#kudos to the people that can actually finish their stories or update regularly

[leonenjoyer69]

Chat I'm so close to just writing a bunch of little scattered one shots with Elias, Especially if the next chapter for the actual fic keeps being a PAIN IN MY ASSSS, PLEASEEE I NEED TO WRITE SO BADDD CAN MY BRAIN JUST WORK

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

Gonna say this as nicely as I can. If you are one of those people complaining there isn't enough of a certain kind of fic and you never support the fic you do like, that's part of the reason you aren't getting more of what you like.

In my experience, the people that complain the loudest that there isn't a particular thing for them are also not commenting, refuse to read WIPs, and are not recommending the fic when the DO find something they they like.

Doing that is important if you want writers to keep writing at all. But it's EXTRA important if you like a non-main pairing. Or if you like non-shippy fic. Or if you like fic featuring and exploring secondary characters.

I can't speak for other fic writers, but I personally care very little about hits and not a ton about kudos. What I care about is comments. A comment tells me an actual person read and connected with my story. That's what motivates me to write. Even if it's just a string of emojis or a keyboard smash or quoting back a bit you liked.

If I'm writing a niche story with characters other than leads and I have like...5 people who reliably comment on every chapter, I will keep writing. But if I write the niche fic and it's crickets even if it's got a few hits and a handful of kudos, I won't. And honestly I might even delete what is up there. If the fic has 100 hits but 20 comments from people regularly commenting on each chapter, I will keep feeding you.

You get what you give. Commenters and WIP readers are the reason silent readers and people who refuse to read WIPs even have anything TO read.

And before anyone says it: you can easily check to see if a writer has a history of updating regularly and finishing their WIPs. If they do, you have every reason to think their next WIP will also be completed. Conversely, if the person has a history of abandoning work or being really slow to update, yeah I get it. Maybe wait for those folks to finish.

.

[july-19th-club]

Fic writer interview

@goingsparebutwithprecision tagged me in this one and then i had it in my drafts for six or eight months so now it is out of the drafts and into the queue

How many works do you have on AO3? a grand NINE

What's your total AO3 word count? 82,429, which is almost the length of a short novel.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Grace (SPN), Between Friends (Magnus Archives), Yellow Asters (SPN), In the Valley of the Ever Young (Umbrella Academy), and The Steward (Discworld)

I guess i'd hoped Another Journey (The Untamed) would do better - but I'm not at all surprised that my quick and dirty post-finale (by like a DAY) Game of Thrones thing didn't do well. On the other end of the spectrum, my quick and dirty post-finale-by-eleven-hours SPN thing did great it's my top seller. That's 600ish kudos so we're not talking phenomenal, but still. Goes to show I think the difference between how game of thrones fans handled the ending (buried heads in sand, wept and gnashed teeth, rent hair and clothing, ranted for hours on a slow monday worknight shift to me while i listened, horrified and enraptured) versus how spn fans, who never had expectations to gradually and then all at once disappointing, handled the ending (shrug, make some jokes, cry not because it's ending but because it happened, and then crack open the laptops for some quality writing about the whole thing). We were already prepared for things to be bad, so when they were even more bad than all THAT? We were actually, I think, in a way kind of pleased and satisfied. If it had ended well i think it would've been a bit of anticlimax after all that time. Whereas in Game of Thrones there was still the slim chance that they might turn it all around at the eleventh hour, so when they didn't the viewers just wanted to hide and lick their wounds. Produced much less immediate fic.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? It really totally depends on the comment and my mood honestly. If it's especially long and glowing I try to give it at least a little bit of attention but it might not be right away.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Tie between Another Journey and In the Valley - In the Valley ends RIGHT before a character death in canon, Another Journey ends right after a non-canonical character death. So take your pic. I don't tend to do death for death's sake, but for these two stories it felt cheap to avoid it.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? FINISHED fic? That people can SEE the ending of? Grace, which I now don't like because it's not complex enough and I completely mischaracterized Jack, but that's what Wishes Were Horses is for. Whenever I get around to it. You know.

Do you write crossovers? Not really. I love worldbuilding but trying to marry two disparate worlds is too much for me, I don't like having to do all the logistics. Probably a less pedantic writer would just not care about the logistics but I also don't READ crossovers because the logistics or lack thereof is such an issue for me, so.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? No but back when I was regularly updating Book of Gold (which I'm linking even though I'm probably going to retire that version at some point and start working on a better rewrite) I had a reader who REALLY liked Steve, a character I had no plans to write from the perspective of because I barely remembered him and did not care about him, and still don't really, and that reader would constantly ask me with waning hope if I was gonna do anything Steve related. And I'd avoid saying a definitive no.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Prev apparently has some good Cyrano de Bergerac smut which I now want to read. I personally have never posted any sex in fics, but not for lack of hoping someday to tastefully get it all out there. I just was raised catholic so if I say anything sexual where people can see it i get embarrassed.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I hope not I haven't checked lol but I only have nine and they're not well known so who give a shit

Have you ever had a fic translated? No.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nah. When it comes to writing I don't think I could ever split the work I'd want too much control.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? I do not have favorites because the other ones might get sad . this extends to foods, stuffed childhood animals, and books in my reading stack . also fountain pens

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? At this point any of them lkajslkdjfasdf but i really REALLY doubt the immediate future of the Book of Gold, which is a shame because I have all the major beats mapped out in my head. It's just so much more ambitious than even the other long fics I have in my documents files, the scope is years instead of days or months, and it's a lot of planning and prep work that I can't help but feel I should instead spend on either quicker-to-finish stories or original ones.

What are your writing strengths? I think I have a strong voice, a good turn of phrase, that sort of thing. I also think that after years of trying I have gotten good at realistic dialogue that's not TOO realistic as to be unreadable, and I've learned how to be funny. Worldbuilding.

What are your writing weaknesses? Complex plotting, which sucks because I love complex plotting and want to do more of it. Also punctuality, which is not a writing weakness so much as a regular one, and the really big one is character relationships and consistency over time. I struggle to fit all those pieces together/remember whether they fit together when I started. This probably has to do with my social struggles in real life lol it's very hard for me to write characters thinking/believing/philosophizing/reacting differently than I would, at least without falling back into the 'everybody is me' mode that risks them coming off flat. I think my way around this for most of my writing life has been to write from one person's first-person perspective, which helps alleviate that problem, but I'm trying to do different things and expand my skill set/comfort zone.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? It's cool and I like it but I only know one other language than the one I speak and I speak it at a second grade level. So I don't do this much but I enjoy reading it. Love to copy and paste the language I don't know into a dictionary of words and parse it out it's like a fun secret treat.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Discworld TECHNICALLY . but really The Outsiders and really really even before that I have an unnamed undescribed thing that I hope to turn into a short story that is almost not at all like the fic. so i will not discuss it

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? Star Trek (I've written for it but haven't finished and posted yet). Perhaps True Blood. I have some ideas.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Again I cant play favorites BUT. It's probably Another Journey. It just came together so easily and the structure fell right into place and I managed to do a lot of stuff that was challenging in a way that felt successful. Book of Gold is next to my heart so close that I'm sure it's not actually GOOD and I don't wanna call it 'favorite' because it's a different thing. It's a sibling.

@whileyoureinschoolidothisallday do you want to do a tag game? and any of the other writing mutuals on here who've plied their hands

[toodrasticallydumb]

20 questions for fic writers

Oh! Hello! I was tagged by @pinkytoothlesso11 ! Thanks for thinking of me pinky! I’m kinda new to the whole fanfic scene so i really appreciate it! This was already a long list of questions to begin with but i fear i may have made it worse…

OH WELL HAVE FUN SPORT :}>

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Unfortunately just 2, though I do plan to add a few more in the future as ideas flow. Might take me a minute ‘cause my schedule is just a little bit kinda sorta really swamped down with my main child which requires let me you, A LOT OF CARE DONT SIGN UP TO ADOPT KIDS PEOPLE IT’S NOT—

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Phew. ummmm it changes very rapidly (because i’m a girl w suspected adhd and can NEVER be told to shut up) with every chapter but as of this moment is 228,665! wow! i don’t really know how great of a number that is but i’m sure it’s a lot! I told you I can never shut up! (-whispers- Hey kid, u want some dRuGs? i mean- an update? That itty bitty word count is about to take another not regularly scheduled mini-skyrocket so get ready for it ehehe ;})

3. What fandoms do you write for?

For now, just Trollhunters/Tales of Arcadia, mainly Trollhunters despite the fact that the first of the Tales of Arcadia shows that i watched and really enjoyed was actually 3-Below, but oh well my man is in Trollhunters sooooo oopsie but i DO have some random snippets of fics for Miraculous (rewrite), the Star Wars sequels (rewrite), Batman, some for the Dream SMP, and weirdly enough also Raya and the Last Dragon (rewrite). All of which i prolly wont ever post because i wrote them a while ago and yeaaaahhh not my best writing but if i get enough people other than my best friend wanting me to post them, i might…

