#i’m hoping to improve my writing skills - starting with a lot of short stories - so that I’m better equipped to handle a project like this

[vidyaverse]

introducing my poly triad of OCs! they're SO messed up, and I love them to death.

cast of characters:

- Aarohi (nn. Rohi) - pickpocket, chaos incarnate, simp for one person and one person only

- Kithaan - hot jock with a strict chivalric code and a heart of pure gold

- Kaminnah (n. Min) - mastermind, ice queen, the longtime object of the other two's affections

I could talk about them all day, but here's a quick summary of their dynamics.

key: blue is Rohi/Min, red is Rohi/Kithaan, and yellow is Min/Kithaan

[thebibliosphere]

do you have any advice for someone who might want to get into the writing and publishing business but has technically no connections or experience? i grew up dead set on being a writer but had a crisis over my skills around college age, which led me to dropping my hopes of that career path and pursuing a different major. i’m still in an artistic field (theatre) but now i’m WAY back into writing again and experiencing major career regret. an early career existential crisis of sorts. do you think there are any steps i could take to dip my toes into the professional writing world as a theatre kid/playwright? i eventually think i’d like to publish a few books and short story collections, and i’ve been told by many people online and irl that my writing is very good. i’m really passionate about editing and helping people improve their writing too. i’d like to see if it’s something for me, but have no idea where to even begin. i’ve also only been graduated for a few years so I dont have a lot of career experience as it is. any insights you can offer as someone who’s done it would be immensely appreciated 💖

You don’t need a college education in creative writing to be a writer. Sure, it can help, but it’s not a necessity.

My best advise would be to find writer groups and become active there. If you engage in fandom content online, start building your community and friendships there too. Be around other people who write, and make sure you have the time to write yourself.

Also, a lot of authors have other jobs. Writing as a main job is not sustainable for most people. (It’s only sustainable for me because my readers are feral and my partner has a job that pays the mortgage.) So don’t think of it as choosing one over the other. Writing will always be there for you so long as you engage with it. As for what to do with your work once you’re done, that’s up to you, but self-pub is also always an option if trad-pub isn’t something you want to deal with.

If you’re wanting to get into editing, there are editing courses you can take that don’t require going back to university. But again, join writers groups, join online spaces. Be involved. Building a community of like-minded creatives is important.

[vanillaavengerlings]

To all Fanfic/fanart/ fandom content writers/creators/artists/anyone creating fandom content

As we enter the week of 22 July, I wanted to write something hopeful for any writers, artists and content creators out there, because let’s face it, things happening around the world is so grim and most of us are trying to survive the days. 

So, here’s something hopeful for any of you who need this.😄

Please reblog this as much as you can as I would love for fandom writers/creators/artists and for fanfic readers to read this. 

Thank you!

A small background about me - I write fanfics, mostly in the Avengers/Stony fandoms. And it’s what I’ve been doing mostly for a few years, despite schooling and transitioning to work.

It’s my escape from reality. When things get rough, I start writing. Writing fanfictions gives me comfort because I know the characters and I love them, so I feel safe in a way and it’s stress relieving for me.

In 2018, I had to attend a compulsory internship so that I could get my diploma and graduate. My course offered a few positions and one of them was writing for television programs at a well known media company in my country. 

I wanted that job so bad because I wasn’t interested in the others, they were too ‘corporate-like’. So I applied for it. They asked for my portfolio of written works.

And then it hit me. My God, all I’ve written so far were fanfics with male pairing. I come from a conservative country so LGBTQ stories are super rare and can be frowned upon. But that’s all I had and it was all I could submit.

Guess what?

I did just that. I took excerpts from my WIP/published fanfics, and added them into my portfolio. I even went the extra mile and typed a short excerpt into a screenwriting format, like a legit script for a show! (TV writing internships pay special attention to your script writing abilities)

I submitted them.

I was called for an interview a few days later. I was advised to bring hardcopy versions of my written work, so I printed out the stuff from my portfolio. I went for the interview and saw my coursemates, some of whom I consider really capable and smart. 

I thought, there’s no way my fanfics and I stand a chance in getting this job.

I went up first and had the usual interview questions. The last bit came, where the interviewer, a prominent executive producer in my country, asked for my written samples. I handed her the file and gave her a brief explanation of my work.

I told her I published my written works online and have a group of audience who read and review them. I also added that I use their feedback to improve my writing as a whole. She was nodding her head and reading the script of my fanfic I had written. I was hiding my smile. Everything she was flipping through were Stony and Avengers fanfic excerpts!

At last, she handed my file back to me and smiled. It signaled the end of my interview. I went back to my campus and sighed, already looking at the other positions to apply to.

Two hours later, I received the email that I had gotten the job, as a television writer intern at a prominent media company. And all I used were my fanfictions I had written!

I couldn’t believe it worked. My fellow coursemates write really good content and I went into the interview with fanfictions and got the job!

To this day, when I think about this, I laugh. Not in a self-deprecating way, but in a way of disbelief, seeing what I can pull off.

To everyone out there who are thinking so lowly of yourself because all you have done are work related to fandoms, I’ve been there, and I’m here to say that you are so talented coming up with unique content from something that is so fixed and rigid. So don’t be hard on yourself. 

You’re not wasting your time just because you post stuff on AO3 or Tumblr. Every written work/art/creative content is a great way for you to practice and work on your skills. I mean, we all have to start somewhere, right?

Seriously, it takes a lot of talent, creativity and hard work to write fanfictions, draw fanarts and create any fandom related content. And it takes so much of courage to put your work out there in the open for anyone to read.

And that’s the thing! It’s a service that you are doing, letting people read your words, your story, letting people see your art and your creativity. 

Don’t be ashamed of your fandom works. And don’t be ashamed of reading fanfictions. They’re a part of you. So don’t think of yourself lowly. No way. You’re all heroes, in your own ways. 

Some of the best written stories I’ve ever read came from AO3, some of the best art works and funniest content I’ve ever seen are fandom related.

You’ve got this, you talented talented human being. Go out there and shine bright! 🌟

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello! I am aspiring to be an author however I am not really good at writing. I think it might be because of my lack of detail, I have a hard time describing things in a way others understand but I’m not even sure of that. I want to be an author/writer, it’s always been my dream. I love to write but I’m really bad at like every aspect of it. It makes me feel as if I shouldn’t go into it because it would be a waste of my money(if collage can somehow help me, cause I don’t see how else I can fix my writing, I’ve tried a lot) my time and resources to go into something I’m awful at. I just wanted to know if it’s a good idea to give up on writing and pursue it, despite it not being something I’m good at. I love to write I’m just not good at it, and I seem to be struggling to learn. I hope my question can help others who are in the same boat as me, and I hope this isn’t too deep or annoying! Thanks for answering (if you do) in advance! Have a great day!

Good Writing Takes Time... Don't Give Up

A lot of young and/or newer writers have this same concern. They feel like they've put a ton of time and effort into writing but are not improving, but in reality they've been at it for a few months. Maybe a year or two...

The reality is that writing is a craft, and like any craft, it can take YEARS to hone your skills. When you read fan-fiction, a short story, or a novel that really strikes you as well written, I promise you that is not the first thing that writer/author wrote. In fact, that writer/author almost certainly has YEARS of writing experience under their belts.

And to be clear, I'm not saying it's impossible for a first or second story or novel to be amazing, it's just not that common. Most of us have to produce a large body of not-so-great work before we start producing really good work.

So, keep at it. Get yourself a notebook and practice describing things in it. It could be the room you're sitting in, some people you're observing, something you see while you're waiting for the bus... whatever. Utilize sensory and emotional description: what can you see? What can you hear? What can you smell? What can you taste? What can you touch? What do these observations make you think and feel?

Read a lot of short stories and books. Watch writing advice videos. Read writing craft books. Do writing prompts. Write fan-fiction (if you're so inclined.)

If you have the opportunity to take some writing classes or if you want to pursue writing in college, that's great, too!

