a time that the hiss of the match being lit aflame was the only sound heard for a long while. The mix of warm yellow light and the cool blue light outlining her features made her look so soft, especially seeing her without her hood and cloak on.

“You’re not mad at me for earlier, right?” she muttered, eyes cast down and wringing her hands together.

“Not at all, Cass. I kinda like how needy you are,” you joked, gently taking one of her hands and encasing it on yours. You can see how she was comforted by the warmth of your touch, contrasting with her cold skin.

“I’m not needy,” she defended, stepping closer. She wrapped one arm around your waist, pulling you against her and melting into you. “I just like being near you. And being with you. That’s all.”

You turned your face into her neck and breathed in her scent, a mix of roses and copper, and hugged her even closer. “I do too.”

“You know you’re my favorite, right?”

You chuckled softly against her, and you swore she shivered just a little when you did. “I know. You’re mine too.”

“Good. I better be.”

You pulled away for a while to face her, and she whined at the loss of contact. “Bed?”

She rested her forehead against yours and nodded, and before you knew it, the both of you were under the covers on the tiny mattress. She was huddled close to you – her head on your chest, an arm over your waist, and leg slung over both of yours in a position you were very familiar with. If you didn’t stop her, she would have laid herself completely on top of you. Not that you would’ve minded.

“Anything exciting happen today?” she asked, shifting to look up at you, her face just inches from yours.

“Not much really. We were told that Lady Beneviento was going to be visiting in a few days, so it was just a reminder from Lady Dimitrescu on what to expect and how to behave. Especially around Miss Angie.”

She giggled, “Do you really receive sermons about how to behave around the doll?”

“More like how not to behave around her. It’s about the same set of warnings we receive when we interact with Miss Daniela.”

“Well sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the two.”

It was your turn to giggle, “I’m inclined to agree.”

Cassandra nuzzled deeper into your embrace, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. She seemed pensive all of a sudden, too much going through her mind as she grew quiet. You turned and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, which made her rub her cheek against your shoulder as she pulled you in tighter.

“What’s on your mind, Cass?”

She shook her head, “Nothing. I just… wish we could always be like this. Together. Warm. Safe.”

The thought brought a smile to your face. “We could be, but–”

“Yes yes, Mother would have your head or something, whatever,” she harrumphed, “Indulge me once in a while, will you?”

You raised an eyebrow, “Once in a while? Need I remind you how often you come down to stay here with me at night?”

“As if you would ever deny me.”

You pecked her softly on the tip of her nose, “Never.”

You could see the faint glow of pink on her cheeks, a silent moment passing before she resumed her position on you. “The cuddling is nice, of course, but I meant being with you in general. Just you. Forever.”

The way she was admitting this to you made your chest all tingly, filled with the same butterflies as when you first realized you were in love with the Dimitrescu. You had to bite your lip to keep yourself from smiling too widely and giggling. When did you turn into such a sap? You could probably ask the same of her.

“Forever’s a long time, Cass. You think I could last that long?”

“I’ll make you last that long,” she answered rather quickly, like she didn’t want to dwell on the thought of not having you around.

“That almost sounds like a threat," you huffed out a laugh.

“More like… a promise," she murmured, though she sounded more serious than you did.

For all the softness that you could invoke from one Cassandra Dimitrescu, this was probably the closest thing you would ever hear to an admission of love from her.

You’ll take it.

[studythenight-away]

Hello! As finals season (aka 5-research-papers-due-in-a-week season) dawns on many of you, I thought I would share the process I used to write papers in college. This made writing long research papers much less daunting (but can also work on shorter papers). I really hope this helps some of you who feel stuck. Especially during these ridiculous times, when you're stuck at home and might have other uncontrollable factors affecting your mental health, a clear framework of what to do could be helpful. Good luck, my friends! You got this.

About me

I graduated college in 2018 with degrees in Political Science + International Studies and will be starting law school this fall. I wrote nearly 20 15 to 25-page papers, never earning below an A. I loved researching about my topics but hated writing. It's tedious, takes so much time, and everything I write sounds bad at first. Plus, I was a terrible procrastinator so most of these essays were written in under a week. Talk about stress.

Over time I found a process that worked for me, one that made churning out a paper seem straightforward, like going through a factory line rather than this terrifying concept of writing 10,000 words. It kept me sane without decreasing the quality of my work (or more importantly, how much I learned!) 

I'm thinking about making a short video to show this in action… let me know if that could be helpful!

Step 1: Research

How you organize your research is a key step in keeping you sane. Usually I'll have a pile of 20 books in my dorm along with dozens of JSTOR tabs open on my laptop, and that can get overwhelming very fast. Right now just focus on collecting ideas, not developing an argument or even an outline! As with most research papers, you could be starting with little to no background information on the topic, so it is still too early to be thinking about an argument.

Put all your research in one document

Open up a new doc: this will be the heart of everything. For a 15-page paper I usually end up with around 14-18 pages of typed research, 10 pt font, single spaced, tiny margins. This seems like a lot, but essentially all I do is type up anything I read that seems relevant to my topic, so luckily this step does not require that much brain power. Just type type type!

Use the table of contents

Find the chapter(s) that are actually relevant instead of skimming through the whole book. Time is of the essence here!

Use Zotero, cite right away

You can also use easybib or whatever you're used to, but keep track of your sources. I like Zotero because I can keep a log of all of my sources and copy the footnote or bibliography version whenever needed. Before you even begin reading, cite the source and copy it into your research doc. This will save you so much time later when you have to put in your citations in the actual paper. 

Here is an example of what my research doc looks like:

Full citation is my heading for each source just so it’s crystal clear

I ignore all typos (I don’t think there are any in this part though, go me!) because my head is buried in the book just trying to get all the info down

I always start with the page number so I know what to cite when I go back

Create a shorthand 

While typing up research, you might think of something that the author didn't talk about that you'll want to write in your paper. Or perhaps a few sentences already start to form. Put them all in one place, with your research, so you know what source you'll have to cite to then lead into your idea. I type "!@#" before anything that is strictly my own idea so I'm never confused. It's fast and stands out.

This is an example: the two bullet points above are evidence from my source, which made me think of this argument I could make, which I noted with “!@#”

Step 2: Read Your Research

Now that you have all your information, go back and read through it all. Every time you read about a new theme/person/event, write it down somewhere. You may come up with a list of 20+ different ideas in your research. No matter how small, as long as there is something about it, write it down. Each of these mini themes is going to end up being a paragraph in your paper or combined with another mini theme. 

Once you’ve made your list, look for larger overarching themes. In the paper I’ve shown you, I had mini categories like “political party x” “religion” “labor groups” “little organization” and “hierarchy.” When I looked back I though, hey these are all groups and how groups are working together, so they each became their own mini paragraph under the subsection of “Alliances.”