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

uhhhh i dont actually HAVE five fics to my name, so i’ll just…put em in order (w their long-ahh title names):

Trollhunter!Strickler: Destiny's Ill-fitted Chosen

'A MiStAkE' because I haven't updated in ages--A Stricklake month 2023 prompt collection

but i am so happy for the people who have left so many kudos on my work it really warms mah little heart ❤️

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

Yes. At first, I sorta struggled with it (who the heck am i kidding i STILL do) but since my fic USED to be two times a week updates i would feel like i couldn’t respond to a comment left after i posted a new chapter so i might’ve left some comments in the earlier days unanswered, super sorry. Nowadays i make it a point to reply back to everyone in the order that they commented in because (anxiety makes me think if i don’t respond they won’t comment anymore and know that i love reading their comments and that they’re so amazing for actually taking the time to write something back AND I DO LOVE IT I PROMISE IT JUST TAKES ME A WHILE TO RESPOND—) …because it’s pretty chill to geek out w em and see they liked stuff that i loved to write! I do have a backlog of comments to get to i just end up overthinking everything to match the person’s energy to be sure they know i love em.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Unfortunately, i haven’t actually finished a fully-fledged fic to say it has the angstiest ending bUt definitely a contender would be chapter 1 of my 2023 Stricklake prompt collection because i just leave it on the sad note and don’t do anything about it because angst and because spoilers for my actual story fic that will eventually make it to that point.

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

Happiest ending, huh? I like to say that most of the things i will/have chosen to write end happy/hopeful because i hate when books/tv shows end bittersweetly it’s like i have enough with life itself being bittersweet most of the time let me be happy LET THEM BE HAPPY. But that doesn’t exclude me from providing the proper banquet of angst that ends in caretaking, my absolute favorite trope.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Oh heck no. I would be devastated honestly, but thankfully everyone who comments is always the sweetest and kindest people ever and really encourage me to keep going, for that i am only thankful.

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

No. Just no. I love romance but i am a minor, so i’ve never consumed smut nor intend to ever write it. Give me a soft romance and loving gestures, I can allude to greater happenings but not details.

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

I don’t, sorry. I don’t know something in me just doesn’t sit well with crossovers, for the life of me I don’t know why. Like genuinely i wish i could get into them but maybe it’s like food on a plate? i don’t like the foods touching each other so maybe the same rules apply??? yeah i’m drasticallydumb

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that i know of, no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t believe so, and if someone did they’re in for a heck of a lot of work there…

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

Nope! I’d like to sometime but i have no idea how one even goes about making a co-written fic, on top of which i am a very sporadic person in terms of motivation and random ideas produced by a song i’m listening to while writing.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Stricklake obviously is a really big contender if not the winner, the ship that brought me to AO3, writing fanfics, and tumblr. But, if i had to pick other options i’d say Eugene and Repunzel from Tangled would be one of my ogs, another might be uhhh Chris and Aviva from Wild Kratts the og of the ogs.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Chapter 3 of my stricklake 2023 prompt collection, it just has a lot of moving parts and me and my best friend are chronic procrastinators and with the month pretty far gone it might just end up sittin’ there for the foreseeable future 😞 but who knows

16. What are your writing strengths?

Phew, that’s a dozy mainly because i’m not super sure. I’d like to think one of my main strengths is descriptions and really putting you in the mind of the character, i don’t really like spelling things out and i like a little investigating to get you where u end up, u know? I like to think my writing FEELS a little more like a show on a page rather than a true book, most to blame would be my maladaptive daydreaming taking up a lot of time in my planning for my writing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Ah. How the turn tables. I would say that my weaknesses in writing mostly consist of me going a little *too* far into detail on meaningless things or making it too convoluted for people to understand, sometimes spelling it out is better in certain scenarios and i just really need to get myself past that. Another one i would say is that i go REALLY into detail not only in a sentence/chapter sense but also a complete STORYLINE sense, i hate time skips and i shoot myself in the foot wanting to completely document every moment of everyday w a character and hence it seems like a lot of time in universe hasn’t gone by. Trying to improve and grow tho 💪

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

Can’t wait to do more of it! Especially with Claire and her family (including NotEnrique) speaking spanglish w each other automatically mainly because i am hispanic and completely fluent in Spanish and live in a similar household so i just love to add a little ✨personalization✨ to my dialogue and interactions in that way. Other languages………….yeaaaahhh i’m not super good will prolly use google translate and hope.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Trollhunters, my gateway into AO3. HOWEVER. if you promise not to tell, the very first fandom i read/wanted to write a fanfic for was actually, as far as i can tell, Wordgirl. don’t ask why. don’t ask me how. it just kinda happened. But, officially, it’s Trollhunters. (maybe with a side of Warrior Cats).

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Not hard at all! My pride and joy, my youngest baby in the grand scheme of my writing journey, Trollhunter!Strickler: Destiny's Ill-fitted Chosen! A surprise to absolutely NO ONE. It’s honestly so amazing to both write and see people read and enjoy as much as I do, he’s my little man ❤️ And doing so much rewriting and character growth and having so much written and planned for the future, it’s just my absolute fav

[realitybitesyouknowit]

Pros and cons of Ao3 and Fanfiction

I regularly wonder if i've read a fic or not after opening the link to whatever someone else was looking for in ao3. There's no good way to know unless you A) remember. B) wait a little bit and hope the number of times a link been clicked in history gives it away which not accurate cause I've had tabs open for months and not actually read them. Or C) Have the patience of a saint to scroll through the kudos to see if your tag is there cause I tend to kudos thinks 've finished or started and bookmarked. I wish your kudos stayed at the top of the list so you'd just know. Lord please don't ask me why I don't make collections cause I darn well haven't figured it out. Ergo why I share thinks on here with a million tags in hopes of finding things again if need be. My favorite thing about ao3 is the bookmark and save for later feature that fanfiction lacks. Alternatively I adore the fact fanfiction lets you fave stories and authors and then you can look through your faves to see what you have and haven't read base on authors I.E. for me I'm working my way through Beepkeeper atm didn't realize I hadn't binged them all yet. Not a fan of the follow story feature so much as yes it tells you there's an update in email but you have to remember where you left off yourself.

I also get sucked into the trap of rereading things rather than finishing the other 100 tabs already up because hey I loved that story. Vaguely remember bits and pieces but the ending is doggy so lets recap anyways. I bookmarked that story years ago and forgot about it waiting for updates but now it's finally finished and I need to know it from front to back. Last but not least that story has been bookmarked for ages and remains unfinished must to your dismay but you want to remember what everyone's talking about anyways. I'm about to go cry in a corner because I thought the The much better, Dursley's can fuck off, Slytherins are people too AU series was complete only to realize part 5 hasn't been updated since 2018.

They used the the thing!!!! Like there's a whole prompt about Charlie calling the dragons his kids wearing onsies on this site floating around somewhere and they used it!!!!!I just gaaaah nevermind Harry is just this precious bean that attracts all manner of dangerous and mystical creatures to him. Minnie is a bamf mama cat. Pansy and Hermione are the most terrifying duo in the world plotting world domination with their gf Millie along for the ride. Like This series is gold and its not finished and the cliffies gonna kill me.

[modern-oedipus]

I FINISHED WRITING CHAPTER 21!!!

I either think about writing Conflict and have a writer's block or I binge write all of the chapter (both Norman and Ray POVs) continiously without taking a single break. It has always been like this. I did want to write Conflict today but I didn't expect myself to actually be able to get into the mood... because it doesn't happen often. Woah! What a journey!!

It really was one of my 2024 goals to update Conflict regularly, and I am so grateful that I can properly take action on that. I receive comments from old and new readers and honestly-- for a fic that hasn't been updated for two years, and for a fandom almost dead, I am so grateful that I still found people to share this story with. I didn't know what to expect when I posted, but I am so glad I did. ❤️ Even if we may not be as crowded of a fandom before, this is my heartfelt gesture to keep telling their story and I am beyınd happy to have company through it. ❤️

The problem with Chapter 21 is... The "Event 1" took actually the whole chapter (~4,000+ words) and I ended the chapter in a conclusive spot. But I had more on my mind for that chapter. I wanted to post on Valentine's Day, and I want to match the theme to something more romantic. I am mostly loyal to the plot I had in 2019 (I think the only difference is that, Norman fell for Ray faster, but again I think we all waited long enough in real life timezone so I am speeding things up a bit, updating and slow burn is already making things slow, I can't let Norman use more time budget, we all got shit to do 😂) so it kind of was naturally going to be a romantic chapter anyway...

