#i do also still need to write 5k of fanfiction in the next few weeks. but. i can do that as a break between LOOM ACTIVITY

[unopenablebox]

miniprep and seq submit and then i go home! to do the final light room rearranging and then assemble the stand for my LOOM

and possibly even start warping if i get a good setup for it

[archangelsunited]

Hi AUfriend <3

Excuse me marching in here unannounced. I sent some asks to Mareena and Para, and well, I thought that perhaps you might also like these questions. (Feel free to do it in your own time or ignore as spoons allow. <3)

I know we love to talk about breaking the rules in writing and obviously, that not every piece of advice is one-size-fits all, but there is a lot to say about being able to speak with each other about what we have learned during our journey. I was wondering if you wouldn't share. (I also plan on poking some of the others to see what more we can shake out. The more the merrier, no?)

What is the most useful/helpful pieces of advice you ever received during your education in relation to writing?

Once you started to write, what was the most important thing that you learned about writing or its process?

Has your real life had any influence on your writing? If so, how?

What advice would you give to aspiring writers (be it fanfiction or original)?

I would, in fact, like these questions. Give me all the questions. I broke my own advice and deleted a paragraph of this and started over. Then I left and came back a few hours later.

1.) The most useful advice?

Your job is to tell a story. (Stop trying to push multiple things in a narrative, stop trying to impress people, stop wondering what the audience wants, you have one goal- anything extra is extra.) Motivation will not support you, but discipline will. (I wrote everyday, two days off a week. I did this for a year. That year has given me more stamina in terms of writing than any amount of inspiration ever has. Its the reason some stories can exist at all.) The job of a first draft is to exist. (It can't be good until its bad, it can't be bad if it doesn't exist.)

2.) Once you started to write, what was the most important thing you learned?

<Trying to remember when I started writing> Start small? I started a lot of big projects before I got comfortable doing small projects, and that hurt me in the long run, I think. It isn't a lack of discipline or ability on your part, don't get offended. Its just, small things are a huge confidence builder. I have so many unfinished works on my laptop, that it made me feel like a failure. Having several small completed works helped me have the confidence and know-how to look at a big project and go "no big deal." Also, contrary to popular belief, people do actually like small bits of fanfiction, gen fanfiction even. Short stories do have a market. Those small prompts are really helpful in boosting confidence and practicing in a non-stressful environment. Also, it helps work maintain an even amount of skill. My skills at the beginning of a story are much better than at my endings.

Technical stuff: Warming up will save me time and stress.. I can spend two hours looking at a blank screen or I can spend five minutes on typing exercises and ten minutes free writing. Sitting at a desk is more productive and better than sitting on my bed. I need to have some sort of caffeine and or water next to me. Walking beforehand eases out the jitters. I do better when I am not posting everytime I hit 1 or 5k.

Brand new information: Having a group of writers talking to you and encouraging you about your project makes writing a LOT easier. They give me a positive word and suddenly things start getting accomplished. Its magical. Being dependent on other people for motivation is not healthy, but it IS normal to need affirmation- my mind thinks of it as a really good dose of speed.

3.) Has your real life had any influence on your writing?

I had two immediate responses to this. One was, "I hope so" the other was "Damn, I hope not." A few things that have probably gotten into my writing: 1.) My relationship with disability 2.) Sometimes people have to live in unhealthy and uncomfortable situations. They live and their lives are still WORTH living, even if things aren't perfect. 3.) Sometimes life changes directions completely and you aren't you you thought you would be by the end. 4.) Some of my favorite fic authors 5.) My family history

There is also a Screwtape Letter's quote that really put my writing into perspective, or really any skilled labor. It eases a lot of insecurity, if this is what I am striving towards. > “The Enemy wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another. The Enemy wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbour's talents--or in a sunrise, an elephant, or a waterfall.”

4.) What advice would I give?

You have to let yourself suck. You have to let it be bad. You get good by being bad. Writing is an imperfect craft, and if you spend your time trying be perfect- its just going to add a layer of misery to what should be a joy. My friends and family have to drag me away from writing these days. I get irritable if I don't write, because the last little thing that was keeping me from writing- what was filling me with dread- was that need for perfection.

Stop hiding your work. You have nothing to be ashamed of.

Do your time letting yourself work through it feeling like a chore. That is a normal part of the journey, feeling like each word is coming at a crawl and "I have no idea why I do this" and "This isn't good." I would compare it to doing scales or running laps. Its hard, repetitive, useless work- but after you've built up the skill and endurance, you can focus on the story you are writing- not if you can do it at all.

[bylightofdawn]

So I take back what I was saying about how I didn’t expect to find any super good DND fanfics yet. I now how to eat my words because I’ve got a handful of really good gems. I haven’t expanded beyond the Xedgin tag though I’ll prolly do that in the next couple of days.

If I really like a writers work, I will obviously go and check and see what other fandom’s. They’ve written for and see if anything catches my eye. Which is a very relatable mood, I suspect.

And then I see that they wrote a 50,000 fanfic for an obscurish fandom that I have not been part of in years but it’s a pairing that I enjoy and I’m faced with the dilemma of do I really want to invest that much time in a gamble like that? This work is also from like 2013. I’m kind of doing a deep dive on this poor person’s profile.

NGL I’m lowkey tempted. And hell the last gamble I took paid off with that absolute cracky, Mak’ro and Eli fanfic I was reading a few weeks back. I STILL need to buy the first book in the new Thrawn trilogy but fml I am not buying kindle books that I’m ALREADY gonna break at least twice this year.

I don’t know if I screamed about this and prolly literally NO ONE is going to know what I’m talking about when I say that Jacqueline Carey is releasing a Joscelin book which is going to cover Kushiel’s Dart from his POV

AND I CANNOT WAIT TO SINK MY CLAWS INTO THAT BOOK. I think if she was to ever write an actual book from Anafiel Delaunay’s point of view I would actually die and go to the next plane of existence.

I’ve wanted this for like TWENTY YEARS. One day I will get the words “All knowledge is worth having” tattooed on MY BODY because that quote from an obscure character from an obscure book series has become my life mantra on so many levels.

AHEM.

Sorry for the tangent. So yeah 50,000 gamble or not. I guess I could just download it to my Kindle and then see if it catches my eye and then delete it if it doesn’t catch my attention after the first 5K or something.

My crippling addiction to fanfiction is the reason I’m not reading actual books these days it seems like. And why I’m on a no-buy embargo against myself. I have like five Star Wars books alone that I still need to read it is an actual tragedy.

[16woodsequ]

I have three questions about writing fanfiction and you’re the best fanfic writer I’ve seen so I’m going to ask them to you if that‘s alright

1. How do you write a lot in chapters, because I never manage to write more than 1k words about the chapter topic

2. How do you stay motivated for writing a long fic?

3. Do you have any tips about how to deal with a large ensemble of characters?

First of all, I'd like to say how happy and honoured I am for this ask! It made me so happy you thought of me. I'll do my best to answer helpfully.

My response ended up being pretty long, to I'll leave it under the cut.

1.

In general, my chapters are between 3k to 6k. I find 4k-5k is a good range for me. Before I talk about writing more in chapters, I think it is important to say that short chapters are not wrong. Short chapters can be wonderful to read!

If you want to work on writing more, I have a few suggestions. First though, the way my writing style works is I go into a story generally knowing the basic plot points, and I write all the chapters first, before I post them. So keep this in mind, since my techniques might need to be adapted for your style.

When starting a chapter, I have what I call the 'bone and meat' method. To write around 5k words, I find each chapter has enough room to explore 3-5 "events". These are the bones of a chapter.

As an example. I will use chapter five of "Alternatively", because I'm guessing you read that one. (If not you can send another ask with some you've read and I can use those).

The bones of this chapter are:

Prelude/set up to Steve learning about Bucky.

Pierce taking Steve to see Bucky

Steve having a breakdown in the elevator

Steve and Tony talking about it

These are the four main things that needed to happen in this chapter. I don't always start a chapter knowing what will happen at the end, but usually by 500 words in, I've figured out what out of my plot points will be happening in the next 5k of words.

When deciding what will be the bones of a chapter, I find I have two systems. Either I give the reader a satisfying cathartic ending, or I leave them in anticipation.

Chapter five is a good example of a mini-arc within a chapter that ends with a satisfying emotional catharsis. If you think of it along a story plotting graph, the prelude is the exposition, Pierce taking Steve to Bucky is the conflict/rising action, Steve's breakdown is the emotional climax of the chapter, and Tony and Steve's conversation is the falling action/resolution.

The ending event of the chapter feels natural, because while the story isn't finished, the emotions and events of the chapter have been tied together and dealt with for the time being.

An anticipatory ending for a chapter would be more like a cliffhanger, and would probably end near the climax of whatever plot points are happening. (Such as chapter 3 of Alternatively, the emotional climax of the chapter hits right at the end.)