Either way, you definitely shouldn't give up if writing is your dream. Like all dreams, it doesn't happen overnight. It's something that will take time, energy, hard work, and lots of practice and patience.

Now, watch this:

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[archandshri]

9th feb '24 - [arch] characters, interactions and emotion - making a mini webcomic

Gahhhh Shri this has been an absolutely crazy couple of weeks!!!! Hope you are doing well :)) First of all, WOW! You have a lot of goals, and I’m sure you’ll get them done! I’ve worked a lot on my graphic design during the process of making Winter Wellbeing. If you wanna see a blog post dedicated just to that, I can do so! It would be cool to compare notes on the approaches we take for graphic layouts. If you wanna share your knowledge of camera skills when you build that up that would be awesome 😭😭

It’s been a tough few weeks, art wise. I have been reflecting on my process, motivations to create, the ego and all the baggage that’s lumped into the creative process for me. It turns out there’s a lot. I took some space from my illustration practise (literally for a weekend!) and began to realise how dysfunctional it is. I’ve been writing a lot about that so there may be a larger piece of writing coming about that at some point (no promises!!)

But for now, let's talk about little successes!

I’ve been playing with some characters for a while but I’d hit a bit of a block with the plot. I realised the expectation of having a finished project of high quality soon is unrealistic, and an unhealthy expectation to put on myself. I rarely give myself time to play with concepts for a long time and let the characters, plot and interactions evolve naturally. Maybe this in part came from sticking to the short university module turnaround. I noticed that that short turnaround was causing a lot of block, so I have decided to bench it as a comic for now and focus on using it as a playground - falling in love with the characters, creating stories and drawing them for fun. Maybe years down the line I’ll make them into a comic - we shall see! 

I *tried* to do hourly comics day this year and it didn’t quite work for me. I think I made 3 comics? And then got distracted with a bigger project that ended up taking a week or so to complete. Let’s have a look at it, shall we?

[you can find the full version here]

First of all, it’s based on an unfinished fanfiction I started a couple of months ago, which was mostly bad, but there was one nice scene that I liked and wanted to expand on. I started by having a look at the script I wrote and thumbnailing on the iPad. I’m away from home at the mo and usually would prefer to do most of my artwork traditionally, but because I don’t have access to a scanner, the whole process was digital this time. A lot of the pages got scrapped because the dialogue wasn’t necessary, and I’m not drawing pages that aren’t necessary.

some more development screenshots

I thought a lot about posing during the process, acting the scenes out in my mind and sometimes physically, really understanding the emotions of the characters, why they’re saying what they’re saying, their tone and how to convey that though their body language and expression (i find grian really annoying normally [affectionate] but I want this grian to step on me).

Pearl was hard with this because she’s quite erratic and unpredictable in this series, so I wanted her to switch from raw explodey anger to playful jabs at Grian. I’m hoping this comes across as somewhat insane, rather than tonally off and inconsistent. I did super enjoy drawing her and her explosive nature though, especially in comparison to Grian’s coldness.

I played with levels and monotone colour too - I’m not working with multiple colours much at the moment so I’m able to focus on things like values composition, characters and backgrounds. My skills limit the kind of stories I can tell currently, so I’m working to improve those foundations. Maybe when I’m back in the riso studio I can play with colours a little more.

Colours - despite the simple pallete it gets a bit nerdy here.I stuck to specific flat percentages for most of it - Pearl’s hair and Grians jumper are 60%, Grian’s hair and Pearl’s cloak are 20%. Then I added a 14% layer for shadows, using a ahrd blend eraser tool for highlights, making the images quite dark. I fill a layer with texture from Forystr’s riso brush for procreate, and turn it into a 40% opacity colour dodge layer. This gives it some much needed texture and makes the lighting feel low and nighttimecore. It also pushes the values to look really nice - I tend to be too scared to push them by myself.

I tried a few different colour layers to get a *vibe* but settled on a low percentage riso blue in a colour layer. All layers besides the riso blue are in a riso black, colour picked from a riso colour pallete. I learnt these tools - using percentages to get good values - from working with risograph. I really recommend having a look at these techniques and doing some monotone work. It's really improved by character designs, page layouts and compositions.

That's all from me today, though I have had MANY other thoughts over the past two weeks about creating, but perhaps we'll dive into them another time. If you (or anyone else) has any questions, hit me up with a reblog or an ask and I will get right to it. Lovely to hear from you! Hope your art is going great too :)) Arch :)

[polarisbibliotheque]

So like, less of a suggestion and more of a question - I recently found your works and have just been blown away by the details (like, seriously, you're on the top of my favorite writers list) and just how... perfect you craft everything? I genuinely inspire to be like you, but the problem is that I've hit a rut - I'm super unsatisfied with my writing, and whenever I try to get back into the writing zone, I just fall flat. Is there any advice you could give on how to improve one's writing? What would be your tips and tricks at getting into that writing zone?

(Do apologize me taking SO LONG to answer, but I had some health emergencies the last couple of weeks and ended up in the hospital – I’m doing better now, chilling at home and trying to recover. My doctor is 90% sure I have Crohn’s Disease and I’m having many ups and downs trying to find a proper treatment that I seem to respond to. BUT…)

…I hope you are aware of how much you made me smile, blush and almost indulge into my teary eyes upon reading this. Hahahaha seriously, thank you SO much!! I can’t even thank you enough, I’m just in pure awe that another being in this big ol’ world we live in thinks so highly of my writing!!

I mean, not even I think that highly of my writing. Notice a pattern? ;)

One thing I learned being an artist – not only writing, I also draw, play the piano, write music on my free time/when inspiration hits, everything creative, I’m there, doing it – is that we’re never really satisfied with our work. We will always think we could’ve done something better, and we’re definitely going to be pretty “meh” about a lot of things we do – even when other people think it’s a masterpiece.

And that is good! We’ll always strive to perfect our skills! You just have to remember to appreciate the work you do even when you’re not completely satisfied with it. You will get to where you want to – but then, you’ll wish to improve even more! And that is awesome!

But hey, I do have some tips and tricks on improving and getting into that writing vibe!

For the people getting to the party now, my main tip on improving is here, in the first part of the answer for this ask! Now, now…

(long post below, as expected YEE BEEN WARNED!)

Regarding improving:

Read. A. Lot. Hahaha I know that’s quite an obvious one, but it’s really important. Personally, I think reading mindlessly just to fill a quota of “I read 25 books a month” doesn’t work. It works when you absorb it – when you allow yourself to plunge into the world of the book you’re reading, feeling the characters, the emotions, the settings… That helps you build your “mental library” so to speak! And sometimes you’ll find things and expressions you like that you might use both on your daily speech and while writing – for instance, I have this awful thing of saying “there’s a lack of wings to my words” whenever I’m speechless, because of Homer’s Odyssey. I freaking LOVE that book, I loved that expression, I use it all the time, and it has definitely bled into my writing.

WRITE! A LOT! Write bad stuff, good stuff, short 2 pages thing-ys that you go “hey that’s a good idea!” but you’ll never actually turn into a full story, random scenes, fanfiction, stupid fanfiction, serious fanfiction, self-indulgent stories, stories for your family, stories for yourself, stories for whoever wants to read or not, dreams that could be great stories… The point is to write. It’s much like drawing or playing the piano: if you don’t practice, you won’t get better and you won’t develop your style. The more you practice, the better you get! So don’t be afraid to write bad stuff, cringy stuff, or ridiculous stuff – or even stuff you thought would be awesome and turns out bad, or stuff you think will never turn into anything that turn amazing! One way or another, you’ll be refining your craft!

Identify what you like on writers you admire. I started noticing that while reading The Silmarillion. The Lord of the Rings is my favorite book since I read it for the first time when I was 15, but I didn’t pick up The Silmarillion until I was around 22 – and by then, I started underlining with a light pencil all the phrases I liked most, something my mom did on her old books when she was around my age. I then started taking a look at what I liked about Tolkien’s writing so much – and in other books too: what kind of phrases seemed to resonate more with my soul. Which ones brought tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. And then I notice I tend more to the unconventional ways of describing things.