But like...

I feel like this chapter is exhausting enough as it is now and the Valentine's Day themed chapter should be the next one.

But there are??? 12 days until Valentine's Day? Which will be very intense for me irl as well. I don't know if I can write ANOTHER chapter until Feb 14. I was planning to write and edit this chapter in advance so it is ready by Feb 14 to post (SEE I DONT DO THINGS LAST MINUTE ANYMORE I HAD CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT) but like... I don't want this chapter to be the one I post on Feb 14.

So I could proofread this chapter and post it TOMORROW and POSSIBLY WRITE ANOTHER ONE in 12 days but, ,,,?

The inspiration may not hit and I may not have the time and availability to write another chapter...

SO WHAT DO I DOOOO

Its a gamble 😭

I might post this tomorrow and get gratification but there is no guarantee I can pull out another chapter in 12 days. I have so many things laying ahead this week, hence why I wrote this in advance...

Or maybe I could keep writing Chapter 22 tomorrow, ensure it is ready for Feb 14, then post chapter 21.

BUT ITS NOT FUN TO WRITE NEXT CHAPTER UNTIL I READ THE READER COMMENTS AND SEE THE KUDOS AND BOOKMARKS

Because I LOVE IT WHEN ITS INTERACTIVE

BUT I REALLY WANT TO DELIVER A BETTER GHING FOR FEB 14

But realistically speaking I may not have more time to put aside to write Conflict

Or do I just??? Say "fuck it" and make Conflict a priorirty and skip some social meetings or something to write it??

But sometimes I hit writers block even if I intentionally make timr to write Conflict, so there is no guarantee that it putting time aside equals a chapter

Alright I'll figure it out tomorrow good night. If worst comes to worst we still have one full chapter full of conflict (pun intended)

👉🏻👈🏻

Thank you for still checking up Conflict, reading and commenting after all these years! 🙏🏻✨ I am drafting Chapter 21 and I want to post consistently in 2024 (at least once a month). 💖

[featherwriter]

QUESTION TO FOLLOWERS:

Would you like me to continue posting fics on tumblr?

If so, please give this post a like so that I know there's an audience here still!

Ok, some longer thoughts on this question below:

Recompense is finished! Wow what a fic. Literally five years ago I started that thing, but it's finally done and I've had a real burst of creative energy and have been writing on the sequels to it!

However, I'm trying to figure out if it's worth my time to continue posting fics over here on this blog. For those who follow me elsewhere, you may have realized that my Archive of Our Own account gets fic updates from me more regularly than this blog does. While I do try to crosspost most things over here eventually, it's usually quite a delay. (Fanfic.net is more delayed than that, I admit my FF account languishes more than the others.)

Part of the reason for that is that I tend to do more formatting here to try to make things easier, given that tumblr is not a website innately designed to host multi-chapter fanfics, so I tend to make navigation buttons with links at the beginning of end of my fics here, and a masterpost that compiles all the chapter links together. I also like to make little gif banners to set the mood of the fic over here, for presentation's sake.

That said... I'm wondering if all this extra effort is worth it. Do people actually read fics using this blog or this page? Or do most people simply use AO3 these days anyway and I'm doing a bunch of extra effort for not much gain. Would you prefer that I just link to AO3 instead of posting fics in full here?

I'd love to hear actual feedback on what readers would prefer, if people have any for me. Or simply give this post a like if you want me to keep posting here. If nothing is heard, I may stop doing all the fanfic posting here, and simply consolidate to AO3 alone.

Regardless of results, you can almost always expect that the most up-to-date fics from me and first releases are going to continue to be on AO3. For example, Recompense (which is part 2 in this very old series, A Crow's Rescue) now has a fully complete (if short) sequel on AO3, Requiem. And part 4, Renaissance, is also starting to have chapters posting, which I expect to continue for a bit!

Would you like me to post Requiem and Renaissance over here as well? Or is it easier to just link to them? Or do people not really care about fics on tumblr anymore?

Please let me know! And for anyone who reads my fics, thank you so much! As any fic writer knows, comments, kudos, and likes are the fuel that keeps us going, knowing our stories made somebody else smile.

[bluetraverser]

People I cannot stress this enough;

If you want a fanfic to be updated regularly - engage with the author. Writing comments is the easist way to do it because it shows the author that there is actual interest. That people aren’t just skimming their work looking for whatever - but actually want to see more of the story.

That it does something.

To your mind.

To your heart.

I can’t speak for every author and I know its different for some of them - but I tend to work most on the story were I get active feedback from people or - even better - have someone to bounce ideas off.

If you never write comments, the author will feel like they are talking into a void. Yes, Kudos are nice but comments are people!

You wonder why I mostly update one specific newer story right now and not my biggest, most long-running? It’s because I can actually talk to someone about the newer story, its because I have a single person that actively wants to read more about it. This morning I got one comment from a person on a story I kept shelved for about 6 months now, a story that has  one or maybe two chapters missing till its done. A story that barely ever got comments. This single comments is making me go over my notes again today to actually think about finishing the story maybe sometime.

Engagement matters.

Comments matter.

if you want art to thrive, show the artist that it means something to you. Tell them it brightens your day. Tell them you hate a character with passion. Tell them you love the way they’’re describing a minor detail because it shows the beauty in the mundane because its what life can be about. The tiny sliver of beauty in our day that we need in life to keep going...

The person who writes the story is a human being. Engage with them. Yes, they might not have time, yes, they might have to tell you ‘Sorry, I don’t have the energy, I don’t think that way anymore, I don’t want to finish it-’

But they will also tell you: “But thank you so much for your comment. Thank you for valuing my work. I’m so glad it actually meant something to somebody’

And this goes DOUBLE if the fic hasn’t been updated in a long time. Your comment can seriously be the one that reignites an authors interest in their own story. If you take the time.

And engage with it.

[skaylanphear]

Hi there! Do you have any advice on improving traction towards a fanwork/fic? I love writing—and it's not for notoriety by any means—but having validation and feedback also feels nice (I hope that's not conceited). What would you recommend to someone without a large audience/follower base? I do "advertise" on tumblr when my work is written/updated on AO3. How did your journey start? Thank you!

This is an interesting question and I doubt most people are going to like the answers, but here we go:

So, first and foremost, you need to be realistic about why you're creating in the first place. If you're doing work in a fandom that is older, where content has stopped coming out, or that is simply smaller, you're not going to get much engagement, period. There will, of course, be activity in these fandoms, but it will be far less and the people involved—while they may view your work—will be less likely to comment/spread it around simply because there's not much going on. So if you're creating in that sort of environment (which can be a really good environment if you're looking for something chill with no pressure), then you have to be prepared for low engagement, even if the people you do meet and who are willing to talk about your work are more regularly in your sphere. You can probably make better/closer friends in these sorts of fandoms, if you're willing to try.

But, on the other end of this, if you're coming into a huge fandom late, it's also going to be harder to wade through the massive following to get your stuff out there. For example, in both the Miraculous and Sk8 fandom, I started work pretty early on, when the shows were still gaining traction, and so my "name" as a creator gained traction parallel to that growth, as opposed to when I started writing in the Voltron fandom. With Voltron, I came in super late and so what few fics I had that did gain traction took a lot longer to get there because people already had their fav content creators in the fandom, etc. It's not impossible to get popular in this situation—far from it—but it does take longer.

You'll also benefit from having finished works early on in a fandom's lifespan, at least with writing. This is because there's less competition for views and so more people will be filtered to your work, initially. This means that you have a better chance of getting those comments and kudos. Having a finished work increases this engagement because people look for finished works before works in progress. Generally, the length of a fic doesn't matter much for popularity, so long as it's DONE. When I was writing in the ML fandom, quite a few of my earlier fics were shorter, and they compete in popularity with my longer fics, because people care more about having a finished story, not a long story. That's why when it came to Only Practice Makes Perfect in the Sk8 fandom, I worked hard to get that shit done, because it was the most popular story I had in the fandom and I decided—like an idiot—to make it a long fic. Which, yeah, means people probably love it/remember it more in the long run, but if I hadn't finished it in 2 to 3 months, I'd have lost considerable traction as far as making a name within the fandom.

This leads into one of the most important points, if not THE MOST IMPORTANT point in gaining an audience—consistency. If you do want to be a successful creator, you Have To Be Consistent. This is the most difficult hurdle for all creators, and it is oftentimes impossible to make happen. If you want to aim for professionalism, which a lot of fandom creators don't care about (which is fine), then consistency is how you get there. Nobody wants to read a fic or follow an artist who doesn't stick to creating what they start (RIP all my unfinished works and the people who left me as a result, LOL). Using my most recent works as an example, I very, very, very consistently updated Only Practice Makes Perfect multiple times a week. To the point where people got comfortable expecting it, which is the key variable here. When people become comfortable that you will regularly create content, they not only stick around, but will be more interactive with you and your work. Nobody likes the disappointment of getting involved with a work only for that work to rarely get updates. Most people don't have the attention span to care. I'll admit, if I read a fic that's not finished and the writer takes one week to update, then one week, then THREE weeks, I probably will, like, forget about it. That's just life.