So basically, your overall story has rising action and a climax, but if each chapter is roughly outfitted around that too, then it may be easier to write long chapters.

Once you have the bones of a chapter, all you need to do is add in the meat to fill out whatever word count you are aiming for. If you have written the bones of a chapter, but still aren't at a word count you like, then it is simply a case of adding more depth to what is already happening—showing the emotions of the characters, getting into their head, bringing up past events and relating them to what is currently happening, foreshadowing, describing the scene/senses, etc.

Please know that when I'm writing my chapters, I'm not obsessively planning out the steps of a chapter and thinking of all these things constantly. These are just patterns I've noticed after the fact, so they are not hard and fast rules.

2.

As for how I stay motivated for long stories, the thing that works best for me is writing all the chapters before I post the story. I know this system doesn't work for every author (and believe me, sometimes I really want to post), but I find doing so relieves pressure on me, and I don't feel guilty if I don't write a story for weeks or months because I am working on something else.

That being said, for my large Alternate Timeline series, I didn't have time to write all the chapters ahead of time. By the time I was writing The Alternate Handler, I had about a 10 chapter lead.

Things that helped me stay motivated is finding parts of the story that I really wanted to write. I usually write chronologically, so having moments that I knew where coming and I was excited for helped motivate me to continue.

Also, recognising that I sometimes made things harder for myself. Sometimes I'd be stuck on how to finish a scene, or expressing something, and my writing would slow, until I would realise that sometimes things don't need to be written in exact detail. If you don't know how to get a character to walk out of a room, sometimes you can just end the scene there. Unless something is plot relevant, you can write around it, if it is an issue.

Sometimes, if I'm stuck on a story or a chapter, it helps to take a step back and figure out what the actual blockage is. Often it won't be what I think it is. Sometimes it isn't because I don't know how to write it, or I don't know what to write—sometimes I can't write a scene because I haven't seen the movie in a while, and all I need to do is find the battle on youtube and rewatch it. Sometimes it is because I don't know how an engine works, and I need to either look up the information, or make a note of it and move on to another scene.

And sometimes you just gotta clunk out a scene word after word, because once you do, it will be done, and you can always make it better later. You can't edit what isn't written.

3.

Writing Marvel gives me plenty of opportunity to deal with large casts. Generally what happens is I end up focusing on the relationship between a few main characters, while the other characters have less focus.

In my Alternative Timeline series, the relationships between Steve, Bucky, and Tony are the focus.

Of course, this doesn't mean I want to forget about the other members. You'll notice especially in Bucky and Tony's stories that they have secondary relationships with other people like Natasha, Bruce, Clint, Pepper, Peter, and Nebula. These secondary characters get scenes with the main characters too, kind of on a rotational basis.

So first tip is to trim down how many characters you are focusing on, and how many characters are interacting with each other in each scene.

In fics I will often have Thor be away on Asgard, or Clint and Natasha doing missions, etc, so they don't get underfoot.

That being said, there are times like during group meetings, when you can't avoid having everyone in the same room.

In those times, it is important not to forget who is in the room. I will literally count on my fingers, or write down lists of who is supposed to be at the table, so I can remember.

A good example of this on a small scale is Steve's birthday party in chapter 14 of The Alternate Handler. That one has almost every Avenger but Thor sitting in a circle, playing a game. I had specific moments in mind, so I needed to remember who was sitting by who. I wrote down the names in order so I wouldn't forget, and could properly situate people in my head.

An example on a bigger scale is chapter 26 of The Alternate End. In this chapter, the Avengers have a meeting with practically every other character who was there at the final battle.

Yet again, I pare down the cast a little. T'Challa and Shuri aren't there because they are in Wakanda.

To help keep control of the larger group, I start with a vague idea of where everyone is sitting, and then don't go into deeper detail than I have to.

In the scene, we know the Guardians, Peter, and Thor and Loki are all sitting kind of near each other, but I don't specify who is sitting next to who unless I need to.

I also have Tony looking around the table for a few hundred words, seeing each group, and slowly but surely introducing them to the reader. Tony hasn't seen the whole group for a while, so he has a reason to catch the reader up to speed on what has been happening. While he thinks about the life developments of the people around him, the reader starts to get an idea of who is in the room, and their general mood.

A final tip I often use is staggered entrances. If you have a large group, and something Plot Worthy needs to happen when Character A and B talk, then don't have the meeting ready to start right away.

Have some people already sitting, so that your POV character can process them, then have some more people come in, and then some more. (I do this in chapter 19 of The Alternate End, before the time travel jump.)

With a big group, you need time to show what needs to be shown, so give yourself the space to breathe and give the characters the right amount of attention.

I hope these tips and notes were helpful. Feel free to come back with more questions, or details about your own writing style if what I said doesn't work nicely for you!

And remember, these are just tips, not the golden rule.

Have a great day!

[bondibee]

Did you know I used to write fanfiction

Here's some 

(sfw laac stuff)

Glados tapped her nails on the arm of her chair. It had been a few months now, two months and seventeen days to be exact, and the sensation of moving her hands still hadn't quite gotten old. There was a novelty to it, having hands. It was interesting to walk around in her little human costume every now and then, even if it didn't serve any functional purpose at all. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It did serve a purpose in regard to her guest. 

It had been almost two weeks since Chell showed some humility and admitted that she needed glados in her life, and came crawling back to the safe haven of the enrichment center. 

13 days since Chell had moved in. 

Maybe she was more than a guest. She had her own room, after all. Well, more like her own apartment really. The first night she was back glados found herself harshly reminded of just how needy humans were, how they needed food and water and "a place to sleep that isn't the floor". And this one also needed privacy, the spoiled brat. So, to keep her from complaining or more importantly breaking anything else, glados had graciously given her one of the less damaged relaxation chambers to sleep in. Apparently that alone wasn't good enough for Her Royal Highness, she needed a bathroom and a lamp and fewer cameras. It took a lot of bickering and some very unappreciated threats but eventually a compromise was reached, and chell had her little apartment, and glados had an acceptable level of surveillance. 

It still felt strange. Glados flexed her hands and watched the way the black polish on her fingernails reflected the lights. Two of these nails had broken during the first proper test run of this body, during a fall down an elevator shaft. At that time she had next to no idea how to operate it, and it was all she could do to let Chell grab her around the waist and hope that they would survive the landing. 

That they would survive each other. 

She dismissed the thought before it had a chance to form. Chell wasn't anything to be feared. Yes, she was unstable, unpredictable, prone to violent outbursts, and physically much stronger than glados in this body, but that wasn't the end of the story. Glados was no longer trapped in flesh and blood, she could trade these arteries and vessels for the wires of her facility in an instant, and chell couldn't fight that. Not now, not this time. Glados knew her now. She would be prepared, the next time chell decided to try something. She would have the upper hand, and no one would get hurt. 

It did feel a little silly though, watching her sleep. 

In her sleep chell looked harmless. Just a tiny animal, fragile bone and muscle that would be so easy to throw down a pit and forget about forever. It was so much more complicated than that, of course. It always had been. Chell had to go and make everything complicated, when she came back and gave glados all these reasons to keep her alive. To keep her in the forefront of her thoughts.

She'd spared her before, in a similar situation, yet entirely different. Chell gasping for air before fading out of consciousness on the floor, a crumpled mess of bloody knuckles and matted hair that had run for too long on adrenaline and spite alone. Glados remembered watching her sleep then in the silence of peace after ridding the world of that blue menace, thinking how small she was, how defenseless, how close to death already. She could've been done with her forever, but chell had made it impossible. An unkillable pest.

Glados couldn't get a good view of her- there was one camera in chells bedroom and it was fixed toward the door, but she was there in the bottom left corner, just barely. It felt like watching a ticking bomb, waiting for the moment it would go off. Chell must have had a reason to come back, beyond the flimsy excuses she gave. 

"Because I missed you", "Because the surface world is full of headcrabs", bullshit. 

Glados knew that Chell was still bitter. Beneath the soft smiles and the calloused hands that so gently caressed her face, the heart of a killer was still beating. This calm couldn't last forever. It never had before. Glados drummed her fingers on her thigh. She wasn't afraid of Chell. She didn't know what this was. Something about how small her guest looked like this, with that piercing gaze hidden behind closed eyelids and dark hair draped over her shoulders. Something about how defenseless she was, and how she let herself be that way, even here, even now.

Glados had seen Chell sleeping up close before. Just once, and not for very long. She hadn't known what to do after she fell asleep- glados herself didn't do that, it seemed like a waste of time- so she'd slipped away, carefully removing chells arm from around her waist and shutting the door behind herself as quietly as she could. She looked even more vulnerable that time, without her clothes. 