For instance, instead of going like “she was beautiful, with pale skin under raven dark hair, blue eyes shining on her fair face” I tend to go for the unconventional, sort of eerie, not so much taken for granted kind of describing “her beauty glowed like the first pale star to glisten in the evening sky, under a deep sea of dark, velvety hair, making her eyes twinkle like sapphires with a smart look while carrying the light she kept in her soul”. If I had to, the second one would be how I’d describe Arwen or Lúthien, giving them that ethereal otherworldly beauty they have. It's also the one that evokes more feelings inside of me rather than just a mental image.

That’s why I try to describe some things in a different light. When I’m writing, I want people to feel something – but how can you describe that feeling of joy when you hug someone you love and the whole world fades for a minute? That’s when I go for the “his heart bled with gold while his hands never wanted to let them go. For a minute, time seemed to stop and there was nothing else but his heartbeat intertwining with theirs, beating as the same song – even if theirs was more melodic while his was more melancholic. It was that kind of tune that made his lungs not remember how to breathe and his eyes pour – while his lips reflected all the gold that cascaded from his heart.” It’s a quick (rather ridiculous) example, but I do think about some things: how when I feel like that, I tend to have a hard time breathing and I do cry, but it’s because I want to smile so much I cannot contain it. Then I try to describe those feelings with metaphors and poetic stuff because I’m a melodramatic bitch.

Jokes aside, it’s because I like that sort of writing that has that beauty behind it – or more of a melancholic approach. It’s what resonates the most with me and I adopted it, even if sometimes it feels too… Abstract. I like that ability of people piecing the abstractness together and having their own interpretation – and that’s what makes people have different feelings while reading the same thing.

Is this for everyone? Absolutely not. I bet some people despise all that poeticness I like to put on words to lace them like a painting, you know? So, the more you re-read the things you like, you’ll start identifying what resonates with you and you can apply that to your own writing!

And that doesn’t mean you’ll have to be locked on that writing style as well. I’m currently trying to finish a book (I hope someday I can publish it) which is a cyberpunk style story, with lots of inspiration from Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner, John Wick (yes, Keanu Reeves sends his regards) and all that poetic writing doesn’t quite fit there. I’m using more of a direct approach, but there’s a lot of existentialism and reflecting on overcoming grief, trauma, owning your own life and contemplating one’s own mortality – and that’s where that poetic, metaphoric, melancholic, bittersweet characteristic of my writing style comes into play. And then everyone starts cursing and shooting each other again :)

Having a style doesn’t mean getting stuck in it – it means knowing when and where to use it!

Now regarding getting into the writing zone:

I freaking ADORE music and it helps me A TON while I’m writing. It’s like setting the mood. I’m trying to be sexy, or mysterious, or having that vampire-y vibe? Depeche Mode playlist it is. Fight scenes? Metal and Electronic. I need to freaking focus and get to work without thinking too much about the music (or start dancing like crazy whenever a song I love comes in and there I am, dancing and singing in my room at 3 a.m)? Piano playlists – classic, modern, everything and anything, as long as it is piano.

Playing music that goes with what I’m writing also helps. For my cyberpunk book, for instance, I put on the Cyberpunk 2077 OST playlist/radio on, or I search for “Cyberpunk Ambience/Playlist” on Youtube and let it roll while I write. For my King Arthur stories (yes, still working on them), I put on Celtic music compilations, Enya, Loreena McKennitt or the piano playlists. For my vampire stories, be the medieval or the near-future one, dark piano, Dark Wave, etc. Perhaps searching for that one playlist that has to do with your story setting and listening to it for some time might get you in the zone!

I also usually write deep in the night. Because I’m a spawn of Dracula. After everyone at home has gone to sleep, I make myself some hot tea, sit on my computer, start listening to music and write. That’s because I know I won’t be interrupted, and I can do just that. Sometimes, I start writing at 1 a.m, other times earlier, other times later. Try to notice when your ideas seem to flow better and when you get more into the zone – but please, don’t be unhealthy as I am and go to sleep at a decent hour. I’m not an example here with my sleeping schedule hahahaha

Cringy moment: when I’m stuck, I act the last scene I wrote as one of my characters in the shower and, usually, ideas start to come in (and I have to get off the shower). Hahahaha now that’s just a weird one, but I have NO idea why, my best ideas arise in the shower. Water has a weird effect on me, so sometimes I just stand there with warm water pouring over my head and, lo and behold, I’m exiting the shower in a hurry because I just got my writer mood back HAHAHA so maybe some very mundane activity – like cooking, taking the trash out, cleaning the room – might be where your writer brain will come to life. You never know.

Needless to say, I talk to myself a lot, sometimes as if I’m talking to the characters. That is a very bad coping mechanism I developed when I was being bullied at school – I used to pretend Dante was with me when I was alone or something had happened and I needed someone by my side, so nowadays I have a very easy time writing this man. I started doing that with some of my characters, and that goes for repeating lines or part of the stories I’m writing to see if I can get un-stuck. It’s not the greatest of things, but it works. My neighbors might think I’m crazy, though xD

When I’m completely unmotivated or I keep staring at the blank page without being able to write, I try to immerse myself in what I’m writing about. So, if I’m stuck on my cyberpunk book, I watch some Cyberpunk 2077 let’s plays, I re-watch the Edgerunners anime, I re-watch Blade Runner, I re-read some parts of Do Androids Dream of Electrical Sheep? or I, Robot, I listen to Blade Runner’s soundtrack, I even try to play Cyberpunk 2077 (while praying not to get motion sickness or not having my pc exploding from overworking). If I’m stuck on my King Arthur works, then I re-watch the 2004 movie (may the gods bless Ioan Gruffudd and his wonderful Lancelot and Mads Mikkelsen as my beloved Tristan), re-read the 3 books on the Chronicles of Arthur series, listen to some Celtic music, research Arthurian stories for hours on the internet, search for my encyclopedias at home to see if they have something on King Arthur, read obscure translated manuscripts from ancient times on it … So, immersing yourself on reading, researching, listening to music, watching movies, playing videogames, listening to stories, watching series, reading mangas, watching anime, documentaries, going to the movies, basically doing anything that has to do with the theme you’re writing, may get you in the mood. Next time you sit down to write, it might flow wonderfully!

I don’t force myself to write, though. If I do, I usually can’t write a single decent word and I’ll hate it. If things aren’t flowing – and this I learned with my mom, who also draws – I leave it for a while and go do something else. Maybe I’ll have some warm tea, or watch a completely unrelated movie, or read my current book, or talk to my parrot in the kitchen, play some piano, draw a little, or just take a good nap. My mom says it refreshes the head and the eyes, and when you come back to it, you’ll be a lot more inclined to find things that weren’t working and let those creative juices flow.

I also have a very weird search history and I’m not ashamed of it. All writers do, and it’s better to have a weird search history than not knowing what you’re talking about, honestly. And sometimes, researching takes a lot more time than writing and might get you motivated – time spent learning is never wasted. Even if you’re learning what kind of dates grow in Greece and are offered to Apollo (bless his heart).

Sometimes, I write something completely unrelated, with a very different theme, and stupidly goofy – and that gets me back to the writing vibes. Sometimes there’s just this need of writing something for the sake of writing, and you just want something foolish to make you smile like a goof. It’s valid and it might be your ticket out of writing-rut-land.

Now some little uncalled for advices:

I spent too long being self-conscious and too serious about it. If it’s not your style, don’t force it. Some people need structure, other people thrive in chaos – know what’s your style and go for it. I hate planning novels, for example. But I will outline the main points of the story and the ending – the rest, well, the characters have to show me whatever else they’re doing, and I have to go with it. Sometimes there are huge arcs I didn’t plan as a main point of the story, but they pop up in the middle of it and they are important – I like leaving that room for impromptu writing/creating. So, find out how it works for you, not how it works for everyone else.