As with most research paper structures, I try to find three general themes/subsections (like an extended version of that 5-paragraph essay we wrote in middle school). It makes the paper less messy and also makes sure I’m not covering things that are beyond a reasonable scope.

During this step, you are also searching for your thesis. It won’t be your final version. As you fill in your outline in the next step you may make slight changes. But this is definitely when you start thinking about it.

Step 3: Outline

We’re ready to outline! Once I’ve collected all my different themes and organized all my subsections and paragraphs, it’s time to fill in that outline. I start a new doc just for the outline and take advantage of google doc’s headings function to make a clear document outline.

Here comes the fun part, I read through my research one more time, this time copy and pasting all my research into each section of the outline. The document outline in google docs makes this easy because I can just click on each subheading to get me there (super helpful when you’re dealing with 15+ pages of research).

Here is what it looks like:

Let’s say I need to add something to my outline about labor groups. Boom, labor groups. Also, the typos are really abound here haha

Step 4: Write the Paper

Okay, I get it, easier said than done. BUT! You already have everything set up. Your outline is essentially just a list of your paragraphs and all you have to do is paraphrase, cite, and create a topic sentence. And that’s how you should think about this: you’re essentially transforming bullet points into sentences and adding footnotes. 

In high school my English teacher introduced us to Sh*tty First Drafts for creative writing, but honestly the same applies to research papers. Sometimes I’ll even have phrases like “wait no that’s not what I meant but basically...” and when I go back to edit, I realize that what came after “but basically...” is fine! And I keep it. So just start typing.

How do you cite while you write? Because we’re trying to get a constant stream of writing going, inserting proper footnotes after each sentence you type is too bothersome. I usually split screen with my outline and my paper so I just copy and paste a few words from my bullet point into my footnote, like so:

(This is from a different paper about cluster munitions.)

Step 5: Edit the Paper

I work best when I print out my first draft and make all edits in red pen. I feel more productive and can visually see where I want to move sentences and what I need to change. The more red there is the better I can feel the paper getting. (Whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter. We’re trying to stay motivated here!) When it’s all digital I don’t really see the progress. Plus, once I finish all the red, I get another moment of passive brain work, where all I’m doing is transferring edits rather than thinking. And at this point in the process, that kind of relief is much welcomed. 

The good thing about this process is there’s not usually a need to cut entire paragraphs or pages because the paper you end up with is just a formalized version of your outline. Because you started with such a detailed outline, the cutting and editing now is just to refine your word choices and get rid of the “but basically”s. You’re almost there!

Step 6: Replace your citations

Now it’s time to go back and replace your footnotes with actual citations. Zotero makes this easy because in Word you can just insert and add the page number, and it’ll automatically do “Ibid.” for you when needed. Ctrl+f in the original research doc to quickly find the source.

Step 7: One More Read-Through and Submit!

Congratulations!! You’ve got a fully-researched and well-backed paper! Of course, even though the process is straightforward, it’s still a lot of work. In ideal situations I would start researching two weeks before the deadline, but if need be, I believe I’ve done this all in three miserable panic-filled days as well. 

Please message me if you have any questions at all! I really hope some of you find this helpful! Good luck!

[dwjfansitearchive]

QUESTIONS FOR DIANA, March-July 2001, part 1

These are Diana's answers to some of the questions which were asked between March and late July 2001. The main topics on this page are: writing; fanfiction; Fire and Hemlock; Howl's Moving Castle; Harry Potter; Dark Lord of Derkholm, and The Tough Guide.

On Writing

From Elly

I wanted to say thank you. Your books fitted right in with my imagination and I'm glad because they gave me other worlds to go to when this one didn't start out as very nice. They weren't the only things but your books helped and I'm still here! I hope you don't mind that I wrote this. Aside from reading I guess it is inevitable that I also love writing, I can't not do it and I would like to share it. I'll only know if people want to share it too if I try to get it out there so I was wondering what your advice on getting an agent would be? It seems the best way would be personal recommendation but I don't know any authors. Anyway thanks again for the books, I'm glad you find such pleasure in what you do. Thankyou in advance for any advice and I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time.

Other Comments

I'm 21 now just finished my degree and off to see the world!

Diana's Reply

I'm glad you're still here and off to see the world, and if I had anything to do with this it makes me gladder still. About agents, do you write for adults, or children, or both? My agent only really handles children's writing, but if you let me know what you write, I could ask her to recommend you someone.

From Bob

How do you start writing? Do you just sit down and write, or do you make a lot of webs, character outlines, and drafts first?

Other Comments

Age: 11 Gender:F Ambition: to become a writer

Diana's Reply

Generally I just sit down and write, with a sketchy outline in my mind - which outline seldom survives as soon as the book gets going. Most of the preparation takes place in my head and I very seldom commit plans to paper. But there are exceptions. For instance, long before I wrote FIRE AND HEMLOCK - like six years - I was writing shorter and longer pieces that didn't seem to add up, except that I knew they would in the end. Most of these ended up as Polly's Tan Coul inventions. Three or four other books have started like this. It seems to depend on the book.

From Bonnie

What is the best way to start a book? Do you start with a conversation or a description. I usually start with a description but I find that when I do that I get into a dead end later on, having nowhere to go from there. Also, when I've read books by other people, I tend to not notice the descriptions, but just take it in. But, when I write descriptions they go very flowery and you lose interest. How can I stop this from happening?

Diana's Reply

The best way to start a book is the way you want to do it. Start with the bit that grabs you. But descriptions do make for a slow start. I suggest you write your description, if that is the way you want to start, and then go back over it and reduce it to two sentences at the most. There is a lot of this going back to it in writing. You never get away with writing a thing just once. And remember that people, and what they think and do, are the things that move a story along. Concentrate on your people.

From B Bishop

Dear Diana, well, after the Chrestomanci series I did go on to read your other books and I love them all! So whether or not you write another Chrestomanci book makes no difference to me anymore just keep writing! I especially liked Dogsbody, Howl's Moving Castle, Drowned Ammett. I am now down to the last two or so books you've written and am already in dread of the Wynne Jones withdrawal pains. You're the best! If you can stand a trivial question I'd like to know where you write. If it's a study what does it look like and what kind of things are in it. Thanks!

Diana's Reply

I start writing in the most comfortable chair I can find in the sitting room, in everybody's way. For the second draft I move to my study, which is very small and crowded with: one cat, trying to walk on my keyboard, about sixty pictures, hundreds of books, stacks of paper there's nowhere to put, two chairs, in hopes the cat will sit in the other one (she does in the end), and dozens of dragon-things because I love dragons. Oh, and the red stool I balance my coffee on. I have a red carpet, a red window-blind, a red cuboard, a red filing cabinet and a blue table.