Chell wasn't always a peaceful sleeper, though. Sometimes she woke up screaming- a sound that nearly startled glados into an error state and elicited some deeply buried primal sense of panic. Chell said she didn't remember her nightmares. Other times she stayed awake the entire night, staring at the wall or wandering around bored. Only once since she'd been back had she slept through the entire night. 

Chell wasn't moving now, but she wasn't asleep either. Glados could tell from her breathing. It wasn't any good for her to be sleep deprived all the time- she had joked with chell about the adrenaline vapor but that was actually more of an emergency protocol and they were kind of running low on it. And chell did have a job to do here, it's not like she was staying for free. So she couldn't be wandering around like a zombie all day because she couldn't sleep. Glados leaned closer to the monitor and crossed her arms. If it were any normal human it would be easy enough to force them into unconsciousness, but this was chell, and the thought of trying to make her take a pill or filling her room with sleeping gas made glados extremely nervous. She didn't want to invoke any unnecessary anger. But what else could she do…? 

Glados waited quietly. She watched the way chells breath moved her body in rhythmic waves, slow and steady. But still awake. 

*****

Chell sat up with a gasp- back straight and eyes wide in the dark. 

"It's me," glados said. Chell seemed to relax a little at that, but the tension didn't entirely leave her body. 

"... Everything okay…?" She murmured. 

"Yes, uhm…" glados paused, trying to think of a good way to phrase her request, of a good way to make chell think it was her idea. But, looking at that tired face, nothing came to mind. "...Can I sleep with you?" She asked. 

Chell blinked and furrowed her brow, as if she didn't understand the words. Her eyes flicked over glados's face. "I… uhm, yeah, I mean…" Chell shrugged, and gestured vaguely with her hand. She moved to make room for glados in bed, making some effort to straighten out the covers as she did. 

Glados felt strange, sitting on the edge of Chell's bed and taking off her shoes. She'd never done this before, actually gone to bed. It also felt strange sitting with her back to chell, even if she was currently so tired she had already settled back down on her pillow. She didn't like turning her back on her. But, she didn't do anything, not even as glados took off her blazer and set it aside. It was only when she started to pull back the covers that chell made a sound. 

"'re you gonna sleep in that…?" She half mumbled into her pillow. 

Glados looked down at herself, questioning. Did she mean her clothes? It was the same thing she always wore. "Yes?" 

Chell grumbled and very groggily sat up, reaching to rummage through the mess at the foot of her bed. It was amazing how quickly she'd managed to fill her room with useless garbage. Like the old t-shirt she thrust in Glados's direction. Aperture Science 5k and Fun Run, it read. Chell didn't even bother to look at Glados's disgruntled expression before settling back under the comforter.  

"Really?" Glados groaned. No answer. "Tch, fine…" as casually as she could, she stood up to undress. It's not like it mattered, it was nothing chell hadn't seen before, but… still. Pulling on a ratty old shirt that now smelled like sweat and… her. Glados couldn't place the feeling, but it was there, rumbling around in her chest. 

She ignored it and climbed into bed, and tried to get comfortable. There wasn't a ton of room, and glados pushed on chell's arm to make her move over. She didn't budge- a brick wall of a person in every sense. She pushed her again and this time chell swatted at her like a fly. 

"Stop," she mumbled into her pillow. 

"Move, I don't have any room."

"Tragic."

"Chell!" The big lug groaned and finally shifted her position, moving closer to the wall so glados wasn't almost falling off the bed. 

"Finally," glados grumbled. She pointedly adjusted her pillow and rested her head with a huff. Chell didn't even notice. That was probably fine, she needed her sleep after all. 

Chell slept better when glados was there. Well, there like this, as a warm body chell could touch and bother and suffocate with her stupid hair. It was pretty apparent looking at the records, that night when chell had fallen asleep by Glados's side was the one when she got the most rest. It was then when she'd actually gotten a full night's sleep, for the first time since she got back. So that's why glados had come tonight, to try to coerce her little human brain into some sort of relaxation that came from being near another human. To test a hypothesis. Or something. 

She couldn't deny that there were other reasons. 

Watching chell from afar was all well and good, keeping an eye on her from a safe distance was practical. But somehow it didn't feel the best. At times she felt too distant, too removed. She couldn't deny that she was grateful for the occasions when chell came to laze around in the central chamber, even if she was annoying, and distracting, and got dark hairs all over glados's chair. When she was nearby like that, it was different. More immediate. She was a living, breathing thing that glados could reach out and touch, bigger than her but still perfectly tangible. Comprehensible. Containable. As if glados laying beside her and gently resting her hand on chell's arm would somehow stop her from deciding she was fed up, and running away. 

Deep down, glados knew she could never try to stop her again. Not really. She didn't have it in her. Whatever part of her wanted to be here now was the same part that knew that however much they bickered, however many lunches were thrown, glados would never be able to land a finishing blow. And chell know that. Obviously she did, or she never would have come back. 

She held all the cards. Glados was essentially defenseless in the only way that mattered, and there was nothing keeping chell from taking advantage of that. Nothing at all. 

Glados tightened her grip on chell's arm ever so slightly. What was she doing here, really? Helping chell sleep, sure, but even she didn't believe that. What was it? 

As if on cue, chell stirred, and turned on her side to face glados. 

"Why did you come here…?" She asked. Her voice was different when she was tired, even deeper and more gravelly than usual. 

"Well I'm trying to sleep," glados said in the most dismissive tone she could muster. 

"Don't have your own bed…?" 

"No, I don't." 

Chell squinted at her. In the dark it was hard to make out her face, beyond the vague shadows of her eyes. "Really," she insisted. 

Glados sighed. "It looked like you were having trouble sleeping, I thought it might help if I… if you had some company." 

Chell was quiet for a while, but glados could feel her eyes on her. Eventually she yawned, and mumbled "I guess…" before settling back down.

"Hmpf." Glados would count that as a victory. "I'm doing this for your sake, so don't make me change my mind." She turned over- tugging the covers away from chell as she did- to face the edge of the bed. That was a miscalculation. She didn't like turning her back on chell. She didn't like not being able to see her. She didn't like this feeling of defenselessness, even if they were just going to sleep and Chell didn't seem to have the energy to do anything. It made her uneasy, but not in the simple way of sensing a threat. It was knowing she was in danger, but not feeling like she was.

It was trusting someone she knew she couldn't.

Glados stayed still for some time. She waited for chell to do something, but she didn't. It gave her plenty of time to wonder how the sleeping thing was supposed to work- or if she even could. She'd never done it before. It might be impossible for her. Usually when this body felt tired she would just leave it, and it would rest until she needed it again. This was a strange thing to do. And it was boring. She really hadn't thought this through. 

Eventually, something changed. An arm around her waist. A kiss on the crown of her head. 

"...What are you doing? Go to sleep," she chided.

Chell's voice was warm and quiet, if not a little hard to make out "...Isn't this something couples do?" 

Glados froze. "...Are we a couple?" 

"Are we?" 

She didn’t know what to say to that. There wasn't a clean answer. She ran through the possible outcomes of a few options but none of them were particularly good. What could she say?

Chell waited a minute or two for an answer that didn't come. After a while she conceded, "You don't have to answer that." 

Glados nodded. It wasn't like her to be at a loss for words- that was chell's job. 

She held onto her wrist when she tried to pull her arm away. Chell pulled her closer. Glados didn't know how to feel. But there was nowhere else she wanted to be. 

[princepestilence]

New Year’s Resolutions 2021.

It’s that time again. It’s time to make plans and goals for the year, likely to revisit and revise those plans and goals again in approximately three months when a new weird disaster happens. But! I’m still perversely looking forward to 2021, and here’s some of what I hope to do this year: 

Finish thesis. The last two years have put my timeline truly out of where I wanted to be, but that’s regrettably life. I want to strive to finish the thesis this year, so that I can graduate next year and move on to other cool projects without always thinking about how I should be working on my thesis instead.  End of year goal: finished draft, ready to finalise and submit. 

Find decent work. Not something I have a huge amount of control over, but something I’m hoping for all the same. In the meantime, I’m hoping to snag more teaching and also start up private tutoring and freelance work. Love that gig economy.  End of year goal: semblance of financial security? 

Regular letter-writing to friends. I’ve missed this! I have a lovely little desk by a window now and access to my nice paper and pens and whatnot, and I want to write to the people I care about a lot more. I’m aiming to send a letter to everyone each month (give or take, what with international mail being what it is).  End of year goal: a letter to each friend each month. 

Play and run more tabletop! 2020 was very much the year I finally got into tabletop games for real (as everyone predicted), and I really love it and I��d like to do more. I had a great time running Dread and I’m hoping to do that again soon, plus I want to keep playing D&D and also try out some new games. I’m thinking by the end of this year, I’d like to have tried out at least Monster of the Week, Blades in the Dark, Wanderhome, and possibly The House Doesn’t Always Win. End of year goal: play + run more tabletop! Try some new games. 