The best thing you can do is schedule. And again, this is the HARDEST thing to do, because it holds the creator to a deadline. Most people who create in fandoms don't want that kind of pressure—and that's fine. I go back and forth on when I have scheduled releases and when I don't, depending on what I'm aiming to do. But if you to retain your audience, telling them that you will update a work regularly on such and such a day and such and such a time, it creates something for them to remember. If they're invested in your work, they will think, "oh, it's Friday, that means such and such is coming out with something new." But, with that in mind, you also have to commit to a schedule that people will remain invested in. Which basically means you can't put things out more than a week away from each other, unless you're really, really famous, lol. If I told people I was going to go on a two week update schedule, I would lose most of my audience. But a week is long enough for people to both still remember and anticipate. That's just how the scheduling of the world works. And if you're an artist that's working on a big project, then you have to share progress, or pieces of what you're doing on a regular basis. That's what generates "buzz" and keeps you relevant. And, yeah, that's a really hard schedule to commit to, because it's a lot of work. BUT this consistency is where you see people being successful. Popular youtubers may not have gained their popularity by being consistent, but most sure do retain it that way. And again, there are outlying exceptions, but they generally ARE exceptions.

Speaking of hard work, here's probably the second hardest thing to accomplish—you have to be prolific. Especially as a writer. You have to write A LOT if you want to gain an audience. And yeah, that means you have to work, a lot. I love my work, so I enjoy that "grind," and I also have developed a lot of strategies to work around writer's block and every other obstacle that tends to catch people up. I work in a very professional manner—I do outlines, and drafts, and plan. I do a lot of stuff that people who do this kind of thing for fun can't be bothered with (and that's fine), but that's because I find it to be what works best in creating an efficient environment. I'm also very, very NOT lazy, lol. I was raised in an environment where you have to work for everything that you want. My parents didn't buy me my first computer, or snowboard, or what have you. We were tight on money and if I wanted something, they couldn't help me—I had to get that shit on my own. And I also grew up on a farm, where hard work was a staple of how you did things. You did things the right way, even if it was the hard way. You can't cut corners and it's the same with this. If you want it, you have to actually do the work, that's it. Some people get lucky with popularity, most don't. Most famous actors didn't become well-known off their first efforts, they had to keep trying and keep working and then they have to continue to do that to stay relevant. So if that doesn't sound great to you, then you might want to not focus on your audience and just create because you enjoy it, lol. Sometimes that's what I do too, when I don't wanna deal with the pressure.

Moving on, here's another point that nobody is going to like. Simply put, you also have to be good at what you do. I think some people don't realize that I've been writing fic for over fifteen years. I currently have nearly 2 millions words worth of fics on AO3 and that doesn't include a majority of the stuff I've ever written. I practice A LOT. I write every day. And I'll tell ya, when I started out in middle school, my stuff was not good. But I worked hard, I ignored the hate, and I kept going. That is the only way you will ever get better at anything. There's no quick way to become a better writer, or artist. And a vast majority of people are only going to pay attention to your stuff if it's quality work. Getting to that point is a process, on top of then creating stuff that fits into popular molds. Not only am I good at what I do (and I don't care how arrogant that sounds—I've worked my ass off), but when it comes to fandoms, I rarely write "rare pairs" and "crack ships." Generally, if it's popular, that's where I am. That makes a big difference and I honestly don't have sympathy for people who write rare pairs and such and then complain about lack of engagement. You knew what you were getting into (it's mostly the Miraculous fandom that gave me this bitterness). If you're not writing what people WANT to read, then your audience is simply going to be smaller. And that audience doesn't owe you their attention, no matter how frustrating it is or how good your work is. I could be the best writer in the world, but if I'm writing RekixCherry fic, I have nobody to blame but myself when nobody reads it. BUT if that's your passion, and writing a certain unpopular thing makes you happy, then, again, you need to not be concerned with traction and your audience.

The last point I'll make is that it matters HOW you present yourself online. A good chunk of the well-known creators in any fandom are, simply put, older people. And those that aren't, and are able to connect with those older creators, have generally created a bubble around themselves of maturity and, like, of being nice, lol. A lot of creators are skittish these days, and if you're an asshole (anti) or fight a lot over stupid shit, you may get a bigger audience, but you will isolate yourself from other creators. And this is important because oftentimes it is your exposure to other creators that will get your work circulating. The reason I got popular in the ML fandom? I wrote a short angst fic and a really popular artist shared it/talked about it and the rest was history. But if I'd had a habit of being an asshole, probably wouldn't have happened. And, granted, I'm not saying don't voice your opinions, but if you're loud all the time, it does turn people off. Especially creators because they are oftentimes the ones being attacked. They don't want to pull more of that negative bullshit into their lives. I'll admit, when I was in the ML fandom, I was down for a fight, but then that's what people came to expect, and it probably did turn others off, and then when I didn't fight, or didn't think the way my audience thought I should, it, again, turned people off. It's really not worth it unless being that type of person IS your platform.

So, that's all the advice I can give, I suppose. And even if you do all this stuff, that still doesn't mean you're going to be popular. At the end of the day, the thing that I stick to is this—I do what I want, I love what I do, and I work hard. If I'm in a position to worry about all that other stuff, then sure, I do, but otherwise… There's no easy way to become popular and, quite frankly, it's better to just "live" working hard and being a decent person than it is to focus on all this bullshit. I've created a working environment where I function within these "points" quite naturally, so it's not something I think about (except for schedules, lol). Sometimes I get popular in fandoms, sometimes I don't. At the end of the day, it comes down to how much work you're willing to do, because you will always be giving more than you are getting back, so you have to at least enjoy what you're doing.

Seriously, just do it because you love it. And if the pressure of everything above is something you don't love (I like a good, high pressure situation, lol), then don't do it that way—it's not worth the grief.

[dancer-me]

2021 Fic Wrap Up

I was tagged by @onelonelytortillachip and @marjansmarwani, two wonderful authors and humans I met this year thanks to fic writing, AO3, and tumblr! Thank you both 💖

Total Number Of Completed Works: 6

Total Word Count: 132,342

Fandoms I’ve Written In: 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star (for the cross-over fics!)

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected? Oh absolutely more, considering I had zero knowledge that I would ever get back into fic writing this year. The vibe snuck up on me and I'm very thankful for it! I expected to write a total of zero (0) words for non-academic purposes.

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year? Oh this is tough... I think it's Giving Up Ground (Part 2 of Chaotic Energy) because 1) it's my first longfic at 76k that I've completed in nearly a decade and 2) I really love how it turned out. Writing the characters and the action and the drama and the interaction in the comments I got from it was really so much fun.

Did You Take Any Writing Risks This Year? Biggest risk I'd say is getting back into writing fic at all. I haven't really written since I wrote for Naruto back in 2007-2014 (which HUGE gaps in between). I wasn't sure how it would go, but everyone who has interacted with me since has made me feel great about reviving this hobby of mine. In terms of risks, Chaotic Energy is the first time I've ever written a cross-over so that was scary. It's not THAT big of a jump because at least 9-1-1 and Lone Star operate in the same universe, but it still felt risky to write cross-over content for characters who haven't had that much canon interaction with each other.

Do You Have Any Fanfic Or Profic Goals For The New Year? I want to finish my Chaotic Energy series and write a 9-1-1 Bodyguard AU that has been taking route in my brain. Maybe try to also write more smaller (<5k words) fics so when I try to write speculation fic I can actually finish it in time to still be partially relevant.

Most Popular Story Of The Year?  by kudos its Express to Nowhere (Part 1 of Chaotic Energy), my first multi-chapter fic in the fandom that I dearly love. By comments and hits, it's Giving Up Ground (Part 2 of Chaotic Energy), which gives me warm fuzzies since I believe this was the first time I ever successfully wrote a sequel to anything so I guess it's very true for me that detailed outlines make magic happen!

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: Hmm... I think just from a hits and kudos POV I'd have to say Home Is Where You Are, my super fluffy buddie Christmas fic. It is seasonally specific and domestic fluff which are both things that are not really my brand, and there is very little action / drama / angst to accompany the romance which I like to think IS my brand, so I get it. That said - it's still pretty well loved I think for having posted it on anon for a few weeks! 🎄😊

Most Fun Story To Write: Oh hands down it was Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You. Creating Tucker Davies was an absolute blast, and I had a stupid grin on my face for most of the time I spent writing it. I also wrote this fic faster than I think anything I've ever done in the past which was exhilarating.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: I think I put a bit of myself into every fic I write in one way or another, but perhaps I'd pick Pull me Under, my 4x14 fic for this one. It had a lot of introspection and spiraling and misplaced responsibility, grief, and love in it. I visited some feelings while writing it.