You don’t have to create masterpieces right at the first time you’re writing. Take my King Arthur thing-y for example. I wrote the full story when I was 15. When I was in college, I decided to re-write it. And then, when I was at work, I decided to re-write the re-write. And now, I just took all my files, read them, thought about it all, outlined a whole new story and decided to write anew. Not re-write, but take all that work and write as if I had never written anything before – in the original file, the main characters were 15 years old and in school, now they have their jobs at Universities and work on the secret society that is now a lot more fleshed out and built with loads of new characters around (including a new one I created yesterday after months not thinking about it).

If I hadn’t written the Twilight-sort of embarrassing thing when I was 15, I wouldn’t have this whole universe, characters and story to build upon nowadays. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was a good idea – and I’ll keep working on it until I’m happy with it. It’s been 13 years I’m working on it now, maybe when it reaches its 15th anniversary, I’ll be able to finally let it see the light of day!

Don’t listen to the “NEVER DO THIS!!” advices. Seriously. Writing is a form of art – and, as in all art, there isn’t a right or wrong. By all means, see what people are saying it’s bad and you should never do – I watch and read those advices so I can learn to be better too! – but don’t take it to heart. As Captain Barbossa would say, it’s more of a guideline than rules set in stone. Sometimes, something people say you should NEVER EVER do is something that works perfectly fine for you and your style of writing. Learn to make up your own mind: learn new things, listen to advices, but absorb those that resonate with you and leave those that don’t. That’s how you create your own opinion about things and how you find your writing style!

One fun thing to point out on this as an example: me, my mom, my sister and my dad ADORE reading. My sister loves Jane Austen, my mom is a super fan of Dostoyevsky and Russian literature, while my dad lives for Isaac Asimov and all things sci-fi. I love sci-fi, my mom can’t stand it. I read Dante’s Inferno in a week and my mom couldn’t get past the first verses. My sister can’t read poetry at all and is terribly bored by Lord of the Rings. My dad read my Chronicles of Arthur books and even told me to buy the complete the series. Me and my sister enjoyed Khaled Hosseini’s books a lot, but my mom never felt like reading them.

All of this to say: it’s not a matter of who’s more intellectual than the other, it’s a matter of who likes which kind of literature and writing styles. Some people are more comfortable with one way of writing or a certain kind of literature and can’t stand others – and that’s ok. Writing is pretty much the same. THERE ARE NO FIXED RULES! BE A REBEL!

If it helps you: character sheets. Around 8 years ago – or more – I searched and searched online for the character sheet that could help me the best. I had never done it before and thought it was quite useless, until I downloaded one and started filling the infos on my main characters of my Arthurian sort of story. Lo and behold, they became SO MUCH BETTER and that’s when I started rewriting everything: I understood all characters a LOT better and made better decisions when writing them. It doesn’t work for everyone, though, but it’s a lot of fun for me. Currently, I don’t use it much because I now know what are the main things I need for my characters to seem alive, but it’s always nice to have a reference when you’re writing.

My cyberpunk story, for instance, it has A BUNCH of characters with scars, different hair colours, different eye colours, the way they dress, birthmarks, cyber-implants, cyber-prothesis, dressing styles… And sometimes I get lost in it. So it’s nice keeping a character sheet when I go like “wait, she has burn marks on the left arm or the right arm…?”

And keeping a file on worldbuilding might be helpful as well. I noticed that writing my cyberpunk thing. The first thing I wrote was a huge file explaining the city, the factions, the districts, people’s styles, who are the viruses, the sub-types of viruses, the political parties, the police and secret police, the difference between artificials and organics, how does access to the world works, what is the Ocularis system, the most important corporations, their names, their owners… And all those things will probably never appear on this story.

But I felt a HUGE difference. Instead of info-dumping right at the beginning to make the reader understand how the world is built and how it works, I started it right at an important point in the story. No one knows anything about how things work, but, as the characters speak to each other, they talk about so many things that the reader catches things and pieces together how all things are organized.

Don’t try to explain everything. Tying with I said before, if you have a very good idea of how things work, how the characters relate to each other, how they react and how they think, you won’t need to info-dump. I usually think I’m seeing my characters going about their day and that is ALL I’m describing: what they are saying, feeling, thinking and doing. If I feel something is missing for people to fully understand, then I add something quite minimal to help. But I don’t overexplain: people are intelligent and they can piece things together.

Don’t go full Marvel movies and explain everything as if no one can understand unless you say it. Go Nolan and try to make people understand with images, feelings, glances, metaphors and such. It’s very effective in writing! (Don’t get me wrong, I do like Marvel movies, but they have become those kinds of movies that require little mental effort because literally everything will be explained in a huge monologue or through dialogue. You don’t always need dialogues – and if you say “oh that’s too ambiguous and people won’t be certain about it” that’s the beauty of art: it’s always up to interpretation)

Having someone to read and give you feedback might be very helpful too. I have a few friends every now and then I send some of my stories so they’ll read and give me an honest feedback. I try to listen to their opinions and refine my work – but if I think they critique doesn’t make sense, I thank them anyway and keep on doing my thing. Like I said, know when to take what makes sense and when let go of something that doesn’t. Also: feedback is NOT a personal attack. DON’T TAKE IT TO HEART. See it always as something you may need to improve – and you’ll improve quicker.

At the end of the day, writing is art. And all art is relative.

Your art will be great to some and horrible to others – and that’s ok! Again, learn to NOT make it personal (the critiques, I mean, because art is always personal and that’s wonderful, I think).

And repeat after me: you will not please everyone. The point is to make yourself proud. You’ll find your people along the way.

Do it because you love. Do it because it comes from your heart, from your soul. The world has become so filled with content, mindlessly created by artificial intelligence so we will keep consuming, that things have lost so much of their soul.

To make art, to write, is to have soul. If you have that heart, that passion in your work, it will show – and people will follow. When you sit to write, don’t make it a chore, don’t make it an aesthetic tiktok post, don’t follow the routine of this or that famous artist – do what you have to do and let your heart flow. Do it for you.

I think that’s the main advice I can give. Don’t do content to post on social media and look good, do your art. Push your boundaries, test new things, write in ways you never did before, but do your thing.

When everyone is doing the same thing over and over again, you’ll realize your words will stand out by doing what you want to do.

Again thanks for attending my TED Talk xD

[starhvney]

any tips for us beginner writers? :3

honestly this sounds super cliche, but practice! i’ve improved in my writing skills just from a few weeks ago because i’ve been posting so much. writing is a skill kind of like art.

although that’s cliche, here’s a few resources i use to improve my writing:

☆ pinterest | i have a board full of character descriptions, prompts, word substitutions, world building tips for realism, etc. that i reference all. the. time. look up writing tips on pinterest and you’ll find millions of suggestions. i’ve scrolled for hours on there.

☆ plan | have a general idea of where you want the story to go, even if it’s for a short story. if you don’t know that you want your character to end up from point A to point B by the end of the story (because you don’t even know what point B is), then you’re writing can become drawn out and pointless.

☆ online dictionary/thesaurus | sometimes i end up reusing a word too many times, but still want to convey the same idea. look up that same word and find a synonym for it that works!

☆ grammarly | sometimes checking my own spelling is too time consuming and i don’t want to do it. gradually it’s useful for pointing out places with spell checks (but don’t always take its advice if it wants to shorten or reword a sentence, it’s not always right for creative writing)

☆ walk away | if you feel like you’re just not in the creative headspace and you’re getting frustrated, or you’re not sure of what you wrote is good, get up and do something else for a bit! once you’ve cleared your mind, come back to it and look at your work with fresh eyes to correct any mistakes or think of new ideas.