Set up a website + freelance. It’s time. I’ve been meaning to do it for a long time, but you know how it is. I’m aiming to get this happening this month or early next, so that I can start private tutoring when the school year starts up.  End of year goal: have professional website up and running. 

Go on nice dates with a boy? Kind of not really a goal but it would be nice. I did actually have a couple of nice dates towards the end of last year and got a cool new friend out of it, so I have some renewed faith in the potential of good lads out there. We shall see.  End of year goal: boy?

Read a new book a month. I don’t want to get too ambitious because sometimes when I do that I get quickly overwhelmed and fall behind my goals, so this year I’m setting the bar low. I’d like to read one (1) new book each month. Anything more than that is a wonderful bonus.  End of year goal: read twelve new books over the course of the year.

Walk! My general goal to start with is to walk for 20mins-1/2 hour every day, in the morning after I wake up--or in the evening if it’s too hot during the day. I’m aiming for 5k steps each day and I’d like to finish the year with 5k a day as my average steps. More than that is great, but 5k is reasonable and manageable place to start.  End of year goal: 5k steps a day average.  

Write! Towards the end of last year, things got too stressful and too busy to keep up with the writing and socialising that I’d gotten used to, so I want to resume that this year. I’m planning to regularly attend writing group, and work on some of my own writing again. It doesn’t really matter what: I’m going to write fanfiction, maybe start scaffolding some original work, have fun. That’s kind of where I want to be with all my projects this year: I want fun to be the point. I want joy to be the product.  End of year goal: chase your bliss, write words, have fun. 

Get more involved in local art events etc., submit/perform work in local zines and slam. Kind of following off the previous! I’ve missed the slam, so I want to start attending that again each month. I also want to start submitting some work to local collections + zines, and also learn what zines are and maybe volunteer some time to help friends with theirs. If I have the time, I’m planning on volunteering with Society City as well, and officially joining the SCWC as a member. I love this community and the people in it, and now that I live here full-time, I want to be more a part of it than I have been previously.  End of year goal: join SCWC, attend the slam, maybe perform?, volunteer to help out with projects, submit some work somewhere. 

Do the program and get better. Other than the thesis, I expect this to be the hardest thing I do this year. I’m already doing a lot better than I was, but it’s always an effort, it’s always in my mind, and I’m often frustrated with myself and the slow rate of progress. I’ve got about three more months of the program officially and I want to make it count. I know recovery isn’t a simple trajectory and it’s not something that’s ever really “finished,” but I want to end this year firmly recovered. I want to make changes that will last and build skills that will be there whenever I need them in the future.  End of year goal: recovery built on meaningful changes. 

Go skating! I had a lot of fun last time when we went skating and I’d love to do that more often, maybe once or twice a month. I’d love to be able to get my confidence back and feel comfortable on wheels again, and also it’s great exercise and a cute date night. End of year goal: go skating a few times. 

Study Japanese. I always find this one falls through the cracks. But I’m aiming to do a little each day, about fifteen minutes. I’ll have to carve out a routine so it doesn’t get lost in the busyness of life.  End of year goal: revise at least one full textbook.   

Audio recording. I’d love to build my confidence using audio and recording myself, because I often feel shy and self-conscious still when I do it. I’m hoping that by the end of this year, I can feel more at ease recording and sharing audio.  End of year goal: share some pieces of audio. 

When safe: do little trips to Sydney on weekends, go to the gardens and aquarium and zoo and museum and galleries. I had hoped to do this last year but obviously the plague prevented it. I’m hoping that when things are better here, I can go on little trips into the city to explore and enjoy some of what’s up there. I had a really wonderful time visiting Melbourne last year and also seeing the Thousand Demons exhibition in Sydney, and I’d love to visit more of the cultural spaces like that when time allows.  End of year goal: go to a few museums + galleries + other spaces, etc. 

[what2finish]

Creators & Bidders Information

If you do not find the answer to your question here, send an ask or email us as what2finish@gmail.com

____

Creators:

What counts as a WIPs?

The short answer is anything. It can be a work you’ve started or a prompt you thought was neat. It can be an idea of an alternative universe you want to work your fandom into. You can offer anything you wanted to try, but maybe have no concrete ideas for, as well (ie: a pairing you’re intrigued by, but have no WIP/HC for).

This event is to encourage you to make something you have wanted to do as a priority.

How many WIPs/prompts can I have?

There is no limit to how many WIPs and/or prompts you can list. We do ask that if you have a good chunk, around 5 or 6 longer ones, that you provide a link to a folder of them on your GDrive. You can always go into details or summaries of some of your favorites in the WIPs/prompt section of your creator post.

Can we include published WIPs as well - or is just stuff that hasn’t yet been shared for public consumption the only WIPs?

Sure can! Anything you want that little boost to help you cross a goal off your bucket list is welcomed!

Can I just have my bidders tell me what they want me to do?

Yes! You could just put your likes and dislikes/do not wants and ask potential bidders to contact you about their ideas or say you’re open to whatever bidders want (with exceptions of your DNWs).

Does the creator-winner relationship work like a commission?

No. You are under no obligation to give anything for credit anything to your winner, although we ask that you do notify your winner of the posting at least. However you want to work with your winner is up to you. If you would like to use this as a way to motivate you to finish something or as a way for someone else to decide what you work on next, and nothing else, that is up to you. As a kindness, we recommend putting your feelings of collabing/working in your winners like/etc. into your creator's notes.

What if I decide to add, drop, or change an auction?

If you decide to add or change anything in your auctions, please DM an admin or send us an email (what2finish@gmail.com). This also needs to be done if you change something on the Sign Up form. Just as long as you have contacted us to let us know if you’re redoing the form or doing a second add-on auction form, we will accept it.

If you do not contact us to tell us you are doing a redo form or doing an add-on form, your current information may not get updated.

If you wish to drop a second auction or drop out as a creator during the Sign up stage, please email us IMMEDIATELY. We understand that these are uncertain times. You do not need to give us a reason, you can simply write an email stating “I do not wish to have a second auction” or “I do not wish to be a creator anymore”.

What should I do for the starting bid?

We suggest starting your bid off low as it encourages bidders to bid.

Please feel free to do tiers for your bids. For example for fanfiction:

“If bidding reaches $20, I will write two of my smaller WIPs for the auction and at $30, two of my longer WIPs. If it goes pass $50, I’ll do two WIPs of bidder’s choice and one small fic that’s under 5k of the winner’s prompt.”

Also, consider your own commission prices or what others’ commission prices are. Your Art Path has a great section of advise for commission prices here.

Still uncertain of your starting bid? Talk to friends in your discord, tumblr, and/or fandom who participated as creators in other fandom charity auctions to ask if they can help you with your starting bid/bid increment. You can also check out Marvel Trumps Hate or Fandom Trumps Hate FAQs for their recommendations.  

Keep in mind, all of the winning bid will be going towards charity.

What should I put for my second auction if both will be for the same creation?

We recommend separating your auctions by fandoms so that your lesser known fandom has it’s own auction to shine in.

If you have multiple fandoms we want to work with, you might separate your auctions by more popular ships in one auction and less popular ships in another.

In reality, you don’t need to have two unique auctions.

What should I put in my “Creator Notes” section?

You can put your tiers here. You can put your limitations on how big or how many of your auction you will do. Be aware if you have something that states “For every $10 past $30 I will write 2k” and the final bid gets to $100, you have now promised at least 14,000 more words to what you initially offered.

What is the deadline for completing my winner(s) works?

The soft deadline for completed works is going to be December 1st, 2021. If you do not think you will be able to meet this deadline, please just keep us at WTF informed.

There is no hard rule for finishing. ‘Finished’ can just mean moving the ball down the court. If it’s another chapter or comic page, etc is up for bid, that’s fine. This event is to encourage you to work on things sitting in your WIP/prompt piles.

We recommend putting the information in your Creator Notes for your auction.

Can I bid as well as be a creator?

Yes! Please feel free to do both. We would love to have you bid to your heart’s (or wallet’s) desire. Join a podbid! Or Seven! Hype up other creators! Ask one of your favorite fandom creators if they’re interested in joining the fun too!

Where and how do I post my completed Auction work?

You can complete it however you prefer! You can post it on tumblr and link the @what2finish blog if it’s a shorter story. You can post on Ao3 in the collection WTF Philippines Relief 2020. If you are posting anywhere else that we ask that you make a tumblr post with a link to the story so we can reblog your story on our blog and mark your Auction work completed.

There are no posting rules to your completed work besides to tag for anything nsfw or possible triggers. You can post it all together or one chapter at a time. You can post multiple series, it’s all up to you.