From Joni Harbottle

Greetings, Ms. Jones! I am an advanced Creative Writer at an Arts School in Florida (U.S.A); A very good writer I am, But, I have a problem with certain story formats. I can Write in a narrative point of view, but never at an outside angle like you do. If you would be so kind as to give me some pointers and rules for how to write like this, I would be very honored to recieve you tips, for you are an outstanding, exellent writer and author! Lets keep this between us- personally, I think you are much better than J.K.Rowling. After all, her plot lines are so predictable; while your's are much more "one-of-a-kind" and interesting! Please send me a reply of some sort and once again, I'd be honored! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Hope to hear from you soon, Your Loyal fan, Joni Harbottle- 13/F/FL

Other Comments

I am thirteen years of age. I Live in Florida, It is the peninsula state at the eastern corner of North America! I have read many of your books and I am a big fan!

Diana's Reply

I see and sympathise with your problem. I suspect you may be one of those writers who do brilliantly best when telling the story from INSIDE a character, and you really wouldn't want to change that (everyone has their own way of doing it and you really oughtn't to change the way you ARE). It puts you in there with Dostoevsky, the Brontes and other great writers. But I see you'd also want to learn all the skills there are. I can tell you that I learnt to write at an outside angle by reading and rereading Jane Austen - and from Dickens, too, a bit. I'd recommend you to study Austen. It is a skill one can only learn, not be taught.

From Hannah

Dear Diana I have been a fan of yours for about a year or so now, after I picked up Charmed Life by chance in a bookshop. I would just like to say that all your books are FANTASTIC and I really really love them. I've read almost all of them and my favourite is probably Fire and Hemlock because Tom is so likeable and, well, just plain nice. I think your books are WAY better than Harry Potter. Anyway, is Power of Three published in Harper Collins now because I haven't seen it anywhere. Also, could you give me some advice (pretty please) on writing fantasy, because my LIFELONG DREAM is to get published. Sorry this question is so long, and _please_ could you write some more books soon???

Other Comments

I am 13 years old, a sulky teenager whose life has been CHANGED by DWJ's books from wandering round in bookshops looking for decent fantasy books to an ardent collecter of her stuff.

Diana's Reply

Yes, POWER OF THREE is going to be republished later this year. I have done the proofs and have been discussing the illustrations, so I know it is really on the way. Writing fantasy - well, first don't ever even try to write something you are not violently interested in, and then start as near to the interesting part as you can. It helps if you can visualise (and hear and smell and touch in your mind) the most peculiar scene in your story, first, before you start writing; and then consider it and try to follow logically the reasons for its happening like that. The logic will lead you to the fantasy. This will be in places you never expected.

From Erica

Do you believe in describing the character's physical appearance right away or letting the story clues come together to form it's own mental image?

Other Comments

I am 12 years old and truly hope to become an author when I "grow up" I would really appreciate an answer to my question, because I am currently writing a short story. An English teacher told me that I shouldn't describe the physical characteristics right away and not out right. I'm not so sure I agree with her. I need some advice.

Diana's Reply

The fact is, everyone has their own way of writing, which they're happiest with. If you are happy describing, then do it. But I will say this on your teacher's behalf: descriptions tend to pass your reader by so that they don't remember them. Usually the best way to fix a person's appearance in your reader's mind is to SEE (and hear and even smell) the person to yourself so clearly that it will all come over to your reader without you having to decribe any of it. But PDJames, the detective story writer, evidently agrees with you. She likes to describe everyone in detail when they first appear - and she is, after all, a good and a famous writer. Perhaps you should mention this to your teacher.

From Jack Fotheringham

I was wondering how you first got into writing and if you could scan your signature and email it to me?

Other Comments

I a a ten year old and for christmas 2000 I got Fire and Hemlock and ever since i read it I have been hooked on your books. My friends think I am mad reading all these old books But they havent read any of your books From Jack

Diana's Reply

I'm sorry, I don't have a scanner, so I can't send you a signature. It was very difficult to get into writing. I was two years younger than you when I realised that was what I wanted to do, but I had to wait another 30 years until I had a book published.

From Karen Schwab

How on earth do you "do" your characters? There's something about many of your books that grips me in the first paragraph, and did the first time I picked up one of your books (Magicians of Caprona, about 20 years ago when I was 15). It seems to have to do with the characters and how their concerns are very ordinary. In other fantasy books a character only cares about Right and Truth and Justice but your characters seem capable of arguing about who gets the last brownie. What's your explanation or perspective on that? Thanks.

Diana's Reply

Well, I do like my characters to behave as ordinary people would - to the extent that I usually put in an actual, real person just to keep the rest honest - and as you point out, most people spend very little (if any) of their time thinking about Right and Truth and Justice (or only if their teacher seems to have been picking on them). And life for the most part is a mass of small ordinary acts, which, if you are lucky, does add up to something greater.

From Emily Manley

Hi Diana! I just want to say that I absolutly love all your books that I have read! I especialy love the chrestomanci series and would like to know if you are going to write any more? Oh I am writing a book too and you are the one who inspired me to, but it seems to be taking me a long time to finish the first chapter. How long did it take you to finish your book? Thanks a lot!!!!!!

Other Comments

I am 12 years old. love reading. Love all of your books! I go to Parrs wood high school in manchester and am in year 8. I love English but think that we should be able to do more work on books eg..reading in class and writing more stories!!!!!

Diana's Reply

The first book I ever finished writing was when I was about your age and it took most of a year. People at your stage of life never get enough time. These days I usually do a book in four to six months - but this is only usually. Some books took up to ten years. And I can't promise another Chrestomanci book, because I don't work by planning. I have to wait for a book to come up and hit me. If that one turns out to be a Chrestomanci book, then a lot of people will be happy, me included.

From Sarah R. Cattell

Ms.Jones, My question is how long does it nomally take you to write a book once you have gotten the idea and put pen to paper?

Other Comments

I absolutally love your Chrestomanci books. Granted I am only just about done the first volume, I have hardly been able to put down the book so I can get back to work, and to what else I need to do. I am 19 years old and work at Wal-Mart in Prince Frederick, Marlyland.

Diana's Reply

You asked a difficult question there. Sometimes a book will spring into my head in the middle of one afternoon and I will be writing away at it for the next six months, without any previous preparation at all. CHARMED LIFE was like this. But other books have a long, hard passage and can take up to ten years of thinking and refiguring. The odd thing is that no one knows which kind is which unless I tell them.

From Richard Starfield

Do you think that anyone can become an author if they really want to, or does it require a special talent you have to be born with (like magic in your books)?