Biggest Disappointment: Being shiny and new and having written comparably few works, I think I've been so lucky this year to not have many disappointments. I think I think I'm actually my biggest disappointment this year because I fell off the wagon updating my Chaotic Energy series somewhat regularly in November when life got busy and overwhelming for me and I feel like I let a lot of people down. I'm working on Chapter 2 right now though, so it's definitely not on hiatus at all I just... disappeared.

Biggest Surprise: Everything haha. That I wrote 132k when I didn't think I'd be writing anything at all, that so many people enjoyed my fics, that I even dared to write a cross-over fic SERIES, and also that my itty bitty fic Quarter Life Crisis is as popular kudos-wise as it is. I think it's cute and funny and I liked it, but I didn't expect it to really go anywhere in a sea of coda fics. I think maybe it's because it's a short one at <2k and those are easy to pick up and read?

My Favorite Part Of Fandom This Year: Getting involved in fandom in May and everything that came with it. All the new friends I've made on tumblr and discord, all the people I've interacted with in the comments of fics - you've made me so happy and really welcomed me into a space that has given me a lot of fun and joy this year. Thanks to all of you for being you and proving that the internet isn't just full of trolls - we have the good ones too!

Unsurprisingly I am late getting to this so I'm going to tag some people and anyone else who wants to participate! Just say I tagged you - I want to read what you wrote! If I tagged you and you already did one, maybe @ me in the comments so I can see yours? No pressure tagging @221bsunsettowers, @sadieyuki, @tinselbuck, @stellalore and @hopeintheashes.

[someone-worth-racing-for]

Maybe some people don't give comments that much because updates are not that regular? I usually tend to write comments to stories that are more active, as for stories that are not updated often, I start to forget them and loose my interest. Just giving a point, because if you update once in a 2-4months, you cannot expect activity from readers either.

Oh, I think I know you anon - you have already written me a few times a while ago, right?!

Don’t get me wrong here, this isn’t meant to sound offensive towards you at all, but you aren’t a writer yourself, aren’t you?! Because a writer would never say something like that. Because a writer exactly knows how much time and effort we put into our stories and how much work it is to update your stories regularly without feeling any pressure, because as soon as pressure is in the play, it doesn’t work the same way anymore. It’s getting more difficult for us writers as soon as someone “forces” us to write and we have so much pressure on our shoulders. This may sound funny when not even ridiculous to you, but that’s just the way we feel.

And if I’m serious, I don’t think this is the reason of the lack of comments lately. For example, I have written 34 OS this years, all together 147283 words, 21666 views and to all those stories I have received 39 comments. Those 34 stories were one shots, so people don’t have to wait for a continuation here, because there won’t be one. The story is done with one chapter. So your theory actually doesn’t work here. Luckily I get more reviews on my multi-chapter stories, I know I update really not that often, but people still show more interest in these stories I update so barely than all my OS together.

So no, I really don’t believe this is the reason.

Just a nice remember - we fanfiction writers are doing this all for free. We don’t get paid for it, we don’t owe anyone anything, we are doing this first of all for ourselves, because we just love to write and build stories and only second we want to share those worlds we have created with you as well and sharing our happiness with all of you and all we ask for is to get something back from you readers, in form of some reviews, to hear about how our stories have made you feel, what your thoughts are. We really aren’t proffessional writers, who are getting paid for writing, we are getting paid with kudos and comments. We spend hours and hours of our freetime and give our best, but we aren’t robots, who can deliver new stories/new chapters on a regular basis. We also still have a life and if you believe us or not - we also have more important things to do in life! But we are doing this all because we love to do it. It’s our passion, so please don’t shrink our passion with being disappointed about not regular updates. Try to understand us as well, because if you would have to do it yourself, you would know what I’m talking about here. 

And you know what, just a few days ago someone left a comment under one of my not-yet-finished-stories, I have last updated at the begining of February this year!! That reader told me, that he/she is still waiting for the final chapter, has even re-read the whole 47k story again, after he/she had checked if I have maybe already finally published the last chapter, because he/she is still in love with that story of mine.

Can you imagine what this means to me and what this makes to me? Yes, of course I also still want to finally publish the last chapter and finish that story finally, but I just can’t. It’s difficult to explain it, but that’s just the way a writer brains work. If the brain doesn’t want, you actually have no chance. But such comments, like this one I have received the other week, gives me strength and also motivation, because I know at least someone is out there still waiting for the final chapter, someone is still showing interest even after all this time.

Thinking that leaving comments under older fics, especially on still unfished ones you are actually still intersted in, makes no sense is wrong and it's actually one of the less helpful things you can do for a writer. First of all of course for yourself, because that way you will probably never get your update/ get to know the end of that story. And second, it makes such a big difference for the writer, it’s balm for their souls. Because if you don’t show any interest through comments, the writer just can’t smell it, that you are maybe still waiting for the next chapter/for the final update, if you just don’t tell it to them. Talk to the writer, like they talk to you though their stories and also through their notes at the beginning and the end of their works.

You have no idea what wonders can happen, if you leave a review under a story, especially under one, which hasn’t got updated since months.

And you just can't expect us to deliver stories on a regular basis, if you don't support us either.

✌🏼

[birlcholtz]

Fic Questions

tagged by @the-lincyclopedia thank you!! (fun game: watch my writing get progressively less formal as the post continues. by the end it’s like what is capitalization)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

77!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

434,378 as of this week but it does go up quite regularly

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Okay so in terms of what’s on my AO3, I have Check Please, All For the Game, Sharp Zero, HP, and Miraculous Ladybug. I also have The Forbidden LOTR and PJO Fanfiction (as in, I’ve written it, but it’s never seeing the light of day)

(technically there is a PJO fic out there that has seen the light of day but I orphaned it because I was tired of getting comments asking about when it would be updated)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

and then i met you (and the whole world changed)

for the better

Knew It Was You

come home (to you, to us)

sin bin schematics

All of these are Check Please and all of them except Knew It Was You are part of my Zimbits Airport AU!

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

I do! It’s actually a very recent thing that I’ve started not responding to literally every single comment. Mainly I respond because I love talking about my writing so I am going to seize that opportunity when it comes up

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, DEFINITELY Happy Birthday (HP). Check out that MCD tag ahah. (I say HP but what I really mean is that I write fic about Regulus Black. The Regulus Black-centric tag is my home in the HP fandom)

fun fact: this is a very short fic that I wrote when I was 15 and basically forgot about until recently, and then I reread it recently and went holy shit?? I pulled NO punches????

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the wildest one you’ve written?

Not a ton? I think a lot of the fandoms I write for don’t really mesh that well. That being said, the aforementioned orphaned PJO fic is actually a PJO/ML crossover, so there’s that

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope! Sometimes I get comments that are just.... really confusing? And a more common thing is that in my AFTG fic I’ll get comments from people who are so focused on Andreil (or the most common ships in general) to the point that like. they miss the point of what I actually wrote. Those are annoying but they’re not hate, they’re very enthusiastic, they’re just... enthusiastic about a story I’m not writing? So it’s a bit frustrating.

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

No sjflskgjhgf I struggle enough to write kissing, I think if I ever tried to write smut my brain would just shut down. I’ve managed some fade-to-blacks (which are mostly in WIPs that haven’t been posted) but they rely HEAVILY on the powers of implication

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, although I have occasionally made a brief go of it, not to post, more as an exercise for myself in a language that I’m learning. Anyway I never finish them so I’m gonna say no

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

Not really? I’ve definitely group brainstormed fics and then written them (the best example of this being Q&A (AFTG), which was the product of a truly off-the-walls group chat), but I tend to do all the actual writing myself. I think the way I write would drive a co-writer up the wall since it’s very disorganized and I don’t write stuff down because ~I know what’s gonna happen I don’t need notes~ and it would infuriate me if I was co-writing with me lmao, so I won’t inflict that on someone else

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I regularly move through ships I’m SUPER focused on, like it’s kind of a rotation. I will forever and always ship Percabeth though.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Okay so if you follow me at @birlwrites you may know this already, but i have this ‘warmups’ document that is just like, random ideas i get that i don’t necessarily want to finish but i just want to try out for a bit? and i have a rule that once a ‘warmup’ is more than 10 pages long (so 11+) then it has to be moved to its own document, just to make scrolling through the warmups doc easier. but usually, a warmup only passes 10 pages when i’m INTO it. so i have a bazillion wips i will probably never finish. i complain about this a lot. i have so many wips. i don’t need more.