____

Bidders:

Do I need to sign up to bid?

No. You will need a working email address so we can contact you if you win an auction. Just fill out the bid form during Auction week; November 22nd to November 28th, 11:59:00pm CST.

What name do I use for bidding?

You can use a fandom name or a nickname, whatever name you are comfortable with.

What is Preview Week?

Preview week is the week when all the creator posts will be upload and the Masterpost of creators will be released on the tumblr. It will give bidders the chance to browse all the auctions before Auction Week to find creators and auctions they want to bid on. This will also give last minute creator sign ups and the mods a chance to make sure everything is spick and span for Auction Week.

Can I contact creators before Auction Week?

Please do! Ask after their auctions! Ask about their WIPs or ideas! Ask about pairings! Clarify their wants and do not wants with them!

In fact, if you have a creator in mind for this charity event, ask them to consider joining!

The Auction ends when I’m unavailable, what do I do?

We understand that with the time difference all around that world, there are bound to be some who are in a time zone that doesn’t align nicely with Central Standard Time. In this case we suggest getting a proxy bidder to help you out. If you cannot find your own, you are more than welcomed to contact us (ask or email) and we will put out a call to our followers for someone who is willing to be a proxy for you.

When will I get my confirmation email I won?

The mod team will be working to get the winner’s emails out to them as soon as the auction ends. Please keep in mind that gmail only allows a certain number of emails to be send out at a time. This means the emails will be sent out in batches and depending on the auction, it might take a few days to get your winning confirmation email.

Please do not get in contact with the creator or donate until you get your confirmation email you have won the auction.

What do I do if I win an auction?

You will get an email within the next two to three days after the auction closes confirming your win and asking you to donate to one of the charities listed. As stated in the last answer above, please do not donate or contact your creator for the auction until after you have received your confirmation email and you have donated.

But, once your have gotten your confirmation email and you have donated, the mods will send an email with both you and your creator. From there, it will be up to you guys to figure out the auction win from there.

Can I donate more than my winning bid?

Yes! The more the merrier. There is no limit to the donations you can make. 

I would like to have the craft/artwork or be part of the creation process as the winner, can I?

That will be between you and the creator you won. If they do not specifically state they will give you their work, they are under no obligation to give it. If you are unsure of their stance, or it is not listed that they are looking to work with the bidder, please reach out to the creator to ask them. 

[firestorm1991]

Writer/Reviewer Etiquette

So, I've been seeing quite a bit of negativity in all fandoms. I recently had this experience  on my birthday, no less.  Fellow writers I speak with have experienced it too, and so I'm taking time to write this message in hope that it will help.  There are rules of etiquette we as writers or reviewers should follow.

  1. Bad grammar doesn't equal a bad story.

I used to be guilty of thinking that a story with awful grammar was truly terrible.  Some actually are and you can tell when a person puts no thought into it (especially when they write in chat speak). However, as I've grown, I learned there are many reasons for poor grammar in a story, and usually the plot is still pretty amazing.

The writer could be a teenager just dipping their toes into the writing world, and teens are very impressionable.  Excessive criticism could crush a beginner so badly.

The person could have dyslexia or bad eyesight.  I discovered I was slightly dyslexic and no matter what I do, there's always a few errors even after I and others go over my work.  Some of my writer friends also suffer from dyslexia and impaired eyesight due to health issues and medications.  It doesn't stop them from writing.  

Then there are people for whom English is their second language.  I’ll bet they can still write better than some of the people who call them out on poor grammar (while said people have poor grammar in their criticisms).  Also, if you try writing in their language, I’m sure they could say the same about your grammar too.

If you notice a story with bad grammar, please don't attack your fellow writer.  If you want to do something about it, send the author a private message and ask if they need a beta.  If you don't want to beta, ignore it and just enjoy the story.  You can see how an author improves over time.  That's why they're writing. in addition to fun and stress relief.  Don't make it worse for them.

The same goes for the reviewer.  Don't attack the author.  Whether you're a reader or writer yourself, telling someone their story is awful because of “awful grammar” is only going to hurt them if they're really trying.  That young, impressionable writer may give up altogether because of unkind words.  That person trying to learn English may walk away.  There's always a better way to handle it without degrading or embarrassing a person.

2. Constructive criticism and flames are two different things.

So apparently for me and a few friends, this week is flame week.  That's why I’m bringing it up.  Everyone receives negative reviews.  That's life, and not everyone has to like everything you do.  That being said, if you don't like a story, then you don't have to read it.  If you still want to give your opinion, you're welcome to it, but please do it in a constructive manner.

If you curse at the author, attack them, and tell them they're horrible or their story is horrible, leave harassing messages on multiple projects, or are just downright nasty, that's a flame.  A flame is nothing more than a temper tantrum.

I've been asked how I deal with flames.  Usually the attack is from a guest reviewer that I cannot reply to without calling them out in public, which they want.  They want a rise out of you.  I handle this by moderating my guest reviews.  If the reviews are neutral or constructively negative, then I let them post.  If a reviewer is attacking me and being overly negative, I delete them.  Like I said, flames are temper tantrums and I don't reward that behavior.  Just don't engage, and ignore them.  They just want you to add fuel to their fire.

Most negative reviews I've received that were constructive were from another writer or user who identified themselves, and I was able to discuss issues with them.  Sometimes it was a trigger for them or sometimes they just had really good advice.  Either way, these politely constructed reviews allow writers to grow, and that's how you should construct your complaints.  "I don't like the story because of this specific reason and I don't know how I feel about it" is much better than "your story is awful" and "stories just keep getting worse and worse."

3. Don't demand updates.

Writers appreciate excitement.  "Please update soon" or "I can't wait until the next chapter" is just as good as "I'm really enjoying the story.  Nice work."  But every so often, all writers come across the review that says: "Update," usually right after they have just updated.

It probably took them a ton of time to write that 5K word chapter; weeks to months depending on life and work...or God forbid, illness.  We love reviews, but it's just rude to demand something you've just received, most of the time which we are doing for free.  If you'd like to request an update, just add a "please" to that.  It's only ONE extra word.  Thank you!

4. AUs don't mean the writer doesn't know the source material.

I've seen a lot of people get heat for AUs, which surprises me. I write a lot of AU stories, and I just recently received heat for my newest one. AU stands for “alternate universe,” and is an original story with elements from the source material.  Most of the time, there are many callbacks to the source material and a lot of world-building and character development to explain the changes.  They aren't written to be compared to the source material.  They're written for fun and to creatively mold characters we already know and love into something new.

5. If a writer changes something from the source material, it's because they like a challenge.

This isn't just for AU stories.  Sometimes even in canon stories, details can be changed.  It is fanfiction after all and, honestly, diverting from the source material isn't the worst thing.  Some writers do this to challenge themselves.  There's no need for anyone to tell them they don't know what they're doing.  This recently happened to a friend of mine, and that's why it's fresh on my mind.

6. OCs are not always awful. They can have side stories, too.

Another friend experienced this one, receiving a hateful review about focusing on an OC that most really like.  I'll admit, I'm not always a fan of OCs.  I’ve read many good and iffy OC stories.  Honestly, I've written many good and iffy OC stories.  They aren't for everyone, but that doesn’t make them any less valid. They can have backgrounds and  stories all their own, and a writer should not be berated because of it.  If you don't like it, just move on.

7. Stories about writers and the challenges they go through are not self-inserts.

Surprisingly, this was my most recent complaint with my current AU.  I was accused of writing a story all about what I “wish I could become.”  For some writers, including me, this is our hobby.  It's an outlet and very calming.  Sometimes when we characters who are writers in our stories, it's just to jokingly express the challenges we do face in writing.  No need to be nasty about it XD

8. Our stories are sometimes deeply personal.

Readers may not realize this, but writers put a little piece of their soul into each story they write.  Some may be self-inserts, but most are not.  Sometimes we use our own life experiences in the story, mainly because it's what we know, but also to offer support and help to someone who may be going through the same things.

So, before you plan to write a hateful remark or two, you may want to think about what the writer may have endured the reason the story exists - and don't get mad if we're projecting on your favorite character.  Trust me; the character development will be much better with patience.  You may even get insight on how to better deal with someone suffering from a particular issue (e.g. grief, depression, health issues).

9. If you don't like a story, give a reason why.

Normally, I say the oldie but goodie: if you don't like it then don't read it, but some people really can't keep their opinions to themselves.  That's fine.  We do have freedom of speech and everything is entitled to their opinion.  But, writers have a right to constructive feedback.  Saying "you suck, your story sucks, and I don't like it" isn't really constructive.