Other Comments

I'm sixteen, and several times I've tried to start writing a book during a long holiday, but the plot often turns where I'm not expecting and then everything gets muddled... I have really enjoyed all of your books which I have read so far. The first one I read was The Lives of Christopher Chant, and I love the idea that somewhere there might be universes with magic in them... I've just read Power of Three - the next one I want to read is Deep Secret but I don't know if I'll be able to get it. I read a question on this page about time travel - my theory is that it may have occured/will occur/be occuring because if we discovered it now, would we rush off to medievil times and attempt to explain it to them? I think not - we'd probably say "leave them alone - they were happy the way they were" and anybody attempting to prove otherwise might "vanish"... In the Dalemark Quartet, does Drowned Ammet occur at a similar time to Cart and Cwidder? And is Tanaqui really Cennoreth? It seems to be hinted at throughout the book but its never said directly, although The Weaver does call Mage Mallard 'Duck' at some point, doesn't she? I think Hexwood is one of the best books I've ever read. Please keep writing, and thanks so much for answering the questions of the populace. Richard.

Diana's Reply

Anyone can be an author, of course, but it takes determination, because you have to teach yourself how to do it. Nobody else can really do it for you. It took me ten years, but I am slow to learn. I've just heard that DEEP SECRET is out of print in the British edition. get a bookshop to order you an American paperback. Yes, I agree. Time travel/crossworld travel may well be happening to us now, but they are not letting us know. There are quite a number of good sf books about this - nice one by Robert Silverberg for starters. And several by Andre Norton. DROWNED AMMET and CART AND CWIDDER overlap. CART AND CWIDDER happens in the early summer - the same gale is mentioned in each - but DROWNED AMMET starts years earlier and goes on into the autumn following the closing of Flennpass. Tanaqui is indeed Cennoreth.

Fanfiction

From Michela Ecks

Hello, My name is Michela Ecks. I am working on a paper for an english class at Northern Illinois University on fan fiction and copyright. For this paper I was hoping I could have some information from one of my favorite authors whom there is little to know information on this topic on the net. I was also hoping that I could have permission to post that information to my web site at http://writersu.s5.com/ and in particular to the page at http://writersu.s5.com/law/policy.html though I only really need the information for my paper. At any rate, if you have the time, I would be very happy if you could answer the following questions pertaining to fan fiction and copyright in regards to your own work for me: 1. Do you have a set policy regarding fan fiction derived from your stories? 2. If you have such a policy, what is it and why did you implement it? 3. If you have such a policy, is this a policy that you created yourself or was it created at an agent or lawyer's behest? (Which is the case with Katherine Kurtz, and Mercedes Lackey...) 4. If you allow fan fiction derived from your work, why? (Terry Pratchett was quoted some where as saying that it creates good will among fans. J.K. Rowlings said somewhere she found it flattering.) 5. What are you general feelings on fan fiction? Do these feelings differ when it is fan fiction based say on books versus television? Thank you for taking the time to read this note :o) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Diana's Reply

My attitude to all information is that, once it is out in the public domain, then it is there for anyone to use. By all means post what information you want, where you want, but DO make sure it's accurate. Chinese Whispers sort of things can happen so easily. In answer to your other questions: 1. If I objected to fan fiction (or any other kind) derived from my stories, I'd be going mad by now. For instance, Neil Gaiman tells me - as if I needed telling - that he derived AMERICAN GODS from my EIGHT DAYS OF LUKE. I was pretty pleased. 2. I just say 'Feel free'. it would happen even if i didn't. 3. Heavens! Do some people use lawyers for this? The creeps get in everywhere. 4. Terry Pratchett, as always, speaks sound sense. 5. My opinion varies with the quality of what is written. Some is OUCH!!! Some is 'I wish I had thought of that!'

From Anna Beyer

I was wondering if you mind others writing fanfiction on your books and posting them online (at a place such as fanfiction.net). Most writer whose books are the center of fanfic there dont mind, but some sections have been deleted recently at the request of the author. Also, I was wondering exactlly how big an event must be to split a world. Does it need to be a war or something on that scale, or do small things such as whether or not to press the snooze button create more worlds. I ask because I wonder how it can be decided if events are large enough to create a split. In Chrestomanci's world, are females treated as equals of males, or are they stuck in the dark ages in that sense?? Are females just as likely to become powerfully magical as males, or is that rather rare? :) I hope i havent bored you have to death with my questions. I think your a marvelous writer, and I can't wait till your next book comes out!!!

Other Comments

I am 13 and I live in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina, in the US. I can daydream new stories for days on end just by reading a chapter of one of your stories. No other writer has this efect on me, and I hope you keep writing for many years to come.

Diana's Reply

I have no objection at all to people writing and posting fanfiction based on my books. Once a book is published, it is for everyone to do what they want with. I simply can't see why anyone would want fanfiction withdrawn. Must have been some special case there. Interesting question, how big an event would have to be to split a world. The large events like battles and meteor strikes are obvious, but after that you are into chaos theory. I've been fascinated by this ever since I read Asimov and his notion of the minimum necessary change. One of his is the simple shifting of a shortly-to-be-needed cannister to a shelf where it won't be found - rather on the lines of 'For want of a nail the battle was lost...' You can think of all sorts of these. But there could be others - like butterflies in Brazil - or a tree root growing across a certain path - or a piece of paper accidentally shredded - or someone's baby crying all night so they were not their best the next day - or.. Well, I'm sure you can go on. Usually I find it easier to deal with the larger events, like Napoleon winning the battle of Waterloo (which he damn near did), causing all the aristocrats swanning around in Belgium to flee to India, thus making the world of curry and treacle pudding that Chrestomanci remarks on.

Fire and Hemlock

From Marie Denley

In preparing a recent lecture on Fire and Hemlock for my Children's Fantasy Literature course, I looked closely at names, titles etc. and their sources. (Well, I am a medievalist trained partly by your husband, whom I admire just as much as I admire you, so you can expect that kind of minute pedantry!) (1) The 'heroic' titles: is 'Tan' anything to do with the Welsh for 'Fire', as a sort of honorific - 'the fiery one'? (2) Does 'Coul' have any relation to Finn Mac Cool, as a prominent Celtic hero? (3) I'm stumped about the origins of the other heroic names of the Dumas Quartet members. Are they out of your head? (4) I'm also stumped with 'Obah Cypt'. I keep wanting it to be either an anagram, or related to some other form of wordplay/word-and-idea associative pattern, devices you use prominently in the book (e.g. with the permutations of Nowhere, or with the poisonous-plant female names, Ivy and Laurel). I've always been hopeless at anagrams in crosswords.However, my students weren't able to spot anything so I feel slightly less obtuse. I have read around quite a lot to try to solve these; I apologise if I've missed an obvious source. Perhaps I shouldn't be nit-picking like this, but Fire and Hemlock is such a patterned book that you offer the temptation.(For example, I assumed that Hunsdon House was the eighties version of Huntly Bank from the ballad.) Writing that lecture was probably the most enjoyable experience of my career. Thank you for writing a superbly rewarding novel, and for being willing to answer questions.

