#idk this is a messy WIP I probably won't finish

[ardenrabbit]

Do you have any advice for keeping motivation going when writing longer fics? I’ve tried a couple times to write longer fics but my motivation almost always dies out quickly even when I have ideas galore. I get really sad that I’ve never written anything over like 14k 😭

Aaaah idk if I'm qualified to give writing advice but I'll try! If these don't work for you, please ignore them!!

I think my best advice might be my favorite technique: WRITE OUT OF ORDER. Think chapters ahead and write scenes or even just snippets for things toward the end of the story you have in mind, even if you change the outline and end up cutting those scenes later. If you need, have a different doc just for writing future scenes or put the snippets under a cut at the bottom of your wip doc. It'll give you a goal to work towards and help you think about the story as a whole. So just, I guess, pick the scenes you're most excited about throughout the entire story and start with those, and the rest will follow as you get excited about the scenes that fill in the gaps. Don't be afraid to write messy. Nothing is wasted; even the scenes that you cut help you explore and process the ones that stay.

I think I'm kind of just obsessive as a person and I get writing blinders, like. I'm cranky if I go too many hours at a time without writing, so I'm almost constantly writing on my phone. If you only write on your computer and find yourself losing momentum, maybe try writing on your phone whenever you have an idea for accessibility's sake? It could keep your story on your mind and keep the juices flowing.

Another thing is to REREAD YOUR WRITING. Start from the beginning of your fic and just reread what you have, and the inertia might help you remember or come up with what happens next. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the general "write what you want to read" and tbh it helps you fall in love with your own writing.

One of my weaknesses is that I get too many different fic ideas, so I keep ONE doc per fandom with just blurbs of different AUs separated by line breaks lol. That helps me keep the runaway ideas contained, and if there's one that gets too big because I can't stop writing for it, it graduates to its own doc and becomes an active wip (I still have too many tbh but I'm trying to just stick with the ones I'm posting for now).

If you have ideas galore for one wip you want to work on, write them down in a list, no matter how disorganized. When you're IN your passion for writing that idea, get down as many scenes or even just blurbs you like about it while the energy lasts. Hopefully that can help hook your attention on it, because you'll have already devoted attention to your favorite parts of it. Don't try to organize the ideas as you go; you can clean up later. Don't even worry if the scenes conflict while you're still playing around with them. Just create and write freely while you're feeling the height of your motivation. And don't worry!! Even if you lose motivation for a while, it doesn't mean it won't come back!! Don't let a loss of inertia make you feel discouraged!!

So I guess in summary:

1. Write the scenes you're excited about, regardless of order or outline, and cut and organize later

2. Keep your wip at your fingertips

3. Reread your writing

4. Contain the other wip ideas

5. Losing steam for a while doesn't mean the end!

I hope this contains something helpful for you! Everyone's writing process is different and mine's a mess, but it's a fun mess.

Honest to goodness, do you have any advice for me on writing oneshots?? Probably my biggest downfall is that I can't wrap oneshots up neatly and finish a short work. I admire people who can take an idea and conclude it efficiently. 😭

[yndigot]

hello, yes, this place is still bad for my mental health, but I feel the temptation to pop in more often than I used to.

need to apply for one more job I won't get, and then I might try spending time on the WIPs I know no one is interested in reading, but if I finish writing them, I will be able to read them back, and they cater to my very niche interests.

would like another rp -- my current rp is probably dying a slow death, which is bad for my mental health and is probably partly why I suddenly find myself with so much time that I'm filling it by checking this hellsite. I'm mourning. my partner says they plan to reply when they have time, but if it takes weeks to get a short reply. the line is dying, even after several years (or perhaps because it's been several years, and although I have all the motivation in the world to keep going, perhaps they are running out of motivation and steam).

ISO people who like to talk about nonsense (fandom, not that I'm deeply in fandom right now, writing, etc) via email or whatsapp because those are the only places I'm active right now unless you count Zuckerfuck's Hellsite (I just can't function on other platforms, I'm sorry).

I'm struggling to function on a basic level, as always, but I'm technically gainfully (under)employed and haven't offed myself yet. I'm still mourning the good fandom friend I talked about everything with 15+ years ago who has since drifted away. I still have very little support system IRL and no one to talk to about my current interests. it's fun just ... you know. existing.

drop a line if you have feelings about Challengers, possibly Downton Abbey (although I've gone low-energy with that one lately, it's still my love), Kelvin-verse Star Trek (will I update the McChekov fic with 20K unpublished words sitting on my harddrive? maybe), RWRB (messy, book is definitely imperfect, still special to me though, hate the film with me as I pretend I'm going to finish my epic WIP that I've posted no part of). lowkey getting back into the fandom side of HP, though you couldn't pay me to interact with anything Rowling is up to these days. I just had so many good memories there (in the fandom spaces) that it's drawn me back a bit (Remus/everyone, thx). I'm also still stuck in a happy pre-Endgame MCU place. I have no idea what's going on in canon these days, but I might circle around to doing some ficcage that ignores the past several years if I get the energy and focus together no that work stuff may be giving me some brainspace.

I'm going to try to spend only as much time over here as is healthy for me, which is limited, but honestly IDK where else on the internet to find people to talk to, so hello hellsite denizens.

[jacob-portman]

ignorance is bliss

[ofafallenstar]

here’s a portion of the drawing i’m working on!