☆ listen to music, ambience, or even asmr | i do this a lot! i find a playlist of mine that fits the vibe of what i’m trying to write, and it helps me focus on the story. for instance, if i want to write a scary scene i listen to film soundtracks that are intense and eery, or listen to an ambience from a horror game. if i want to write something peaceful, i listen to soft music or a spring morning ambience. this really helps if you struggle to get in the writing zone like i do.

☆ shut off your left brain | sometimes when we write or draw, our focus and thoughts become too critical of our work, and we stunt ourselves or get frustrated and completely give up. you have to switch over into the creative side of your brain, and not care if you make mistakes as you write! you can edit it later, but just focus on getting the story and thought out of your head. i do this by daydreaming the situation first, and then writing it out while listening to music.

☆ study other artists! | similar to art, you need to study others works to develop your own style. look at the works of a fan fiction writer who’s really good, or a popular book that made it big. when do they break off their paragraphs? how do they change scenes? how do they form their sentences and describe the scenery and characters?

i’ll also say that i did grow up with an english teacher mom and much older sisters who also became teachers and had an extensive vocabulary, so writing came easier to me than others because of that. BUT! even still my writing was awful a couple of years ago. it took a lot of practice and trashing my old work to get to this point.

i’m not that great of a teacher myself, but i hope this advice helps! best of luck to anyone who wants to try writing, don’t be scared to start!!! i believe in you :)

[dont-f-with-moogles]

Terra Darling 💕

I hope you're doing well! For the Writer's Asks, how about 2, 13 & 17?

Love you lots 💕💕

2. What was the first story you ever wrote? One of the first fanfiction stories I ever wrote was for the Narnia Chronicles 😂 I took the characters from the series and merged their personalities and experiences with those of my friends in real life. I even showed it to people irl... including my English teacher! 🙈

13. What feedback did you receive for your writing which stuck with you? Waay back when I first started posting Final Fantasy content on FanFiction.net, I received a comment criticising one of the character's actions in the story because it didn't seem 'canon enough' for them. At the time it made me want to replay the games and read up on the series so that I could improve my use of details. Now my opinion is totally different because everyone's interpretations of canon vary anyway. I'm always impressed when an author weaves in information from canon, but I also love the variety and originality that you get from a range of different takes. In short, writing characters and events that are true to their canon selves is an impressive skill but there has to be room for creativity and imagination too as these are essential for great writing.

17. Tell us a fun fact about your current WIP. My current WIP - Hange in Paradis - is a Levihan fic (big surprise there!) The idea is based on the K-drama 'Crash Landing on You,' and I'm actually considering publishing it as a crossover.

💚 Love you too, Val :) I’m still taking these! ✍️ Writer's Ask Game.

[thaddeusthawne]

Thank You

Snowells Week 2023: Day 7: Year 7 (Snowells Appreciation Day)

So this is going to be a little different from the other days I will post for this week. I still have more to post but I’ve been a bit delayed due to personal reasons but they will be put out soon! That being said, I wanted to say thank you to everyone in this fandom.

In different ways you guys have inspired me to start creating things that most fandoms haven’t. Maybe it’s because most fandoms are so big and intimidating to join but for me, the snowells fandom has always been this safe place to interact with. Whether it’s everyone’s collective excitement over snowells related scenes or funny joke posts this fandom felt easy to enjoy and participate in.

Funny enough I didn’t start shipping snowells until I ran into my first fanfic for this ship. I knew about it because I had followed some snowells peeps on my old blog (deleted it and recreated a new main & this side blog) but I never really understood the fascination for it. However one night I remember just scrolling on tumblr and accidentally clicking on the wrong ao3 link. For the life of me I can’t remember what fic it was but that’s only because I ended up reading pretty much everything that I could find. This was around the time that the beginning of season 2 was airing if that helps give an idea of what I walking into in terms of the fandom content. I stayed up that night just reading, clicking on fics randomly. I finally understood. And then a short time later Harry saved Caitlin from Grodd and then in the next episode she saved him from a bullet.

I was hooked and excited at the possibility on them getting together and started to silently enjoy them. I looked forward to every possible scene and over the years I kept thinking “Maybe it might finally happen!”. It never did of course but it did give me a lot of ideas.

Then in 2019 I finally found the courage to make my own stuff. It was nerve-racking but I had seen other people’s works and ideas met with so much positivity that I felt brave enough to try. Then I started to post some things and I was like “They’re reblogging it? And liking it? And leaving comments in the tags? 😳🥹🥰”. It meant a lot to me back then and it still means so much to me now. While I still have moments of self doubt, I look back on where I started and how far I’ve come. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to do that in any other fandom.

This community allowed me a space to grow as a writer/creator. I still have room to grow, but being able to participate and get even a few comments really helped build up my confidence and motivated me to learn to improve my skills. I went from writing maybe a few paragraphs to starting to flesh things out way more and planning out more extensive stories. Even though the show is over, I still plan to keep writing for this ship. I’m going to miss this show and these characters but I am hopeful that this fandom will still stay a source of comfort for me and anyone else who might feel the same way.

And while this ship may not have sailed, it was still fun to party on the boat.

[lorre-verie]

guess who?

hi everyonee!! genuinely not sure if u guys remember me but yk, either way, I just wanted to tell you guys how my life’s been going these past 2 months. (as well as showing my appreciation)

new year of school is going well, my class doesn’t suck as bad as the last 😭🙏 ive recently started 2 planners, one focusing on academics, goals and one focusing on self improvement, and I feel like they’re helping me a lot!

as for the projects I mentioned in my last post, i’m working on them slowly but surely. starting to apply myself more at school, and i’m trying to cut back on procrastination SEVERELY. also i feel like i can actually draw well now! isnt that super exciting? im excited, for maybe no reason but im so happy im finally seeing improvement. practice really does make perfect.

my original story and my plan for a webtoon are going smoothly, im just doing research on webtoon artstyles and book chapter guidelines so i know what i can do to make good story progression!

im also being more organized (finally) and starting to be less forgetful!

oh and i might make an art focused account? just to help motivate me to keep practicing my art skills.

unfortunately, still have no interest in writing fanfiction for any fandom for the time being 😭 sobs internally

but maybe, if i feel up to it, i might do short character drabbles. for any fandom! im open to any suggestions, if any of you guys want to suggest any?

most importantly, i just want to thank everyone that has interacted with any of my posts at all. this tumblr account has seriously pivoted the direction of my life and showed me that i can accomplish something, and put smiles on people’s faces. (might be overreacting but let me be sentimental alright? 😀👍)

one day, maybe, my name will be on the cover of a bestselling book. or maybe ill have an art account with over 10k followers. the point is, i will never forget the support that everyone has showed me here. it really may seem like a small thing to you guys, just liking someones posts on a large social media platform, but it meant so much for me that people liked what i created.

i dont think i expressed my gratitude clearly enough in my goodbye post. so i hope you guys got it here 🙏

wherever my life goes, and wherever you guys go, i hope you all know that each and every one of you have impacted my life.

thank you all :)

and,

as always,

thank you for reading.

much loved,

lorre.

oh and also ill be more active on here now 🙏 i just know that wherever i go from here on out, i want you guys to be here with me, if you’ll have me.