Diana's Reply

How nice that you were trained by John. Ok, answers: 1. Like most things in FIRE AND HEMLOCK 'Tan' has a double source. It is partly the Welsh word for fire, but it is also an adaptation of the medieval 'Dan' as in 'Dan Chaucer'. 2. 'Coul' does probably reflect Finn Mac Cool, but it also is 'cool!' in the way kids use it. I think there are other origins in there, but I'm not sure what. 3. The other names of the quartet are indeed out of my head, but I usually find there is some good reason for names, like reflecting 'Hannibal' and 'audacity'. 'Thare' defeats me too, though. 4. the Obah Cypt first occurred to me in a totally different piece of writing which will probably always remain as a five-finger exercise, though it gave certain things to the stories the quartet wrote. 'Obah' is an adaptation of 'Obeah', the West Indian form of (black, quite often) magic. 'Cypt' is a sort of anagram of 'ptyx' which seems to be a sort of holy vessel or container in use on Christian altars. So the whole thing means 'a container for dark magic'. 5. Yes, but 'Hunsdon House' is also a very formal country dance.

From Rachel

I absolutely love all your books. It's been particularly interesting to reread now what I read first years ago and see how it's changed (Norse gods--who knew!) Anyway, I have a few questions. In Archer's Goon, where in the book is it proved that "pig's fly, making them hard to catch." I get all the others, but I just can't find any pigs. Also, what are the references in Laurel, Morton, and Sebastian Leroy's names? The only one I got was 'Lorelei.' Plus one little thing that is probably irrelevent: I've never been able to figure out whether the other members of the 'family' in Fire and Hemlock, the ones at the funeral, etc., are immortal as well. Since I'm a little obsessed with Fire and Hemlock, I spend a lot of my time musing about this and researching Tam Lin. Well, that's the end of my ramblings. Thanks!

Other Comments

I'm a sixteen year old who lives in children's book stores and endures odd looks from the sensible adults who step over her.

Diana's Reply

The reference to pigs in ARCHER'S GOON is to Dillian and her disappearing house. Dillian farms the police and police are often (particularly in America, but here too sometimes) called pigs. 'Leroy' means 'the King' and Laurel and Morton are, in some sense, queen and king of faerie. Laurel has 'Lorelei' in there, but laurel also symbolises triumph and long (or even everlasting) life. It's only one of the names she takes over the centuries. Sebastian was the saint who was shot full of arrows. If you look at things from his point of view, he had a lot to bear. 'Morton' is a name that glances at 'mort' - death. Yes, the others at the funeral are mostly immortal too. One of them is Robin Goodfellow - ie Puck. I hope the sensible adults don't kick you as they step over.

From Libby

(Must start off with flattery...) I've just been reading the answers to the questions from March 2001, and I've noticed several times that you've mentioned things about your books coming true. Well, people always say "write what you know..." and I noticed that you gave Tom Lynn that gift in Fire and Hemlock. This wasn't a coincidence, was it? I loved F&H although it was so different from most of your other things -- took place in the "real" world (although we all know that it isn't the only one). Funniest thing happened -- I felt just like POlly -- I'd read the book last year, forgotten the title, and hadn't realized it until I started reading... So, was that jinx a coincidence, and will you be writing another part in the Chrestomanci series or the Dark Lord of Derkholm/Year of the Griffin series? S'il vous plait? Also -- who was the Chrestomanci in the Magicians of Caprona? Is TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND available in the US? I haven't been able to find a copy. Thanks for listening to this loooong ramble! Thank you THANK YOU THANK YOU!! for writing such wonderful books.... don't ever stop. Know of a gateway to any related worlds in the Midwest US?

Diana's Reply

There are gateways all over, to go backwards through your message. The Tough Guide certainly IS available in the US. Ask a bookstore to order you a copy from Daw Books. The Chrestomanci was the same one in all the books - except for THE LIVES OF CHRISTOPHER CHANT, where that was Gabriel de Witt. And I can't tell you what I'll be writing next because I don't know myself usually until I start. And no, it was no coincidence about the things coming true in FIRE AND HEMLOCK. I was hoping to lay the jinx by this, but no chance. They still happen at me.

From jenni

about the book fire and hemlock, who is that woman Laurel suppose to be, like what kind of a moster is she and did she die?? what happened to the people after the car(horse) knocked into the rose bushes? what does the fire and hemlock picture signify? how did they overcome polly's charm

Diana's Reply

Laurel is the dreaded (and loved) immortal goddess who likes to carry off young men. She doesn't die. She has to take someone else's life to keep on living. The other people disappeared at the end when the car knocked over the rose bushes because they were immortals too and they were, for the moment, defeated. The fire and hemlock picture is the the thing called an Obah Cypt which was really a spell to enslave Mr Lynn's soul. Polly's charm was only a weak little opal. Strong magic can suck a thing like that dry in seconds.

Howl's Moving Castle / Castle in the Air

From Mashael Zaidi

Hi! I absolutely love Howl's Moving Castle (so much that when I first read it 4 years ago from the library, I wanted it so bad so that I could reread it that I typed it up on my computer...everyone thought I was crazy) and I wanted to know more about (I know you haven't written the sequel for it yet but you might have some ideas) life with Sophie, Howl, and Morgan, as well as what Lettie and Wizard Suliman's child's name is(is it a girl or a boy?). Basically, I wanted to know if you had any ideas for what they would be like in the future, names, traits, anything at all:) I already read that Morgan would have his parents worst traits, which is the most perfectly lovable and hilarious idea:)

Other Comments

I'm an almost 18 year old about to head off to university and I've cherished your characters from Howl's Moving Castle since I was 14. I also have a special affection for Poly and Thomas, as well as everyone from Castle in the Air.

Diana's Reply

I am IMPRESSED. You typed the whole book? You must know it almost as well as I do - in fact I know you do because you realise that Morgan would grow up with Sophie's faults as well as Howl's. I think Lettie's baby was a girl, wasn't it? When the book does get written I think some of the other kids in it will be the children of the two fat nieces and Dalzel. But I don't know more than that yet.

From Angela Nguyen

Hi! how are you? Well ive read your book called castle in the air and i'm doing a book report on that book and i would just like to know more infomation about. Anything will do just a bit more infomation will do. thank you. Angela

Other Comments

Well i just want to say i really enjoy reading your books. bye

Diana's Reply

I think all you need to know is either in the book or on the website.

From Katie

Is there any chance of another book with Howl and Sophie? (Howl's Moving Castle is my favourite)

Other Comments

I hope you do write another book with Howl and Sophie.

Diana's Reply

I keep wanting to do another book about Howl, but it so far won't come to me.

From Margaret

My favorite book of yours is Howl's Moving Castle. I've loved it for years and years. I have read the sequel to it and was wondering if you plan on writing another.

Other Comments

I'm 19 and am attending school in California. I am a music and technical theatre major. My mother is a librarian so you can imagine how early I started devouring books.

Diana's Reply

Yes, I would like to do another book about the moving castle, but, even though I know a lot of things that would be in it, the book has not yet shown itself ready to be written. It's something I keep in mind though. (I may say I have tried to do this book five times, and it still isn't ready).