If you don't like a story, give us a reason.  If it moves too slow, the writer needs to know that so they can speed it up.  If there's a plot point you find disturbing, the author needs to know so they can put a warning somewhere in the story.  If you just don't like it, say there's something about it you don't like and that it's not your cup of tea; that's fine.  There's plenty of ways to let us know your opinion without being rude about it.

10 . Respond to all reviews if you can, but don't react to bad ones.

This is mainly for writers.  It's polite to respond to all reviews, even the one-word ones.  You can write a simple "thank you" to those ones.  I usually give back what I receive.  You can acknowledge guests in your chapters either individually, collectively, or simply thank everyone who read and reviewed.

That being said, if someone is being particularly aggressive or hurtful in a review, you can ignore them.  You may think it's rude, but as I said; give what you get.  If they're rude to you first, don't fire back. Leave it and let them wallow and wait.  They're undeserving of your time and mental health.  If it's just a negative response without insults or aggression, you can respond and say that you're sorry they feel that way, but you stand by your story and wish them well in finding another one.

11. Don't be arrogant.

Everyone has different styles.  Writers have different levels of vocabulary, different ideas.  Some stories may be better than others.  Be humble about it.  You can be proud of your work, but never use it as a way to lessen someone else's.

12. Don't cause drama.

It happens everywhere in life as it is.  A lot of us are looking for an escape from the drama in our lives.  We are trying to do our best and make connections with others who love the same couples, books, and stories we do.  We're not looking for more angst.  So before you start causing problems for another person, not just a writer but anyone, rethink it.  Some people may crave drama, but they can look for it elsewhere.

13. Be kind.

I can't believe I have to say this one, but it's necessary.  I've witnessed so many in the writing world being trashed and feeling awful.  Just be nice to each other!

Writing is supposed to be a fun way to express ourselves. It takes a lot of time, effort, and will.  The writing community is large with different personalities.  We may not all like what we read or get along with everyone.  This is life, not grade school, and we should treat each person the way we want to be treated.

If something about this post resonated with you then reblog it, and if you can think of any other topics I might have missed, add to it.  Let's spread proper etiquette around.  It's just common courtesy.  Thanks, everyone! ^^

[allisonilluminated]

How To Pace a Fanfiction

Hey All,

We're going to talk about pacing today, but let me start by telling a story.

When I published my first fic, Serena's Sister (Pokemon, T), I had no idea where I was going to go with it.  All I knew was that I had a cool idea and enough inspiration to turn it into words.  In my entire life, the longest thing I had ever written was seven thousand words, so I was understandably amazed when I wrote three thousand words in two day. At the time, that seemed like a ton, and I was nowhere close to slowing down.

By the time summer rolled around, I had finished the first part of my story, and I was ecstatic.  60k was more words than I had written in my entire life, and I still wasn't close to done!  Happy, I set my story aside for the summer, ready to come back in the fall and finish it for good.  I had the plot, I had my characters, and there was nothing that could stop me.

There was just one thing I hadn't accounted for – I had become a much better writer than I was when I had started.

I came back, and suddenly my chapters were exploding in length.  I wrote five thousand words one week, then six the next.  The scope of my project ballooned too – it wasn't just a drama between sisters anymore.  Now, it was about Erin, Paul, and Korrina, but also Serena, Ash, and their group, but also Alain, Mairin, and the Ninja Village, but also friend drama with Elle, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor, but also high stakes political drama about Diantha, Cynthia, and Malva, but also villainy with Team Rocket and Lysandre, all while following an overarching plot spanning continents and time lines and dimensions.  Plus, since the fandom was Pokemon, every single one of those characters had a team of at least two Pokemon, all of whom had their own personalities and movesets to keep track of.

Is it any wonder I hit a dead end?

I'm really proud of Serena's Sister – as my first and so far longest story, it holds a special place in my heart.  It has tons of problems – plot holes galore, underdeveloped characters, major fanservice, a protag who borders on Mary Suedom, etc.  However, I think the biggest problem with the story is the pacing.  To understand what I mean, here's my forty chapter story broken down into ten chapter chunks:

Chapter 1-10 (Part One):

Word Count – 26,206 words

Main Perspectives – Two (Erin, Serena)

Protagonists – Six (Erin, Serena, Bonnie, Clemont, Paul, Ash, Elle)

Time Frame – A Few Weeks

Chapter 11-20 (Part One):

Word Count – 32,110 words (+ 5,904 words)

Main Perspectives – Four (+2 Team Rocket, Clemont)

Protagonists – Seven (+1 Korrina)

Time Frame – A Few Weeks

Chapter 21-30 (Part Two):

Word Count – 58,665 words (+ 26,555 words)

Main Perspectives – Eleven (+7 Ash, Elle, Mairin, Alain, Diantha, Zygarde, Froaky)

Protagonists – Twelve (+5 Mairin, Alain, Diantha, Zygarde, Cynthia)

Time Frame – One Week

Chapter 31-40 (Part Two):

Word Count – 59,221 words (+ 556 words)

Main Perspectives -  Fourteen (+3 Korrina, Bonnie, Sawyer)

Protagonists – Seventeen (+5 Shauna, Trevor, Tierno, Yuki, Sawyer)

Time Frame – Five Days and One Timeskip

The problems here should be pretty obvious.  From part one to part four, there was a 126% increase in word count, three times as many protagonists, and 3.5 times as many perspectives – all in a much shorter in story timeframe.  

More importantly, people tend to look for average word count per chapter when they look for stories.  Serena's Sister looks like it has a 4k average word count, but in reality part one has a 2k average and part two has a 6k average.  Once people hit the longer chapters, a lot stop reading, which is the biggest problem with bad pacing.

Okay, so that's the problem with bad pacing.  How do I fix my pacing in future stories?

Here are some strategies to work on your pacing.  None of these are necessary, and it's up to you to figure out what works for you.

Standardize your chapters.  This is the best way to fix your pacing issues – make all of your chapters roughly the same length.  Your goal shouldn't be to produce as much as possible, but rather to make the most cohesive product you can.  Major variation with chapter length is jarring, and it can take a reader out of the story.  Some common standard chapter lengths people use are 2k-3k, 5k-7k, and 10k to 12k.  It's super important that you understand how much you feel comfortable writing, so you don't overshoot how many words you can realistically put into a regular chapter with your goal. This doesn't necessarily include first chapters, which can be shorter, or finales, which can be longer.

Standardize your sections.  A lot of people tend to split their stories into parts – both of my main projects are.  One problem Serena's Sister had was part one only had twenty chapters, while part two was just as long when I hit a wall yet I wasn't close to where I thought the part should end. Try to think about your parts like separate narrative arcs making one longer arc.  If you can make each part about the same number of chapters, your story will feel a lot smoother for it.  It's like building a rhythm – breaking it can throw your readers off.

Limit Your Scope. It's totally cool to want to rewrite an entire show.  Chances are, you're not going to have the endurance to make it all the way through.

Case and point – Ashes of the Past by Saphroneth (Pokemon, T).  It's a time travel fic encompassing every character and event from the first thirteen seasons of the anime in a comprehensive reworking of history.  He's almost done, too – his plot revolves around events from the fourth generation (Pokemon has seven) and that's what he's currently writing.  There's a reason his story is the most popular in the fandom – it's fantastic.

You know what else?  He's been writing it since 2011.  There are 250 chapters and 1.5m words.  There are more rotating perspective and plot points than I can keep track of.  On top of all of that, Saphroneth writes really sparse prose, so imagine how long it would be if he had lots of extra detail and description.

Know your limits.  What's the story you want to tell, and what do you actually need to tell it?  If the background political intrigue arc can be summed up in a single line of dialogue from a secondary character, does it really deserve 10k words of your time?  Tell your story, not every story, because that's what the readers want to see.  This includes limiting your perspective characters, sending unnecessary subplots to the background, and above all understanding what your focus is.

In short, you don't have to turn your idea into an ASOIAF scale project just because it's a possibility.  Control your muse.

Time management.  You know that moment you're reading a fic and thinking, “This is taking them a really long time?”  Guess what – sometimes that's because it is, in fact, taking a really long time to describe a really short period of time.  Try to avoid any jarring or unannounced time skips, or spending too much time on one short time frame.  This is a lot more flexible, so this point is mostly to the extremes.  It's just as important to think about how much time is elapsing in the story as outside.

Your writing style sets the tempo.  Every story has different pacing.  Recognize what speed you want to be going at in the first place!  Are you writing a fast paced thriller or a slow burn romance?  The meatier your prose, the faster your story will feel.  Keeping your style steady is something a lot of people don't have to think about, but knowing what your goal for pace is is super important.

Outlining.  I don’t personally outline, but it can be a wonderful tool for setting out your plot and keeping to a set road map.  Having a good outline can often be enough to alleviate pacing issues, although checking your scope is still incredibly important.