[shmaptainwrites]

Hey, so I totally understand if you don't feel comfortable answering this. I was just curious if you had any like tips for writing? I'm new to writing, especially about Wilson, and I LOVED your stories and blurbs and etc. I'm just having trouble like getting out there and getting my own ideas written as well as certain requests. Anyways again, it's totally ok if you don't have an answer! Great work, btw!

oh my goodness nonnie i’m so honoured you came to ask me about this and i’d love to share a bit about my process with you!

first i wanna put a little disclaimer: this is just my process and not necessarily some tried and tested thing, it’s just what works for me, and if it doesn’t work for you that’s okay! sometimes you’ll find things that don’t work for you before the stuff that does

so usually most of the stuff i write starts with a small concept or idea, and from there depending on how much motivation/inspiration i have i go one of two ways. if i have a lot of motivation and inspiration i often just go in head first and write without an outline and just get everything out into a document while the creative juices are still flowing.

if i’m feeling like i enjoy an idea but am a little stuck on the progression of things in my head, or i have motivation but a LOT of ideas i want to include, i’ll make an outline to help guide me, this is just really rough bullet points, sometimes interspersed with small pieces of dialogue i want to include for certain scenes

i think getting a feel for what type of things you enjoy is pretty key, but that just comes with practice which is also how you can improve your writing skills (along with reading! my english teacher always used to say a good writer is also a good reader)

i’ve done a lot of fandom hopping since i was a teen and so not being hard on myself when inspiration begins to fade for one thing or move to another helps me always come back to writing even after hiatuses that can last years (i never force myself to write if really not feeling it, because then it’s not enjoyable anymore and this should be a fun experience!)

in terms of characterization, sometimes having a beta reader who is familiar with the fandom is helpful because then they can tell you if they’re struggling to hear something in the character’s voice or think they may respond to a situation differently than you had described

i think all writers have certain preferences for certain parts of stories, for example, i know some people who much prefer dialogue to description or vice versa, now sometimes when you’re stuck there’s ways to get around doing one or the other, but really you can do whatever you want as long as the flow of your story is good. also on this topic, if you’re really feeling drawn to writing a particular scene that’s not linearly next in your storyline, do it anyways! there’s no rules that say you have to write your story linearly, if jumping around from scene to scene works for you then go for it

okay i think this is probably a lot and i can’t really think of anything else that would be helpful at the moment, but i hope this helps on your writing journey and please feel free to continue to reach out and update me on how things are going!

edit: i forgot to mention, also don’t feel obligated to take requests if they don’t work for you! i honestly almost always have my requests closed and when i open them it’s for short periods of time and for blurbs which i find more manageable:)

[seriouslysam8]

2022 Wrapped

Tagged by @takearisk-ao3

Post the top 5 works you're most proud of that you released in 2022 (not necessarily your most popular)

1 Backstabber

It was by far my most angsty story. It was by far my most cherished story. I loved writing every single second of it as my heart broke over and over and over again.

2 Basorexia

It was just a fun one-shot where I got to explore so many POVs that I’ve never written before.

3 Effloresce

It was so borderline AU that it really gave me the courage and confidence to go full blown AU. It was such a fun Hinny story.

4 Scones

Because James Sirius is a little shit and Ginny would love her hectic Mother’s Days.

5 Brumous

I would put this higher but I legit just started it. It’s a pet project I’ve thought about for YEARS and now I’m finally writing it. It’s gone through a lot of drafts in my head of where I’d start the divergence and what would happen, but I’m rather pleased with it so far.

your top 4 current WIPs that you're excited to release in the new year

1 Precipice

This story is really going to tear my action-writing skills but I am so excited for it. It’s really unique and I haven’t read anything like it before. You know I strive for unique. I’m excited to show my new Horcrux traps and how Ginny falls off the deep end.

2 Bête Noire

This is such a self-indulgent story. It’s no secret Sirius is my favorite character and I haven’t been shy about how I hate how he’s portrayed a lot of the time. So I’m excited to really give him a strong trauma background with this story

3 Thrice

I have a few short stories planned in the first war. One of them is a short 4-chapter story about the three times Jily defied Voldemort. The last chapter is pure fluff of Harry being born and then the prophecy coming to light - so the consequences of defying him thrice

4 Lacuna

My year after the war story that went from canon compliant to AU compliant. I’m not sure if I’ll get to it next year, but here’s to hoping!

your top 3 biggest improvements in your writing over the past year

1 Better charts

I have finally found a way to organize my many charts so I can easily find information while writing to keep it all consistent from story-to-story

2 Branching Out on POVs

I started out just exclusively writing Harry and Ginny POVs. Over the last year, I’ve really juggled different POVs and converging those POVs together to tell cohesive stories where you see the action from multiple angles. That’s been hard yet fun

3 Getting better at writing action scenes

I still have panic attacks when I have to write an action scene but I don’t spend nearly as much time or agonize over them as much. I’m really trying not to freak out over them and I’m told I’m decent. But that might just be people being nice to me because they know I’m a weeper.

your top 2 resolutions (ways you wish to improve your writing/blog) for the new year

1 To write what I want to write and not be influenced by outside sources. I just need to tell the stories I want to tell and say fuck it to the haters and the people telling me they dislike my direction that I’m going. I need to stop listening to people who try to force me to write something I don’t want to write. I love prompts and people leaving their ideas in reviews as long as there is no pressure to write it. But I just felt a lot of pressure last year and writing became not so much fun.

2 Just to have my confidence in general. I worry sometimes my ideas aren’t good or I shouldn’t write certain plots because I’m worried people won’t like them. I almost deleted my Fleamont POV in Bête Noire and Bell basically said she’d disown me if I did. So yeah, just more confidence.

and your number 1 favorite line you've written this year

Uh… how about speech? Full quote? Sirius’ latest mental break in Brumous had me sobbing.

Sirius laughed, his head shaking. "Yeah, I could have my life back. That's fucking hilarious, you know that, right? I have a bounty over my head for thirteen murders I didn't commit. One of the victims isn't even ruddy dead! I'm stuck in a house I vowed to never return to. I've buried the only parents I ever knew, buried my only true brother and his wife, and have a godson who is wanted by a fucking psychopath! Nothing about my life right now is normal or easy and I certainly can't go back to the person I was fourteen years ago. That Sirius is dead. He died the summer his girlfriend was supposedly murdered. The nail in the coffin hit as soon as he saw his best mate cold on the fucking floor of his house. I can't have my life back, Andy, because that life doesn't fucking exist anymore." - Brumous, Chapter Eight: Occlumency

Tagging

@bellmel @ginwiz @curse-04

Ignore any and all spelling mistakes. I don’t want to be up this late. 😭😭😭

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Currently working on a first draft of a story and it’s not what I wanted. I write dialogue and internal thoughts so easily but description and gestures are difficult for me and it’s leaving me with a very heavy dialogue first draft.

With writers I know, I’ve seen their first drafts and how(sometimes not all the time) it flows and isn’t a bare bone draft of dialogue. I do want to say that I do have description and gestures in my draft, it’s just not balanced with the dialogue and is something I’m going to need to revise a lot when the time comes.

I know that no one ever has to see my first draft. But I feel like I’m comparison to what I’ve seen, my writing is trash.

I love the quote by shanon Hale: In first drafts I’m just shoveling sand to layer build sandcastles. It helps me to keep going. But is there ever, objectively speaking, a way to note that maybe you aren’t a writer?

Or maybe I just need more practice— I know I need more practice. But when working on a first draft you’re constantly told to just get it done. If that’s the case how will I get to practice to improve my first draft? Am I just supposed to wait until the revision stage?

I’m a very technical person and have to follow a process to do things (unfortunately 😓). So learning various methods to drafting is beneficial to me. Do you have any tips? Are your drafts short skeleton drafts too? How have you practiced getting better at the skill of writing while drafting?

Hi anon! Thanks for reaching out! :)

But is there ever, objectively speaking, a way to note that maybe you aren’t a writer?

No. You're a writer if you write and want to call yourself a writer. Sure there are ways to clock if you're a newer writer or a writer who lacks confidence or a writer who really likes adjectives or a writer who XYZ (and these aren't black and white either)... But creative writing is not an objective medium.

With writers I know, I’ve seen their first drafts and how... it flows and isn’t a bare bone draft of dialogue.

The important thing you've said here is "with writers I know"--those writers aren't you. So it's totally fine if your drafts look different! :)

I know I need more practice. But when working on a first draft you’re constantly told to just get it done. If that’s the case how will I get to practice to improve my first draft? Am I just supposed to wait until the revision stage?

This is where I want to send you some very gentle tough love because I think you're being hard on yourself--which is totally fair, I've been there too! First, I made THIS video that's basically an extended pep talk for people who feel they aren't doing something "right" in writing. I hope that helps!