From Aifric Ní Ruairc

Dear Diana, I would really love for you to write another book about Sophie and Howl. They are so interesting and I want to know more about them. I loved Howls's Moving Castle and Castle In The Air. Any chance of another?

Other Comments

I am 11 years old. I love reading but your books are my favourite. I think that even J.K. Rowling robs your i

Diana's Reply

I would really love to write another book about Sophie and Howl, but it doesn't happen that easily. I would love to have Morgan in it when he is older and also the kids of the two fat nieces (who I know were born with tiny useless wings and rather long teeth) but books don't come to me because I plan them. They happen at me, and so far a new book about Sophie and Howl hasn't happened.

From Aaron Casto

I was wondering how you came to make the story of Howls Moving Castle?

Other Comments

I am 13 and have read Howls Moving Castle 4 times.

Diana's Reply

I made the story of HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE because I visited a school where a boy of almost exactly your age asked me if I'd ever written a book about a moving castle. That turned out to be the spark that set the book going.

From Hong

I love how you twisted the Fairy Tale formula in "Howl's Moving Castle", especially the stepmother and "eldest of three" aspect. I'm someone who loves fairy tales but at the same time, enjoys making parodies of them and I wondered if you felt the same way. And will we see Michael or Martha again soon? And definitely, where can I get a Howl of my own?

Other Comments

Sophie and Howl are my current favorite couple, which I find surpisingly because not until the very end was there even a hint of romance. Not even romance novels have given me a couple as satisfying as those two are. I simply adore them, on their own and together.

Diana's Reply

You'll have to join a very long line to get a Howl of your own, unless you happen to run into him before the rest of us! The line now stretches all the way round the world. Yes, I do like incorporating fairy tales into my books - and not usually twisting them, more adapting them to the present day - because they are the kind of tale that says more about life and people than any other. And, as I have written to other people on this page, nothing seems to make a new book about Howl and the others GO anywhere yet, although I have made several tries. Books will never be forced.

On Harry Potter

From Elizabeth Brown

Dear Diana, I'm a new reader of your books and I was wondering if you were a little upset about the Harry Potter boom and some of the "adaptations" JK Rowling made from your books?

Other Comments

19 and wishing the bookshops had more of your stuff

Diana's Reply

Yes, I was a little upset, because that amount of borrowing merits some kind of acknowledgement at least. I just don't know how deliberate the plagiarism was. And I got very tired of scandal-seeking pressmen asking what my feelings were. I usually gave them a smoooth answer about how good it was for the genre and was always pleased when they said 'You're no fun!' and went away.

From nadine

i just have to say, i think your books are amazing, and i think you are one of the most underrated childrens author! but what do you think of the harry potter series by j.k. rowling?

Diana's Reply

Thank you. I enjoyed the Harry Potter books, but I did find some parts of them strangely familiar.

From Alisha

Witch book was published first, "Charmed Life" or JK Rowlings Harry Potter books. There are alot of same things in the books. Your books are great!

Other Comments

Im 14 years old, and I love to read alot of different kinds of books!

Diana's Reply

My books were published 25 - 20 years before the Harry Potter books. My guess is that JK Rowling read them when she was your age. I think she must have liked them.

From Emmanuel

First, I want to thank Diana for her answer to my preceeding question, on the possible inspiration by J.K. Rowling on her own writings. Speaking with friends about this possibility, I learned today that a writer called Nancy Stouffer is filing a lawsuit against J.K. Rowling for copying her book "The Legend of Rah and the Muggles", featuring a young hero called Larry Potter and published in 1984. An article on this matter has been published in "Le Voir" a newspaper from Quebec in Canada. So I just want to pass this piece of information to Diana for her reference.

Diana's Reply

Thank you. I had heard about Nancy Stouffer actually. The fact that she was not Rowling's only source adds to my feeling that she sopped up these things unconsciously when she was young. Did you know - this is something similar - that Beatrix Potter lived as a child near a big London cemetary where the graves are, to this day, labelled Peter Rabbett and Jeremiah Fisher, both people who died before BP was born? What I mean is that things stick in your head when you're young and you don't always know where you got them from.

From Sara Krasner

I absolutely love Diana's Chrestomanci series! But I also love the Harry Potter books. Does Diana Wynne Jones ever feel uncomfortable having a little "competition"? Even if she does, I still think her books are wonderful.

Other Comments

I'm 13 and I really appreciate Diana's work. I hope she keeps on writing. She brightens the imaginations of her readers. Her books are definetly on my favorite books list!

Diana's Reply

'Competition' isn't really a problem to most writers. Most of the time you're delighted that someone has liked your books enough to do something similar - for instance the current best-selling fantasy in America was inspired by my book EIGHT DAYS OF LUKE and the writer sent it to me before it was published to see what I thought. And I told him FANTASTIC! And look at it this way: most books are only several hundred pages long and people can't keep rereading them too often, so they will naturally then want to read another book quite like it. So nobody loses.

From Lisa Jo Rudy

Dear Diana, I discovered your books as a grown up -- introduced by an editor who was helping me along with my own YA novels. I believe the first book I read was Witch Week -- and I found it to be one of the most original and intriguing works of fantasy I had ever read. I'm reading my way through your entire booklist now. Yet somehow, even with an interest in YA fantasy and SF, no one had ever sung your praises to me! Knowing all that -- I have to ask you how you feel about the extraordinary reactions folks are having to Harry Potter. I had one friend of my parents tell me how marvelous it was that someone had come up with the idea of writing about a school for wizards... and how wonderful to read about MAGIC of all things! I mean -- they're great fun, well written -- but Rowling seems to be getting credit for inventing the fantasy genre! Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Other Comments

Would you be willing to read and/or comment on unpublished sf/fantasy? I know this is probably an outrageous imposition but hey -- it can't hurt to ask!

Diana's Reply

Best wishes for your YA novels. And, yes, I don't think I can be the only writer of YA fantasy who gets irritated that most adults seem to think Rowling invented the genre. You do wonder what all these ignorant people were reading when they were young.

From Shaun

Hi Diana, I don't mean to be irritating, just curious. My question is: between your own books and JK Rowling's Harry Potter books, whose would you prefer to read and why? Have you read all of the HP books? Do they fascinate you?

Other Comments

I'm 22 this year

Diana's Reply

Well, actually, I'd always rather read a book by someone else. I know too well what's coming next in my own books. This problem, unfortunately, arises with the Harry Potter books too. I hope I never end up on a desert island with only the choice you gave me!

From Cody Kinker

What do you think of the Harry Potter series? Are you going to write a sequel to your book Witch Week? (thats my favorite book you have written) Also do you write the anwers yourself?