Essentially, the key to good pacing is consistency.  Good pacing shouldn't be noticeable, because pacing is what keeps your reader in the story.  It gives a story a sense of cohesiveness that's essential for an immersive reading experience.  How do you pace your stories?  What's your experience with bad pacing?

Thank you all, Allie

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[stormears]

Naruto Meme

Nobody tagged me for this. I do what I want. 

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F A V O R I T E

Female Character - Sakura Haruno.

Male Character - Kakashi, Gaara, Sasori or Madara. 

Team - Team Kakashi. Or New Team Kakashi, since that version doesn’t have Sasuke in it. 

Sensei - Kakashi

Hokage - Tobirama.

Kage - Tobirama! Gaara is a close second. 

Village - I guess Konoha since most of my favorites are from there and it has pleasant and predictable sunny spring weather 95% of the year. 

Akatsuki Member - Sasori has been my fave for years, but I also really love Kakuzu. I have a Kakuzu rubber strap thing on my keys. 

Episode/Chapter -  Shippuden episodes 25 and 26, these are the well-animated Sasori vs Sakura episodes that highlighted one of Sakura’s best accomplishments across the whole story. I also liked that two-minute sequence in 322 where Edo Tensei’d Madara decimates the Shinobi Army. There’s a two-second shot in it of a female soldier holding a cross to her face and praying before the fight begins, which I think is one of the absolute best visual reminders that people are terrified of Madara. It had a much stronger impact than the endless power gimmicks or characters’ repeated poorly scripted exclamations of “wow he/this technique is so powerful.” 

Fight Scene - Sakura vs Sasori! Or Kakashi vs Hidan and Kakuzu. 

Fanfiction -  I love so many fanfictions. I’ve been creepily attached to fanfictions since I was 12. If I had to pick a favorite I gueeeess I’d go with He Had No Fingers by Gleam. Kyuubi is a monstrous, conscious-less god whose influence eats away at child Naruto easily. He takes over Naruto and then Konoha and the world is next. Made me woozy reading it the first time, I’ll never forget. 

Story Arc - Rescue Gaara Arc, I guess, but I don’t enjoy whole arcs as much as I do small, separate moments or scenes or even just manga pages in the story. 

Filler - Aren’t the movies filler? I kind of enjoy the third movie where Lee, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi act as bodyguards for a fat, lazy prince, his son, and the son’s saber-toothed circus tiger. 

What is your…

OTP (explain why) - I’m a crackshipping freak who builds 30k+ long stories and worlds to support romantic scenes of my weird ships, don’t ask me this. 

NoTP (without being a dick, explain why) - I do not like like Sasuke or Karin, and seeing them romantically together is not any improvement to me. I think that Sasuke never went through emotional growth or recovery and only changed his loyalties near the end of the war because Kishimoto was desperate, overworked, and weakly reaching for finish line, and many characters and story events reflected that reality. I waited years’ worth of manga chapters and episodes for him to change and by the time he did, I was long past buying it. Karin was a screechy, annoying brat from Day 1 and never improved her attitude or personality, but I didn’t enjoy seeing her used as a meat shield by Danzo, either. In short, two bad characters don’t make a good pairing. 

Crackship/s - My worst and favorite offenses are probably SasoSaku, since 2007-ish and MadaSaku since 2010. 

BroTP - This is barely present in my writing, but, kinda, Ino and Sakura. Maybe Kakuzu and Konan. 

OT3 - I don’t know what this means besides 3 characters I want to see having an orgy or engaged in a polygamous relationship? I guess I could be coerced into reading/liking those but there’s none in particular that I like consistently or remember offhand.

Crossover ship - I don’t crossover ship. Not opposed to it, the examples I’ve seen talked about briefly on tumblr (mostly in anime confession blogs) are intriguing, but I don’t have a ship like this myself. 

M I S C E L L A N E O U S

Do you have any headcanons? All sorts of assorted things. Ino’s mom is a civilian. Itachi WISHES he was a civilian or could retire and live a peaceful domestic life. Shino likes art and would read art/art criticism magazines if Naruto-land has those, and could be friends with Sai. Kisame loves boardgames and is a good sportsman in any game or sport he plays. Sakura likes to read non-fiction/informational books more than novels. Tenten loves horses. Kiba is really close to his sister but doesn’t want people outside the family knowing that because he’s scared other guys will make fun of him. Civilian children stay in school till roughly age 16, compared to the Ninja Academy graduating age of 12. 

Are you happy with the ending? Would you have done things differently? I’m not happy with it, but I’m also not invested in it enough to really care. It was always the characters, not the story, that drew me into Naruto (maybe just the basic skeletons of the characters at that, skeletons I could build onto and “fix” in fanfiction). To “do things differently” I would fix a lot more than the ending, though if I could erase ONE thing from the ending it would be the sudden prevalence of modern-day technology like skyscrapers, laptops and handheld video games. 

How do you feel about the Next Generation? Shrug. Boruto and Himawari are cute and remind me of me and my big brother a bit. I kinda liked the first few weeks of the manga’s ending, when there was still confusion about whether to call him Boruto or “Bolt,” because I was rooting for Bolt.  

Say something about your favorite character. Sakura Haruno had huge expanses of room for improvement in her ninjutsu, tactics, and respect given to her by other characters and by viewers and all of this was squandered by an author who had many other, bigger problems to deal with and was probably indifferent to her at best. She is safer in the hands of fans, of artists and writers, who treat her better and create better content about her than her creator did. She has been adopted by several thousand loving moms and a few dads and will be well cared for. 

What would a child between your OTP look like? Going for my crackships here again. SaoSaku child has red hair, but Sakura’s face and her mom’s outspoken attitude and a talent for musical instruments. MadaSaku child, lord, I don’t know. I like to think the pink or at least reddish hair would prevail but all laws of the universe say Uchiha black hair always wins. The child would, at least, have the thickest and most gorgeous head of hair in town. 

Say something genuinely nice about your NoTP.  Some people out there really like it, and it and content about it makes them happy in the way that my favorite ships make me happy, and that’s good stuff. Glad for them. 

Say something negative about your OTP. They’re groundless nonsense pairings that I would be embarrassed to ever acknowledge outside my tiny internet circles and both the men involved in those two pairings are canonically horrible people who ought to be stabbed.

Is there any way you could be convinced to ship your NoTP? I would need a fanfic, 5k+ length minimum, but I could go up to 20k, allowing time and space for them to calm down and recover from their respective traumas and get over their respective dumb bitch attitudes, and then slowly build a friendship that becomes a romance, ideally with a storyline and theme and a writing style that I could get behind. Not to mention the time of day to read a doorstop novella like that. 

What makes you mad about the series? The War Arc’s need to make every important character as powerful as possible crushed any sense of threat or disbelief. The constant upping of the stakes was annoying and came off as desperate (though I strongly believe that behind it was an overworked zombie Kishimoto mindlessly trying to fill that week’s page quota and wondering if he would ever have an actual life again).

If you could see anything happen in the series, what would it be? The final arc is the Akatsuki invading Konoha with the intention of kinapping/killing Naruto, but the entire village has rallied and is prepared to fight. The story cuts between three or four fights between Akatsuki and Konoha ninja till all Akatsuki are defeated. Maybe reveal Madara as the secret leader of the Akatsuki and defeat him here, too. During the conflict, Naruto has proven himself for the final time, is adored by the village, crowned Hokage within a year or so, happy ending. Pairings left undetermined or hinted at vaguely. Fin. (Other possible ending at bottom of post)

What would you say to Kishimoto if given the chance? I’m so sorry for the hardship and stress you endured all these years, all that time away from your family. I still have to thank you for all the joy your story brought to me. It allowed me to get closer to my friends, make new friends, even start to tap into my own writing ability. You did all that for me without even knowing it. I’ll always be grateful to you! 

In your opinion…

Most attractive male? Sometimes I think it’s Madara, and sometimes I’ll see some screenshot of a poorly animated episode and think he looks awful and I’m embarrassed that ever liked him. Sasori has this unjustly beautiful face that I love but definitely a few shots in is episodes where he looks kinda...off. Kakashi’s pretty unarguably attractive, though, so he’s a safe bet for most attractive. 

Most attractive female? Lol depends on the fanartist, I’ve seen gorgeous art for almost all female characters. In the manga or anime, I don’t really find any of them attractive. 

Most overestimated? Plenty, especially given the war arc. Sasuke or Itachi? At least years ago when I actually followed forums and manga review blogs (not on tumblr) there seemed to be a consensus that Sasuke could do anything, by kicking up enough notches on his Susano’o, and later some said that for Itachi, and then Madara showed up and could rarely be actually overestimated, and then Kaguya was a literal god and, ugh...

Not appreciated enough? Tobirama! 

What is the greatest thing about Naruto? It’s brought me a lot of personal happiness.