Second, there's no way for me to prescribe how to practice writing for you. The advice to "just get it done" is just that--advice. You don't have to listen to that advice, and just because it's advice, doesn't mean it's correct (there's really no "correct" in creative writing). You can take longer with your drafts. You can start them over. You can change directions halfway, or never finish them at all. Practicing is doing the thing, and if you're writing, you're doing the thing. So to answer "how will I get to practice to improve my first draft"--by writing, you naturally get better as you go. Yes, you can improve the draft in the revision stage, but that will primarily develop your editing skills (that then develop your drafting skills secondarily).

Online writing advice is kind of silly (and that's my whole thing lol, this is even writing advice!) because it makes it seem like writing is a black and white thing. Do THIS to achieve THIS result. The truth is, that's not how writing works. I could teach you every technique I have about drafting and it still might not work for you because writing isn't a formula (anybody who says it is............... run lol). I think a lot of new writers then rightfully think "okay, well if all this advice is here, I should do it, and then it SHOULD work, and if it doesn't, something's wrong with me/my process/my work." But that's just not true at all.

Writing is a skill we learn primarily on our own (not talking about collaborative writing here, but even then, I'm sure there's a level of independence). I don't want to make assumptions, but I've felt similarly to you, and when I did feel that way, it was because I was afraid of something. Usually, looking foolish and unimpressive. I wonder if that might be going on (maybe not the same fears, but fears nonetheless)?

I’m a very technical person and have to follow a process to do things

Re: the above. I'm also a technical person--same! I love processes, especially clear processes. But writing doesn't have a clear process because it's an abstract art. No one person can do it the exact same way (as you might be able to do in other processes). This is where you have to find YOUR process, and the only way to do that is to again, "do the thing." I know that's hard and scary and frustrating, but what I say here wouldn't help you with that, since this is something super personal that only you can do in practice!

Are your drafts short skeleton drafts too?

My drafts aren't short skeletons, but that's *my* process. It's totally fine if your process is different--that's a good thing!

How have you practiced getting better at the skill of writing while drafting?

Drafting intrinsically made me a better writer, so that's how I developed. For a while, it might seem like everything sucks. I also had the most fun of my life as a beginner--so there's certainly lots of good! But you can't jump to the final product just yet if you're just starting out!

I also don't think it's fair to yourself to compare too much! I've been writing consistently since May of 2014 (that's NINE years!). It makes sense that my writing looks different to how it looked eight years ago or even two years ago or even last week. Totally fine for your writing to look different too.

[kidflashimpulse]

Hey! I wanted to ask this anonymously first before I embarrassed myself but I just started my first young justice blog and I really need some help coming up with fic ideas, with writing, with a lot of stuff I'm a complete mess, an I was wondering if it's not much trouble, could I get some help?

Hey :)) omg that’s so exciting! looking forward to checking out ur blog :D just saying in advance to hopefully squash any worries and to scale expectations, i’m not the best person with communication and can take a while to respond to messages (also sorry bout the slight delay with answering this one, i do hope u see it i can’t remember if anon questions notifies the sender 😭). I cant guarantee being the most helpful person either but i’d be happy to try to help where/if i can :)

in terms of general advice for fics/writing which i think tbh is the best one (that i use to try to motivate myself to write for fics) is to just start writing! like literally anything, as soon as u feel like even a second of inspiration or motivation just go with the flow. Whether it’s one sentence, a paragraph or 1000 words lol, just putting words on a page is a great start already. It doesn’t need to be perfect at all, my first fic (unposted) ended up being long with multiple chapters and all the writing throughout was so questionable lol but i was and still am so proud of it! It gave me experience and the learning curve was inspiring that i was excited to try to write even more stuff after. I noticed with each chapter i slowly found a rhythm and improved step by step. Even if it’s just tiny things that u learn, it makes all the difference. You 100% learn as u go, even now whenever i post something i’m like damn i could make a million changes or be annoyed/critical at something but ultimately i’m just happy to have posted something to share with others and contribute a little something to a community of people who share the same interests as me :) and that’s rlly all that matters and as u start doing that u can develop more ideas and “what ifs” to explore i.e more fic ideas etc

in terms of structure for working on fics id say it rlly depends on the individual. for me i usually write a rough outline/summary of what the fic is basically about. I usually try to have key details summarised where they all connect until the end of the fic, so that after that’s done, u can then flesh out the individual chapters or paragraphs out better. But things like plot can also really change whilst ur writing! It all boils down to what inspires u to write.

It’s not bad to have no ideas, i think it’s actually super cool for people to start out with a really simple/basic prompt (maybe something like: oh flash family go to a restaurant or zetaflash go to an arcade or outsiders play board games (lol)) something like that and then u can expand on the story with dialog/events/characterisation/description that really fills it up and makes up the chunkier part of the fic where it almost at times feels like it writes itself.

also fics really doesn’t need to be long at all if that’s something u might find intimidating, my stuff tends to be quite wordy because that’s just how i write (as u can see from most of my ask answers where i just go on and on like can i shut up for once? lmfao) if anything, i admire people who can get points/description/stories across through concise writing or short stories! that’s a real impressive skill too

if u want to start writing fics to post, 100% start writing anything, literally anything and eventually u will manage to figure out ur own workflow/style that suits u best :) i’m 100% still learning too, i mean i have yet to finish a multi chapter fic, but by reminding myself that any writing is a good step somewhere, despite the slow progress, i can still be motivated to keep working on it. i hope these general tips managed to help u somewhat 🙏 again rlly looking forward to checking out ur blog <3

[homemoviess]

Post #11 - A Step Towards Background Design

♫ - What I’m currently listening to.

✔ - Vote in the poll.

After a much-needed break, I am happy to return and try to crack down on one important element of comic creation; backgrounds. Being a lazy artist, (everything must be created within a short time frame, or oops, there goes my attention span) sitting down to render a well-thought-out scene is the bane of my existence. At least with writing, it is easier to say what I envision. With visual art, there requires a bit more skill and time to bring an idea to life. So naturally, I am no expert at setting a compelling scene, but I plan to take the next 7 days to change that.

We're heading to art school at YouTube University. We'll have a lot to learn. Everything from the composition, to the perspective, to the layout of a background. I will try to pick up the basics, and hopefully improve as the comic gradually progresses. By the time the last page is drawn, and before the project comes to an end, I hope to have a product that is alluring to gaze upon.

I hope to have something that invokes a strong emotion within the viewer.

The images in this post are the three base categories of study; interior, exterior, and wider landscape/cityscape shots.

I wanted to track my progress, as well as see how much I currently know, (spoiler alert, not much) so the above was drawn without references. They are the barebone sketches that currently plague my portfolio. Something quick, something easy. I can't say for sure that this will change all that drastically, but my main goal is to find the happy medium between my lazy art and a compelling scene to stare at.

I will be releasing a post sometime next week that will detail the aesthetic direction I want to take the world. There's going to be a little more thought put into the details to create something that fits with the themes of the fanfic while still keeping true to the Undertale elements. There will be a mood board accompanying the post, (with a few images from my trip) so you'll get a bit more insight into exactly what I mean.

One last thing to touch on, I recently re-read a comment on The Salt Circle regarding the look of the Frisks/Charas, and though this story has nothing to do with that one, it did leave me thinking about the designs of the characters. The poll is still active, and currently, we have two options that are neck and neck; starting from scratch with a brand new AU, or going with Swapfell Gold. I think I will leave the poll up until my big post next week to see which one will win, but I am liking the idea of something new and of our own. Something made just for Fawn. Of course, as a project, I want to share and build along with readers. Therefore, the majority rules, but I suppose we'll have to see which answer wins before really cementing any ideas.

In the meantime; I will be starting the first day of background building tomorrow. We'll start things off easy by referencing the official map of the Underground as well as Clipstudio's guide on How to draw iconic cityscapes.