here’s one: it’s titled ‘interrobang doesn’t know they’re dating’, it’s basically a full outline for a chowder/tango fic and it would be SO cool if i could ever like. get around to writing it. but i am constantly swamped with writing projects, so it’s probably not gonna happen. if anyone’s interested in adopting it though i’d be down for that!! i think it’s a fun idea i just almost def won’t write it myself

15. What are your writing strengths?

SNAPPY DIALOGUE AND SNARKY INTERNAL MONOLOGUE. my writing is COMEDIC, 90% of my ideas are based on a funny snippet that popped into my head, a lot of my worldbuilding is based on ‘hey you know what would be hilarious’ (whenever i explain how larai selects a chosen one in the rainfall universe i start laughing, which is a STARK contrast to how it plays out on the page), i love writing funny stuff!!

also i think my writing sounds nice, a lot of the time i pick words/syntax based on sound and flow so there’s that too. and i have lots of ideas! i don’t struggle much with writer’s block because a) i have a lot of strategies to deal with it and b) i have a lot of ideas to help get around it/work with it

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

PHYSICAL INTIMACY LMAO, sometimes in my end notes on shippy fics you can see me complaining ‘it took me literally 4 hours to write that very brief kiss’. also sometimes the humor in my writing gets in the way a bit, i have to very consciously put it away so characters can actually have serious, genuine emotions. also i don’t like outlining and i tend not to get betas for fanfiction so like..... i do my best continuity-wise but having really tightly plotted stories is just not my focus lol. (and i do put more effort into that for original stuff, it’s just fic where i kind of go wild)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If the reader’s supposed to know what it means, then writing it in another language is iffy for me. (stuff like terms of endearment which come up a lot in fic are fine imo, you can just put a note in to translate them and your reader will prob remember)

If the pov character isn’t supposed to understand it, and it doesn’t matter if the reader understands it, then ig it’s fine? but unless you already speak the other language (and i am NOT confident in my ability to translate english into literally any other language), then i think it’s way easier to just note that a character’s speaking x language and provide tone indicators, body language cues, etc. so the reader understands as much as the pov character.

That being said there are def times when it’s used super effectively--the dialogue in spanish in cemetery boys comes to mind! that’s not fanfic but it’s still creative writing so w/e

so i guess it comes down to: does actually writing out the dialogue in the other language serve a purpose? if it doesn’t, then you’re filling up the screen with words your reader isn’t likely to understand, which i try to avoid doing

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

so the first fandom i actually *wrote* for was PJO, but i distinctly remember creating warrior cats OCs when i was little. i never actually did anything w them but i had them and my favorite was a riverclan warrior named shellstream i remember this VIVIDLY

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

oh boy. okay so this is hard because i feel like i’m continuously improving as a writer. like in the sense that my writing is getting closer and closer to really matching my own taste? my favorites tend to always be my current projects as a result. and i do really love set those ghosts alight (HP) but it feels a little like cheating to say a fic i haven’t even finished writing yet. even though it’s def not cheating, that’s just the direction my brain is taking it.

i’m gonna say and then what? (OMGCP) because i’m super proud of the prose (especially ch 2 aka the first actual prose chapter), survived by (HP) for SUCCESSFULLY WRITING AN EMOTION and making readers cry :), and Q&A (AFTG) because i’m literally the one who wrote it and yet it still makes me wheeze. those are all fics i reread occasionally, because i’m big enough to admit i enjoy rereading my old stuff! (just like. to a point. some of my old stuff i can’t look at anymore because all the mistakes stick out to me like they have spotlights shining directly on them)

this was fun!! i’m gonna do an open tag because i just started my fall semester and brain tired. i know sometimes people see open tags and assume the op didn’t really mean it but I MEAN IT, PLEASE DO THIS AND TAG ME!!!!! YES YOU READING THIS

[beck-a-leck]

Fanfic Writer 20 Questions

Tagged by @thychesters Thanks Kate!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

56 on my main page, plus 5 others that are secret (aka Anonymous and don't show up in the count)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

772,412

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

~10, I have a lot of sub-fandoms as part of a larger fandom. Including but not limited to: Star Wars, Story of Seasons/Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, MCU, and many moons ago Voltron, Transformers, and Harry Potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by Kudos?

[Redacted Anonymous fic] at 1218

Aggressive Negotiations at 312

Wells of Silence at 287

[Redacted Anonymous fic] at 280

Weekend Guests at 209

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

I do! Or at the very least, I try to respond to as many comments as I can. I love being able to strike up conversation with my readers, and wallow in angst with them for a while. At the very least, I like letting them know I appreciate their feedback.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm... that's probably the fic where I gave Anakin Skywalker an almost happy ending; twins, husband, you know the drill. And then I violently took pretty much all of that away. Killed Obi-Wan, killed the twins, left her with a heaping pile of survivor's guilt. That's probably my angiestiest fic.

But also, I write rather a lot of angst, so...

There's also the one where I gave a child 23 older sisters, and then had them slowly and painfully die off, leaving her alone as the sole survivor. (Star Wars)

And there's the one where I detailed how an 8 year old accidentally killed his brother, thus screwing up everything so badly, the whole timeline had to be erased. (Loki)

And, well, Wells of Silence IS a canon compliant AU. And we all know how Revenge of the Sith ends.

Writing angst is fun okay!

7. Do you write crossovers?

Not really, no. Usually only when I'm messing around and being goofy, or if I'm combining a lot of sub-fandoms from a larger fandom group. But I don't really count those as true crossovers.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nothing specific comes to mind. I'm pretty sure years ago (and I mean like well over a decade at this point) I got trolled/hate on a fic by someone who was out to attack me specifically. I remember deleting the fic, and beginning to distance myself from the fandom. but obviously it didn't stop me from writing so... jokes on them. 😂

Otherwise, more recently I can only think of instances where people have used my fic comments as an excuse to vent about canon things they hate thinking they'll find a sympathetic ear, or got 5+ chapters into a long fic before saying 'it feels unrealistic that this character would do these things' to which I'm pretty sure I just shrug and don't respond.

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

I don't really write fanfic smut, no. It's not really my thing, and I'm happy cutting things off at an M/PG-13 rating for sexy times.

That being said, I have written non-fanfic smut before. No I'll never share it. It is well and truly laughably terrible.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

To my knowledge, no I haven't.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

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

Many, many, many years ago @jessi-08 and I co-wrote and absolute crack fic for Jak and Daxter. It was deliriously fun times. But in a more ""serious"" capacity, no I have not.

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Nobody? I guess?? I'm not much of a shipper, really. I enjoy reading and writing ship-content, but I've never really felt devoted to any single ship in any fandom. I'm a multi-shipper? Omni-shipper? Basically, if the fandom can bring its A-game to a ship, I'll probably quite enjoy it.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I mean, there are a couple dozen unfinished WIPs in my writing folder that I keep around with the intention of maybe finishing them, but deep down I never will. But also, none of those are posted.

Thinking of where I am and how my fandom interests have shifted, I'm probably never gonna finish Weekend Guests. And I stubbornly refuse to admit that Dust and Ashes is dead, but also, I haven't touched it in years, and kinda forgot what I wanted to include in the story. 😬

15. What are your writing strengths?

Oh gosh... (what is this question? I can't say nice things about myself)

I guess I would say my scene setting. I love spelling out descriptions and providing the sensory experience when I can in the scenery. Otherwise, probably my ability to sink my angst claws into people and hurt their feelings with words about fictional characters while I torture them worse than canon does (usually)

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sticking to a goddamn regular posting schedule. I try not to get too wrapped up in writing regularly, so as to not punish myself for doing (or not doing) something that's supposed to be fun and relaxing for me. but damn I look at those WIPs that haven't been updated in months and I can't help but feel guilty.

Also, tied in with the above, starting too many projects before finishing up something else.

Also action scenes. and romance.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

It can work, I think, if it's done well. But usually, it's not done well, and it just feels clunky or tossed in for "spice." But like... pet names/nicknames in a native tongue, I am so weak for those! And it can also be a fun way to drop hints/foreshadowing, but as a bonus for the people who speak the language.

Idk, I'm not fluent enough in any language to feel like I have any definitive voice in the matter. I typically don't add other language dialogue because I don't trust google translate.

And if I'm writing for Star Wars, and it's an alien language anyways, I'm not digging that deep into the lore to construct a fictional language. That shit gets Universally Translated babey!

18. What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Jak and Daxter my beloved! I'll never let you go! Every five years or so, I'll spit out a new fic for you 💜

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh no! I can't pick favorites! Don't do this to me!

Wells of Silence still sits up in my top 5, for a number of reasons.