Other Comments

13years old male

Diana's Reply

I do write the answers myself. No one else knows what the answers should be. When you ask about a sequel to WITCH WEEK, do you mean something that isn't the other books about the enchanter Chrestomanci? The problem with WITCH WEEK is that by the end of that book the world that it happens in is destroyed, melted back into our own world, and it would be hard to do a sequel from here.

Dark Lord of Derkholm / Year of the Griffin / Tough Guide

From Paul Andinach

I've been rereading 'The Dark Lord of Derkholm' recently, and some of the character names have been bothering me; I keep getting the feeling that there's some trick to the pronunciation. Is "Derk" pronounced to rhyme with "irk" or "ark"? Is there some trick to Mr Chesney's name, or is it pronounced the way it's spelled? Are there any other character names (in any of your books) with tricky pronunciations we should know about?

Other Comments

I'm 20 years old, and I live in Australia. I've been a Diana Wynne Jones fan for years and years and years. I think the world would be a dimmer and less interesting place without any Diana Wynne Jones books in it. Thank you very much, Diana.

Diana's Reply

'Derk' is pronounced 'urk'. I think it is that world's form of Derek, but I wanted it to be like a knife-name, like Blade. And, well, Chesney COULD be pronounced to rhyme with Disney - I certainly had that in mind. But don't tell any lawyers. Thank you for enjoying my books. You have no idea how encouraging it is when someone tells me that.

From Liz

I just finished reading The Year of the Griffin and was wondering if there are going to be any more books about Derkholm.

Diana's Reply

There will be more books about Derkholm because I have sworn so to my sister, but I'm afraid I won't be able to start on one until next year at least.

From moira

do plan on writing any more books that are set in the world of year of the griffin and dark lord of derkholm... i really enjoyed them and would love to see more

Diana's Reply

yes, I swear, I have sworn, I love writing about griffins.

From Rose

When will you make the sequel to Year Of The Griffen?

Other Comments

I love your books andI love to read. I hope you keep up the hard work.

Diana's Reply

I am not sure when I will do the sequel to YEAR OF THE GRIFFIN. I am still thinking about what will be in it.

From Hannah

Hi my name's Hannah and I'm sorry if someone's already asked this but I couldn't find it anywhere. But, is there a sequel to Year of a Griffin? I bought it last week and I'd finished it the same day. It was absolutely brilliant and I read it again the following day, but I desperately need more of the same!!!! Is there a sequel? If there isn't, please please please can you write another? Write a whole series. Twenty if not more!!!! And make Kit and Elda the main characters!!! Please!!!! I first read the Skiver's guide when I found it a jumble sale and I was hooked. I didn't manage to find anymore of your books until I found a section in my local bookshop saying "if you liked Harry..you'll love this" and they had all your Chrestomanci series. Ever since, I've have been begging, cajoling and threatening my friends with death (not really) to read your books. I really love the world you've created with Dark lord of Derkholm and all that's keeping me going through my AS-levels is that someday you will write a third instalment if one doesn't already exist!!! A little bit of emotional blackmail will do my cause no end of harm but I want to say that you are a brilliant and humane writer and I think your books deserve to be as widely known as HP as they are just as good if not better. So I say it again! Please please please please please write more books about Derk's world, I know it's not up to me and I can't force you but I'm still going to try! Thanks for all you've written, Hannah (o:

Other Comments

I'm 16 and I live in London. I am an AS-level student and I don't know whether to study Chemistry or English at university, Arg! (o: I love reading I miss it so much, now that I have so litle time. Thanks for many hours of pleasure in the school library and at home when I've been reading your books.

Diana's Reply

My sister feels the same way as you do about YEAR OF THE GRIFFIN and has made me swear a solemn oath that I will write more about griffins in Derk's world. So, you see I have to write it eventually. I am as sorry as you are that it isn't NOW. I have been terribly busy these last two years with other things, and then I was ill, so nothing has been written at all lately. Do not despair though. I love writing about Kit and Elda and almost can't wait. Best of luck in your AS-levels.

From Justin

I'm currently reading the Derkholm books and went back to read the Tough Guide as prep (Loved the mention of "Gna'ash" in Dark Lord of Derkholm :)! ) and realized the map is Europe upside down. Then I further realized that the placenames, for the most part, are anagrams of real places (Caysib=Biscay; Rowany=Norway) and was wondering if that was intentional? If so, what does "Nuneaton" represent? Also, will Harper keep the books in constant print? I've been picking them up as I find them, but stores have been having a difficult time ordering them.

Other Comments

Charmed Life was actually the first fantasy I ever read, followed by the other three Chrestomanci books. Now, at 17, I've read all the big authors, including all the works of yours I can find in the Seattle area. Thanks for getting me into this wonderful genre!

Diana's Reply

The map of Europe upside down in the TOUGH GUIDE was the idea of my agent's daughter (who is also my goddaughter) when she was about 14. We thought it was brilliant of her. Then my agent and I had a wonderful day's fun filling in names, a lot of them, as you realised, normal names backwards, and some just made up, like The Scrots. But my agent said one of the things that always annoyed and amused her was the way one or two names on the maps were always names of improbably ordinary towns - like Nuneaton. So we put in Nuneaton, though it could easily have been Bognor Regis or Hartlepool or Devizes. I hope Harper will keep the books in print. But you never know with publishers. At the moment they are reissuing most of them, so I hope your bookshop will be able to get hold of them. The ordering of books is ridiculously difficult. I have had a book on order from the States for four months now and there's still no sign of it.

[ginkgomoon]

Victor’s Aura- A Character Aura Study

This post is my take on Victor’s aura, taken from my knowledge and intuition to depict what kind of aura he has! I did one on Gavin, as well as Gavin’s astrological birth chart so if you haven’t seen them, you can read them after this post!

What is an Aura? “Aura” by the dictionary is “the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place”. 

It’s essentially the electromagnetic energy field that surrounds all living things. It’s the magnetic field of vibration like how a lighted candle is lit and how a scent or perfume surrounds a flower. In fact, it’s correctly described as an extension of the body. It’s a part of every cell. Your aura can be affected by anything, including traumas, memories and emotions. It can tell us a lot about a person’s mental, physical, emotional state, vitality and path of life. Habitual thoughts, emotions and even illnesses can be clearly revealed. If a person changes their long standing thoughts and emotions, the aura will too reflect that. 

Victor’s Aura There are many layers to the aura but let’s start off with the “ground” colour. This is the main colour that dominates the aura both in size and intensity. It’s arguably the most important colour as it shows what the person should be doing in their life. 

Victor’s main ground colour is dark yellow (keep in mind this is not defined as “murky”- when someone is lost and muddled in their life). People with dark yellow as their ground are confident, well adjusted and analytical. As a result, they take life one step at a time, one goal at a time, ensuring every project is seen through properly to completion to avoid problems and setbacks later. They are patient people, setting their worthwhile goals in no hurry to reach them, as they know without a doubt that they will obtain their deserved reward in the end. They prefer to do things rationally and in a logical manner, especially at work where they are required to make use of their good memory and love for detail. As they are ambitious and persistent, they often take up roles of leadership, responsibility and of importance. From his corrections on MC’s reports to the food he makes at Souvenir (that is insisted to be cooked according to certain temperatures), Victor is no doubt a detail-oriented leader even whether if the goal he wants to achieve is related to work or not. 