The worst? How the quality of its writing drifted from “meh” to “ugh” over the years. 

The saddest moment? There’s a few pages in the manga that show Naruto slowly gaining more friends as he gets older while Gaara stays alone in a space of empty desert that gets wider and wider as he goes to his knees. A strong and painful reminder that while one person may be smiling and enjoying life, simultaneously another is being strangled by the crushing misery of their own life. I’m so glad for Gaara finally fixing himself and finding real happiness. He’s the character who went through the best development and most change in the story, bar none. 

The most defining? The Chuunin Exam Arc is what most people remember, in my experience. But to me the first opening song of Shippuden “defines” it in my mind. 

Rant about anything…

GO! I never once imagined that this could happen in canon/reality, but I think the greatest way to end the story would be for Naruto himself to have to kill Sasuke. This would hammer in a message to the story that I think it could really use: despite Naruto’s hopes and good intentions, despite all his hard work, he cannot save everyone. And it would give a real sense of consequence. I never once felt that the main cast was in danger from all the fireballs, summoning animals, 10-ton rocks that hit them in the fucking face and never left more than a light scratch or dust mark on their steroid Hercules bodies. Even in a war the likes of which Ninjaland has never seen, bringing more and more godlike charcters together whose powers could end thousands of people in seconds, Neji seems to be the only notable casualty (lol bye Neji) and for all the good guys to make it out of such a conflict alive and well is absolute horseshit and not worthwhile storytelling of a war. Somebody important has to lose a battle, or lose someone they love, or lose a limb, something! Let me believe that any of these fights matter! Let me really feel that this conflict, this battlefield is dangerous and people are scared for their lives and hurt but fighting anyway, let me see something besides this gross, hollow shonen movie poster of good guys overcoming bad just by virtue of being good guys with dumbshit magic powers that the author-god gave them for free. Let me take these characters and put them in the hands of some fanfic writers who could write better fights than these in their sleep. Let me read fanfic instead. 

[gffa]

A bunch of replies and collating things because people are super sweet.  A lot of navel gazing about social interaction, my lizard brain, and talking to people/writing of fic recs. (Basically, the short version:  I have weird lizard brain thoughts!  But if I’ve recommended a fic of yours--or even if I haven’t!--you can be 100% sure I really, really will enjoy you popping up to say hi or thanks for the comment or whatever.)

updiddlyupup said: idk if it helps any, but you recced my fic recently and it actually gave me the motivation to get writing again after being stalled for a while. So, thanks :)

lalijinx said: I usually keep to myself online because I have anxiety, but I have to say I adore all your Star Wars posts! (You may have noticed me liking them all the time) I don’t have anyone irl to share all my Star Wars PT feelings so it’s nice to see someone else who also has the same emotions I do :)

prideandprejudiceandkittens said: always here to chat, if it’s cool with you I will continue to reach out to you with squeeing and such :)

theartisintheediting said: I also have anxiety and OCD and get upset over Anakin I feel u

w3-4r3-th3-f1r3 said: Yo hit me up for a chat anytime. I seriously get it with that whole “if I interact with anyone they’ll hate me” but I’ve been trying really hard to get over that so like…you’re welcome to talk to me anytime, basically, and I’m already cursed anyway. I can take your curses if you’re going to curse me, I don’t mind. :)

sunshinedaysforever answered: honestly your recs are the highlight of my wednesdays - I have a hard time sorting through all the fic out there, but I always find something in your recs (and I’m flattered to be sometimes included)! I’ve found a few faves that way, definitely :)

laurelseas answered: Only if you feel like it - I’ve read pretty much every SW fanfic by now, but sometimes I do see a new one of your recs, so that’s lovely

bellagothic answered: i used to go through them and read a thing or two at some point

aliaskallistei answered: Glad you’re feeling better! I’m a terrible interactor but just wanted to say that more recs would be wonderful.

sophiegaladheon answered: I definately find your posts useful when I’m looking for some new fic to read. You give great recs. So if it’s something you want to do know it will continue to be appreciated.

miseria-fortes-viros answered: I LOVE them, but whatever you decide is totally fine! :) I’ve actually been introduced to quite a few fics through your recs. They’ve been super helpful, thanks!

laureas76 reblogged this from darthluminescent and added:  Whenever I’m in the mood for a marathon of fanfiction instead of writing, I’ve looked to your blog. Thank you so much for the recommends you’ve done! I’d say if the fic recs are getting too be to much then please consider publishing every other week. Thanks again. You’ve been a life saver to my GB and my eyes!

kitsunesongs answered: They re VERY INTERESTING and useful and something I love, so please keep doing the recs! Maybe make a masterpost of your rec lists?

writegowrite answered: I’m so busy writing it’s hard for me to go out and find good ones on my own, so I appreciate them! But I know it’s got to be a lot of work for you and would understand if you didn’t pick them back up.

the-queenmaker answered: I enjoy them a great deal (:

I’m putting these all together because a) I want to and b) to say thank you for all the really sweet, lovely replies. I spent a fair amount of time thinking about this whole thing, about fannish interaction and level of involvement in fandom and my own emotional investment, where the lines for each of these things should be drawn and what I wanted vs what was good for me.  It was a whole lot of navel gazing stuff, but when you have fucked up brain chemistry, sometimes these things chew on your thoughts more than you’d like. I’ve been doing fic recs for a long time, probably at least 12 years now, if not closer to 15.  I enjoy reading more than I do writing (it takes me so long to get comfortable with the character voices that I haven’t been able to broach writing SW fic yet) and I have only so much energy for things and it’s a lot more satisfying to read a 20k fic than it is to write my own 5k fic. But because I’ve been doing them so long, they’ve come to have more weight in my mind than maybe they once did, they’ve started to become part of The Thing Moonlight Does In Fandom and I use them as a way to encourage more of what I want to see, a way to spill out my feelings when I’ve read something I really liked, as a way to share what I thought was really neat.  I have a ton of social anxiety, so it’s really hard for me to approach someone first, hence creating this space (ie, the recs) where I can gush and if you come over to me, then I know, yes, you do want to talk to me. It’s probably unfair, I know a lot other people are nervous about interacting with someone for quite possibly the same exact reasons I am!  But the lizard brain does what it does and I try to get around it by being as approachable as I can be.  But I keep thinking, well, okay, if I say enough thoughtful things, authors will come say hi and thanks for the rec and then I can go HI I LOVE YOU LET’S BE FRIENDS HERE’S THREE MORE PARAGRAPHS ON THAT THING YOU WROTE THAT I LOVED.  Look, I’m doing my best to get around my social anxiety and my OCD (if I comment on your fic before establishing a rapport, I’m cursing you! IT HAS HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES, my lizard brain tells me), so don’t judge me, okay.   *g* Anyway, I think I was rolling my way towards a point here somewhere.  I don’t know if I was fishing for compliments, per se, (idk I didn’t think so but if I was I’m going to work really hard at not feeling embarrassed or guilty about it) but I think it was honestly more about needing to feel connected a bit, to know that I wasn’t just screaming into the void.  And I had to really look at myself and accept that maybe that was true, that I had to be okay with it (or okay with walking away) if it was true. This is just... a thing... that happens with me every couple of years, but I’m getting better at reaching out, at going OKAY WHAT DO YOU WANT to myself, trying to figure out what I want from myself, possibly from other people, what the solution is that would make me happy/content again, instead of how I just used to wallow in those feelings and wait for someone else to fix my feelings for me. (Look, there’s a reason I relate to Anakin so much, okay.) And everyone’s very kind messages really helped me feel super flattered and you were all so kind and I think... I mean, even more than the compliments (WHICH ARE SUPER NICE I’M KEEPING THEM FOREVER THEY’RE MINE NOW) I so very much appreciated the reaching out and that sense of connection.  I read every message and was warmed by them, every single one of them, genuinely each one of them.  I don’t need it constantly, but once in awhile I do need a little WAH TALK TO ME moment, I guess.  *wry* As for the future... well, okay, look.  I’ve been doing this so long I’m not sure I even know how to stop doing recs, it’d be pretty hard for me.  I imagine, even when I genuinely felt like NO I’M GOING HOME there probably wasn’t really that much chance that I would stop, if only to switch to a different place/fandom/whatever.  But I calmed the hell down, let my feelings simmer and then vent, and tried going back to read some fic I was pretty sure I was going to like and just kind of... told myself, well, even if I only have a handful left to read and then no more Star Wars fic ever again, then so be it.  This calms my brain down, but, honestly, I’m pretty sure I’ll still be finding things to read from this point forward anyway. So, no recs this week (well, obv. since it’s Thursday now) but probably next week I’ll pick them back up again.  (And again thank you for all the kind messages, sometimes a person just needs a week to be a mess and have people say nice things, YOU ARE ALL THE KINDEST.  ♥)