Another of my tops is actually one of my Anonymously posted fics, so I will not mention name or fandom, but it is very beloved.

And they've been on the forefront of my mind, so I've got a soft spot for Earth and Rebirth and Our Dear Empress

20. Who do you tag?

Hmmm, let's see. @durotoswrites, @jake-marshall, @lookforaspoopynewangle (I know kate tagged you, but consider yourself double tagged), @jessi-08, and... I have all of a sudden gone completely blank on which of my mutuals writes fic 😂😬 (i only slept for 3 hours last night. leave me alone. my brain is swiss cheese.)

As always, if you want to play along, you are more than welcome to say I tagged you!

[trashcatsnark]

Questions For An Author

Tagged by the always lovely @shallow-gravy

Tagging: @enchantedbythebidders @tender-wounds @rosyibby

Name: Mariah

Top 5 Fandoms Written: Far Cry 5, Kissed By The Baddest Bidder, Cyberpunk 2077, Boyfriend To Death, uhhhh Mystic Messenger? That feels like a cheat.

Top 5 Fandoms You Want To Write For/More: Mystic Messenger, I really loved that otome, and wrote for it but never finished anyting for some reason. Fallout 4, I fell in love with Danse but struggled to fall in love with the lore (i hate the 50’s aesthetic shit ngl, but thats just me) so nothing ever took off. Supernatural, ironically most popular fic on AO3 is for Supernatural but I never sunk my teeth into writing for it like I thought I would. Boyfriend to Death, I actually have like lots of my one shots and some series ideas for BtD, but never really have found the time or energy to write them. Stardew Valley is a big one too, I adore Shane, but for some reason that fic has yet to catch it’s vibe.

Stories You Wish More People Knew About: Granted, Can You Feel The Sun? My cyberpunk 2077 fic is still very much in it’s infancy, so it’s understandable but I still sometimes am like wahhh i wish it was doing better. But, I know its just a time thing, i mean, it took about a year for This Is Love to do as well as it is rn.

Ship(s) Written The Most: Dahlia x Polyseed, Tsuneko x hinted with all bidders, Aidan x Johnny. Im an oc simp, what do you want from me.

Character(s) Written The Most: Dahlia at this point. As far as canon characters, maybe Pratt since he’s her shit head sidekick.

How Many OCs Do You Have: An amount. Dahlia for FC5, Tsuneko for KBTBB, Aidan or CP2077, Regan for SPN, Scout for FO4, Haejin for Mystic Messenger, Jude for SDV. Unnamed ocs for BtD and Monster Prom. And if you go far enough back i had like a billion shitty ocs for OHSHC, Fruits Basket, Naruto, YYH, One Piece, Digimon, Pokemon, etc etc.

How Many Series Do You Have: Publicly; I have 3. This Is Love (FC5), Black Market Wonderland (KBTBB), and Can You Feel The Sun? (CP2077). Though, unfinished, I did have Blossoming which was gonna be my Mystic Messenger fic and Mad To Live which was gonna be my supernatural fic. And I never named them but I was gonna do one for SDV and FO4, maybe someday, or not at all.

What Do You Do With Fics You’re No Longer Interested In?: I don’t really like to like abandon fics, but like it is a struggle especially when I lose interest in the fandom it’s for. Black Market Wonderland has been on a very long hiatus, but I definitely do wanna come back to it whenever my love for KBTBB is back and Im less frustrated with Voltage as well as some shit that went down in the fandom. I know drama and personal shit shoudn’t impact feelings on a game, but its hard for it not to for me.And what happened in voltage stuff was like, the most personal I’ve ever been involved in stuff so, its hard. But i still love the characters, so hopefully I’ll rekindle that flame. So, i guess I just wait and pray for my energy to return.

Coming Soon: The next update I do, that I have planned for next month is chapter 11 for This Is Love.

Line From A WIP: From Can You Feel The Sun? Chapter 2. (accidentally wrote can you feel the love, smashing fic titles together omg) Also, spoilers for Jackie's backstory in Cyberpunk 2077, so skip over if you don't want.

“I meant what I said before, Night City ain’t the kind of place to let you get by without family, but…” He trails off and chews his lip as he considers his next words. Then they seem to die in his throat.

“But…?” She prompts, trying to encourage him to finish his thought. Jackie then grabs a belt from his nightstand table, stretching worn leather over his fingers.

“Do you know what this is?”

It’s clear it has some significant value to him, but she has no way of knowing what, to her it’s just a belt. So, she merely shakes her head no, deciding not to be a smartass and allow him the chance to get the weight off his chest.

“This belt belonged to my dad, if you can call him that, Raul Welles. He, uh, use it to beat on us.. Go to school overed in welts, have to watch like a coward when he’d go after my ma.”

“You weren’t a coward,” V signs and gets up from her chair, sitting next to him, touching his shoulders, “you were a child.”

“Yeah…well, one day I ripped the belt right out of his hand and showed him what it felt like, turns out he couldn’t take his own medicine. Haven’t seen him since, but keep it on hand, just in case.”

V squeezes his shoulder, not sure what to say or do, how to comfort someone after that. The pains of a shitty dad is one she knows all too well, even when her own wasn’t trying to kill her, he was fixated on making her and her sister strong; training them. She knows all too well that you can’t take away the memories or the pain, but she hopes, being here can be enough. That the comfort of touch can act as a temporary salve for the heart, even if it’s all she can offer.

“Look, chica,” he takes a deep breath, “I don’t know your story, when and if you tell it is up to you. But, my point is. You need a family to get along in Night City, but family don’t end or start with blood. My old man will never be family to me. But, I got…people… who don’t share a drop of blood of with me and I’d take a bullet for ‘em”

“I think…I get what you mean, family you choose is what matters most.”

She agrees, but choosing her family is it’s own beast. Letting people in, breaking down walls, finding a family that chooses her as much as she chooses them. It’s all a terrifying prospect, being alone is easier, more convenient, less effort… Though it has a cost too, of course.

“So, make a choice.”

“What?”

“Work with me, V.”

Do You Accept Prompts?: I accept questions and ideas; I’m always open to talking about my oc’s and their bullsit. But as far as prompts go, if I'm in a mood which is rare and don’t really take requests. I just personally have always found that if I accept requests or prompts; writing because a duty/obligation and not a hobby which drains a lot of the fun for me.

How Do You Feel About Kudos?: They’re nice and I really appreciate them. Comments and bookmarks will make me the happiest!~ That being said I’m really bad about doing that myself so I get it.

Do You Read Fic As Well?: Not that much actually, I’m very particular with what I read regularly and even then, maybe once a week I go on a reading binge. I love fanfic, greatly, but I’m someone who’s like I need to write

[bi-bi-want-dragon]

Hello my beautiful followers!

I am so incredibly excited and blessed to say that you lovely people have gotten me to 500 followers!  I made this blog in October 2018 not long after I rediscovered HTTYD and found this wonderful fandom.  I posted my first one shot in March 2019, just over one year ago; it was an Astrid POV prompt that I doubt a lot of people saw, but it got me interested in writing more.  So I wrote another oneshot in my own world with my own headcannons just to see what would happen.  That one shot was Nesting, and it now has 158 notes (from last time I checked).  Only one other one shot of mine has passed that, and it was Brothers with 190 notes.  I started writing fanfiction just to get back into my love of writing, as a way to relieve some stress and find myself again, and instead I found this amazing fandom and the incredible people in it.  I stayed and continued writing because of the support I got from all of you, and I could never thank you all enough for that.  Your comments and support, here and on FF.net and AO3 as well, have meant more to me than words could say.  

And now, over 40k words, 19 chapters, 187 kudos/favorites, 99 bookmarks/follows, and 96 comments/reviews later between Life After They Left and Meet the Ingermans on FF.net/AO3, I’ve found an incredible community that has helped me through some rough times over the last three years.  I never expected to meet all the amazing people and mutuals and even friends that I have made along the way.  So thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

And to celebrate 500 followers, I have decided to move up an announcement for a project that I have been sitting on for probably 3 months now.  So...

I am officially announcing my first true regularly updated multi-chapter fic! (No, not just a bunch of semi related one-shots like I have now. An actual connected running story line and everything!) It’ll be a bit of a long post with the fic announcement, so I’ll put the details below the break.  I have mentioned this title before in tags for a few posts I wanted to be connected to this work, and I’ve mentioned that I’ve been working on something in author’s notes for LATL and MTI. Not necessarily something I expected anyone to pick up on, but this is that piece I was referring to for anyone that had.  Though it has been a WIP for a few months now, and it is not finished, I have enough outlined and drafted that I’m (just about) ready to start sharing it with you all!