MC: It’s a sort of mark that can be left in literature or in a photograph… and I can feel it. Victor’s eyes are lowered. In his clear and tranquil eyes, there are ripples of light and shadows. Victor: Such as? The smile tugging at the corner of his mouth is clear, and I ponder this seriously. MC: For example, the way I write proposals has changed. The format of my proposals has changed. The indent of the first line, font size 15, 1.5 spacing between lines… it’s the format you find most pleasing to the eye! Victor’s eyebrow quirks. Victor: That’s all? MC: There’s more! I’ve become so much more picky with food. I never used to complain that food tastes bad, but eating at Souvenir has cultivated my palate. Now, when I eat even Michelin meals, I feel as if something’s lacking… -CN Exhibition Date 

“What happened with SE is just an example. We’re from different businesses and different fields. There’s no need to compare yourself with me. Also, I’m older than you. When you’ve reached my age, you might attain the achievements I have today.” -CN Night Meeting Date

“Slow and steady wins the race” is the moral that they live by, but sometimes adhering to this credo may frustrate others as they can be so analytical and detail oriented at times- usually at great lengths. A cute little add from the Tender Regards Date around the concept of snail mail, time (Victor’s evol!) and the goal of always reaching your destination in the end demonstrate this this motif in Victor’s relationship with MC.

“Looks like you should have received this Future Mail. Apart from supporting your event, I’m only going to do this once. This will not be repeated. The things I want to say to you are all in this videotape. It only belongs to you.” -CN Tender Regards Date 

“When will you finally understand? It’s all right. I’m patient. I’ll wait for you to see the light slowly.” -Rooftop Date

Although they have feelings, they only ever reveal it to people close to them. They enjoy the detail and technicality of conversations and find it hard to talk about their emotions. Victor’s Exhibition and Tender Regards Date are very useful sources of information in relation to these topics, as it displays Victor’s deep emotions of affection to MC and highlights the importance of expressing emotions to those you love. Dark yellow aura peoples’ greatest lesson in life is to be more emotionally open, and when do they do, it usually occurs later in life. 

“The writer wrote it down herself - “The time I spent loving someone, not a single second of it was wasted.” I rarely hear such words leave Victor’s mouth, and it makes me feel a little surreal. In my memory, we very rarely talk about the topic of ‘love’. Maybe it’s because he rarely says what’s in his heart. Maybe it’s because I’m used to being thick-skinned. We never have the opportunity to seriously understand the meaning in these words. -CN Exhibition Date 

“Do you still remember the special episode on “Feelings” from before? Actually, this theme was inspired by that episode. Giving gifts is a common way to express how one feels. But it’s not that easy to send a gift to the future. With Future Mail, the sender can convey their feelings and surprises in this gift to the other party across time.” -CN Tender Regards date 

People with dark yellow as their ground enjoy system and order such as routines at work and in their home life. This is applied to Victor’s strict schedules in his day to day life, such as taking on what time he sleeps and when he gets up to go on his morning jogs. They need to consider new ideas before grudgingly accepting them. This is especially applied to when Victor always says “just this once” to MC when he’s being “childish” with her (but we really know that isn’t the case, he knows this all too well, too). 

“Because a certain greedy cat always says she wants to eat something sweet after dinner, I made pudding before leaving the house. Do you think this is a mark of how I’ve been changed?” -CN Exhibition Date 

Next is Victor’s “radiating” colour. This represents his interests and motivations. It adds strength to the ground colour. They can work well in harmony, some can conflict. 

I would take Victor’s radiating as violet. Violet is a very highly spiritual colour, as people with this colour as their radiating will have a very spiritual take on life, as they are deep thinkers who like to analyse everything and think matters though logically. They are also naturally intuitive. Violet radiatings have the ability to come up with unique and unusual solutions to problems. As they enjoy learning, they have the potential to become experts in their field of endeavour- which is no surprise for Victor as he’s basically an “on top of the world tyrant” in the industry of finances. In addition, they feel things deeply, but rather operate things on an emotionally free level- again with the ground aura traits to enhance this! However, Victor too, has a high EQ despite this.

“I’m no different from you. There are many things I cannot do or force to make happen. It’s okay to not be strong, it’s okay to not do well. You don’t have to bottle up your emotions.” … “I won’t tell you to keep holding on no matter what difficulties you face. That isn’t realistic. There will come a time when you will become an even better version of yourself who will have enough courage and experience to deal with all of this.” -CN Colours of Rain Date 

Overall, Victor’s aura of darker yellow and violet depict him as more of a straightforward kind of person, hardworking and articulate, however soon we realise there’s more to what we see of Victor, like how MC thinks that Victor comes off as a “heartless CEO” throughout the main story chapters but he slowly warms up to her whilst determining to prove her wrong. Victor is wise, and doesn’t bother to put in his personal efforts to where it’s not needed, but when it’s up to him- he strives to go all the way for perfection and with the best of his ability. He spends a lot of time in deep contemplation to determine his plans of attack which allows him to execute them well. His values and worth ethics will always in the end allow him to make time for MC, no matter how busy he is :) 

And lastly…

Victor leans against the window, his face still written with distaste, but he does not attempt to remove that childish-looking blanket. He brings the red cup to his lips and gently blows on it. The warm light encases him, softening the aura surrounding him. His outline also appears gentler. He doesn’t look as impossible to get close to. My eyes land on Victor, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He puts down the cup in his hands, lowering his eyes, as though deep in thought. This is a Victor I have never seen before… In this moment, he seems to have put down his stubbornness and distant aura - becoming someone within reach. Only now does Victor finally feel my gaze. He raises his head to look at me. -CN Warm Date 

All of a sudden, he lifts his other hand gently. A water droplet pelts onto his palm, as though pulling him into the pattering rain. Seeing this, I find myself subconsciously frozen in place. Because of the enshrouding misty rain, the Victor before me appears warmer and more tender than usual. -CN Tender Regards Date 

It always has and always will be MC to see this side of him- the tenderness and the willingness of how he opens up to her- his aura willingly to embrace hers too. Fun fact- auras can deflect off one another if you’re with someone you dislike. But when it’s with two people in love, their auras connect, combine and produce an even brighter and bigger accommodating aura for the both of them. He’s certainly living working towards to achieve his greatest life goals- both in his businesses and being with MC, striving together to make great changes and milestones in their respective industries. Without a doubt, she has helped Victor’s aura grow, expand and shine the many rays through his doubts, allowing a light from within to burn brighter and evolve him into more of the brilliant, hardworking and tender man we know today.