[sarahderpy]

Abdulrahman Alazzawi

Abdulrahman

Alazzawi

I’ve been passionate about martial arts and self-defense since I was a kid. Now, I’m an expert! I’ve participated in national events in France and represented my club in Paris. I’m also a poet, having written many poems in Arabic and a few short ones in English. I’m a dedicated photographer with excellent mobile photography skills. Additionally, I work as an English-Arabic translator and know some French. I’m a father to two wonderful kids. I enjoy photo editing and video production and am constantly working to improve my skills. Photography is my escape and my endless little world .

How did your passion for martial arts and self-defense begin, & what has driven you to become an expert in this field? - Can you share a memorable experience from participating in national events in France or representing your club in Paris?

Well, it all started when I was 6 years old,

I was an active kid, and I didn’t like football. I had seen Mortal Kombat movies, and I started imitating the movies, which led my father to finding a training hall.

My father had planned a surprise for me , and registered me! I was so happy!

I kept on with training for 6 years then I stopped because kung fu championships and tournaments were banned in Iraq. I then joined Sanda club for three years, then moved to Muay Thai for two years and continued onto kickboxing for two years which led me to participating for the first time in official fight in the north of Iraq.

I stopped after that when my mother passed away.

A lot of things happened, and Iraq was attacked by Isis.

Then I met that one girl!

We got engaged then moved to France.

I joined a Muay Thai Dojo there in the south of France ,

I moved near Paris where

joined a kickboxing club.

Shortly after a few months

I participated for the first time there.

I won my first fight ever in Paris

and my coach was super happy

I had finally made my Father and my coach proud of me!

What inspires your poetry, and how do you find the process of writing in both Arabic and English? - Would you share one of your favorite poems and the story behind its creation?

Poetry in Iraq is a culture of more than 5000 years old .

It’s part of our identity as Iraqis.

My inspiration remains inspired by the nomads and the desert .

Knowing several various accents helps a lot to open the gates of imagination widely with what I do and envision! I don’t write often, but when there is something happening or has happened, you could call it situational (I don’t know if there is a specific term for that).

I write for many events that have happened throughout my life and through the experiences of life itself, and to tell the story of others (friends, family, relatives, etc.) in my writing.

I developed my skills of writing when I attended The College of Arts.

I wrote more than 50 poems.

Here is a translated version of an Arabic poem I wrote 16 June 2013:

There in a quiet corner...

May my love settle forever...

As You’ve settled you’ve enlightened my heart...

The way I could see it...(through your eyes) Brightening Like a pearly lake...

It's not like that. And sure not fake..

But her eyes are magical...

Drawing me of the Horizons of the earth...

Without an effort or intention...

Oh, I miss you ...

How loneliness is killing me...

How it scares me the distance between us...

It feel like I have no identity...

And My poem is without a title...

you meant To be

the title of my poems...

This is just a translation I hope it gives an idea about my writing and once I found other poems that I have written in English I plan to share more -( for a poem doesn't belong to the poet but to the audience ! )

How did you develop your interest in photography, and what do you enjoy most about capturing images with your mobile device? -Around what age did you first pick up a camera and realize photography was your passion? How has your interest in capturing photos evolved since then? - What does photography mean to you, and how does it serve as an escape and a creative outlet? -what’s your inspiration, this could include life experiences or other artists and if others perhaps a particular artist you even just have an eye for .

My photography passion started in France

( Aix en Provence ) south of France.

I fell in love with the old buildings, statues and roads.

Everything was so beautiful and captivating I had old phone with blurry photos.

My wife bought me my first iPhone .

This gift from her while there Is when I began my photography passion.

From watching videos of other photographers explaining certain ways of technique with photo shooting, I would start outside and apply what I was learning. I kept up doing this for over two years (actually I’m still sowing this not often but when I see new technique.)

During my learning, my entire family in law were my best supporters. In my life they have always supported me all that I do. During this time a friend from there who has had a company, wanted to make interviews with some personals in France for a business and had asked me If I would like to be the photographer!

I was so happy! There it was. This would be my first step into the photography world.

As my journey began, I continued to learn and grow with my techniques. At this same time in my life, I worked in the royal historical Chateau (château de Vaux-le-Vicomte) that helped me a lot to upgrade my skills .

I came back to Iraq and started doing street photography . I created car drifting reels, Safari and touristic photos and videos. Finally. I started working as a photographer for the international NGOs.

How did you get started with photo editing and video production, and what motivates you to continually improve your skills? - Can you describe a project you’re particularly proud of in either photo editing or video production?

At the beginning photography was just a hobby for me,

something I like to learn and practice.

But the more I learned, the more I discovered, that it’s not just photography!

It’s about how to maintain the original shot with the best enhancements

and to edit without going far off from the original shot!

I needed to learn how to transmit the view that I see with my eyes to the photo editing.

The thing is, I’m still learning and will continue be learning as I continue.

The day I fail will be the day I stop learning.

I plan to never stop

How did you get started with photo editing and video production, and what motivates you to continually improve your skills? - Can you describe a project you’re particularly proud of in either photo editing or video production?

For the videography and production ,

I have been always asked by people around me to pile up my photos and video and create a video.

It would work better to attract people , rather than just silent , still-life photos.

So I started learning, by understanding beats, transitions, effects, use of

Timelapse and slow-mo techniques and so on..

One of my best works was a series of a few collected videos.

I think around 5 videos for a BMW team I had put together.

A reel for the Château de Volle Vicomte in France.

Along with video of success story for an international NGO.

In addition to other videos and photos you can watch in my insta account.

What led you to become an English-Arabic translator, and how do your skills in French complement this work?

- What challenges do you face in translation

I was the weakest in English among all my family members which my family would laugh at me about.

I decided however to improve my language while attending high school.

After one year I had improved my English so much better!

Then I decided to join the college of Arts- translation Dept.

I officially became the first translator among my family 😄

I knew from that point on that I could do more than just translating!

This opened many doors for me as a translator .

So one day,

I was interviewed by a local radio channel, where I was asked to summarize

the study of translation.

I described it by saying :

“Translation is the science

of studying everything "

-AA.

Because you need to know what you are going to translate.

As a father, poet, martial arts expert, photographer, and translator, how do you balance your diverse interests and responsibilities?

- How do your children influence and inspire your creative pursuits and professional work?

-How do you keep balance?

Well, to be honest

I don’t know how to answer this question

as I am constantly running all the time in my work 😅

I would have to give thanks to my wife to make this all possible!

Without her,

It wouldn’t be possible

if it wasn’t for her by my side!!

She is my rock !

What are your future goals in each of your passions: martial arts, poetry, photography, and translation? - How do you envision your skills and interests evolving over the next few years?

I’m currently working on a project with a friend to open a sport center where martial arts

and kickboxing will be the focus.

I will be there as the Coach.

My goal is to continue

or transmit the legacy of it all.

Poetry:

As Iraqis we are bonded

with poetry for life !

Poetry

will always be

my hideout

to relieve my feelings

and my thoughts.

-A.A

Photography: I’m focusing to achieve more in the coming years !

I see myself,

being somewhere in the list of the worlds top photographers ,

to be recognized for finding and creating a new techniques to capturing unique photos

(AGAINST THE SUN LIGHT )

maybe 😊 Definitely there will be less focus on my

personal interests and my skills because parenting comes first !

I’m going slow for now but I refuse to give up!

Message to Self or Audience ::

Simplicity is the key to your success!

No matter what you do or achieve, please stay the same person you are !!

You have reached this level with this person you are !!

—Abdulrahman Alazzawi

To See more of A. Alazzawi’s work , please make sure to check out his

Facebook and Instagram pages ,

ScreenName @ :

Iphonegraphers_academy

IPhonegrapher's Academy (@iphonegraphers_academy) • Instagram photos and videos

or contact at : alazzawi.abdu@gmail.com

Thank you so much for allowing me

to share your amazing story, and feature your

talents and amazing eye for capturing life!

-Sarah Slurpie