Wingless and Warbound

Zephyr knew from her earliest years that she would be the one to take her father’s place as Chief.  Well, Chieftess.  Whether the people of New Berk were ready for a change like that or not.  Unfortunately, it seems that more people were not ready for that change than she had hoped.  But with a new threat slashing its way through the Archipelago, eyes set on New Berk and the secrets that flew away 2 years before Zephyr was born, she would have the chance to prove herself to her people soon enough.  Whether she was ready for a change like that or not.

This fic will be set in the same timeline as Meet the Ingermans and Life After They Left; though it wasn’t the plan initially, I have basically been using those oneshots to set the stage for this fic.  However, Wingless and Warbound will be set later in the timeline than the current oneshots; for reference, when the Haddock family first makes their appearance, Hiccup and Astrid are 37 years old, Zephyr is 13 (2 months before her 14th birthday), and Nuffink is 10.  Ruffnut and Fishlegs are also 37, and the second chapter takes place 2 weeks before Nutmeg’s 9th birthday (for my MTI readers).  It absolutely won’t be necessary to read the oneshots that make up Meet the Ingermans and Life After They Left for any kind of reference or background, but it will provide history and a bigger picture of the family dynamics and such if that is something of interest.  But if anything comes up that I want you guys to know about, it will be explained within the chapter, and I will more than likely let you know which oneshot the reference came from in author’s notes in case anyone wants more background.

Of course, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Eret, Valka, Gobber, and all of the Berkians we love will be included fairly regularly in Wingless and Warbound, which is something I am very excited about because I haven’t really played with their characterizations much in LATL and MTI.  In addition, there are original characters of mine that I have created for this fic (such as Nutmeg Ingerman), as well as appearances of many characters from Race to the Edge.  We’ll see Dagur the Deranged, Mala from the Defenders of the Wing, the Wingmaidens, and Alvin and the Outcasts.  I’m not sure how long this fic is going to be yet, but I can definitely guarantee 20 chapters.  Past that, I will absolutely continuing writing as long as there is a story to tell; it all depends on how the storyline expands as I write it and if any inspiration hits past the plot I have outlined currently.

The first chapter will be posted Friday, June 5th, at 12:00 noon EST.  From there I will plan to post every other Friday at the same time; I may adjust that to every week depending on what kind of buffer I can build up between now and then, but I will do my best to keep it at every 2 weeks max.

Now I know that’s a little ways away...  And the biggest reason for that is because it gives me a chance to finish out with my college classes before summer break, write and outline as much as possible, and come back from modified-vacation (dang this quarantine).  That will let me stay focused on this fic once I start posting so I can keep on the schedule I’ve made for myself.

So until then I will post a teaser every week on Friday around noon EST (just like the chapter posting schedule, but this will be every week instead of every other!).  The teasers may be anything from a short excerpt to a character description to a piece that I’ve written for the story but decided not to use or to only use chunks of.  On top of that, I will answer any asks/comments/tags/whatever else you think of that you guys send/post about Wingless and Warbound to the best of my ability without spoiling any big plot points.  Depending on what the ask is, I will include it in the weekly teaser, or I’ll just answer it when I get it.  Everything will be tagged with “#wingless and warbound” so you can find it easily on my blog!

Thank you all again for your amazing support!  I’d love to hear anything and everything you guys think/want to know related to this fic, especially if any of you are as excited as I am!

Keep being amazing, and I’ll see you soon :)

[icypantherwrites]

Just a quick request for some advice, I've noticed you seem to be very good at promoting your works, requesting feedback and actually getting some, and reposting on Tumblr and such. Now admittedly, you are an awesome author and I pretty much love everything you write, but I have to think your promotion abilities are part of what brings you hits, kudos, likes, and feedback. Do you have any advice on the best ways to promote my fanfiction, build a fanbase and short of begging, get more comments?

Self-promotion and marketing definitely are a large part of my fanbase. I’ve seen it go both ways; amazing writers and fics that don’t have much attention and not-so-great ones that have huge followings because of social media presence of the author. So while having quality stories is still a large part of it, so too is marketing.

My background is not actually in marketing but journalism, but I did run a number of social media pages and have always been a very big people-person and engager, which I’ve applied to pretty much all aspects of my life. One of my favorite slogans I’ve learned from retail (and marketing) is you can’t sell what’s not out. i.e., if you don’t present your product you can’t expect to have any customers (or in this case readers).

In my case, I’m a very prolific author, meaning I have a lot of stories under my name and I’ve been fortunate that a couple of those have become bigger name ones in this fandom for extra exposure. The more you have, obviously the more you will “sell” and therefore, generally, the more exposure you’ll get and then comments (comments though are a fickle beast and it really really varies). 

I’m borrowing some of the advice from a previous post (you can always search my blog with “#writing advice” for more things) but these would be a couple of strategies I would recommend you try out :) Not all of them may be applicable to you either, as all authors write at different paces and volumes and have different time constraints, but maybe something in here will help ;) 

1. Have an update schedule! This one is really important. Whether that means you pre-write the entire fic or you buckle down and commit to a regular posting (which is how Color was for me for the first couple months until I pre-wrote enough to kick back and relax a bit xD) be it weekly or bi weekly or every two weeks (the other bi weekly? Such a weird word) you do that.

When you get people on a schedule and they are more likely to come back and comment with something other than the dreaded “update soon!” because they know you are going to update soon and when exactly that is. Give readers something to plan and look forward to, just like a favorite TV show that airs weekly.

2. Respond to comments. Whether you write giant-ass paragraph responses or even a simple “thank you ♥” it goes a long way. I know I always am more inclined to really keep up on a fic where the author has shown to appreciate their readers (although if I read your fic and like it I will comment regardless ♥). I know for me right now I have stopped doing this as it just got... draining for me, to respond in detail and never see those readers again and it felt hurtful to me. But I still make a point to say thank you in the author’s notes and if anyone has a question I do try to answer that too.

3. Read other authors’ works you enjoy but do not self-promote. Please don’t do that. I hate it when I see that and it makes me even less inclined to check out a fic (I’m already very picky with what I read and don’t read much at all). By all means comment on the fic and be like “I headcanon Keith is a good cook too!” because those personal details are lovely and maybe that’ll inspire that other author to click on your profile to see if you’ve got a fic with such a theme to go read.

But otherwise, keep your comments about their fic (or your reaction to it) and show your excitement and passion for that fic. Bookmark too (and Ao3 lets you add comments; you can bet if I see a nice comment on a bookmark tag I’m clicking on that author to see a; what else they’ve bookmarked and b; if they’ve written anything). Well written and passionate comments tell a lot about a person and if they can write a nice review they likely can write a nice fic and could be worth an extra click to see their profile. That is indeed how I’ve found several authors and fics I now read :)

4. Chapter length. This I have noticed over time but shorter chapters (for me around 3k-4k) tend to get more comments than longer ones because people have “more time” upon finishing to leave a comment. It doesn’t always work but it is something I’ve witnessed on more than one occasion. That said, don’t write a chapter of only 1k words and think they’ll pour in because it’s short. Leading on to…

5. Whatever your chapter is, make sure it has content that people will want to respond to. Not every chapter has to have explosions and action and intense heart-to-hearts, but every chapter should have something memorable. Filler chapters are unavoidable, especially in longer fics, but do what you can to make them not quite so “blah” and give them some heart.

6. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, meaning write multiple things (although perhaps not as much as me ^^;). Having a mix of a longer running chapter fic (for those “episodes” back in bullet point one) to keep people coming back and having a few shorter fics (be one-shots, two-shots, or shorter chaptered fics) to draw in new people and help you out when you get stuck on your other fic is invaluable. I definitely expanded my audience and brought in new readers that gave me little boosts of support when I started publishing one-shots semi-regularly. 

7. Don’t be afraid to self-promote on your blog. Reblog your works, pull out snippets to share, reblog those too if you don’t get many notes. I don’t really get how Tumblr’s tag system works, but tag your first few tags with the biggest ones that those browsing might stumble across. Ao3 does let you link to your Tumblr so long as you aren’t advertising commissions or patreon or the like in said blurb so make sure you link to your tumblr too to get cross-traffic.

8. Post sneak content on your blog; previews and snippets. Get people excited about the work before you post it. 

9. I don’t know how reasonable this is for most, but holding little games or contests can really up the engagement. Starting out, doing something like a bingo card prompt event could be one to consider; the “prize” is writing the prompt which gets you both more content, therefore more eyeballs on said content, and hopefully a very grateful fan who will leave you a nice comment and reblog it for their page. 

10. I like ending on this number. Um, oh, okay! This is both great for writing experience, content and engagement! If you see a piece of fanart you like that you feel compelled to write a bit for, do so and reblog it! Anyone who clicks on that art will see your reblog of it and maybe, maybe, the original artist will reblog your selection too! Not just artists either, but there are lots of “prompt” type posts I see that you could do that for as well. 

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