#like. not even tag whispering! actually writing real paragraphs! and it was super fun! and a very interesting topic to think about!

[varjopeura]

oh for fucks sake

[voiceswithoutlips]

Calico - Chapter Three

— pairing: Hybrid ot7 x Human Reader (Female) — genre: hybrid AU , fluff, angst, slow burn (like real slow), eventual smut — word count: 1.8K — Rating: M — warnings: trauma, mention of past abuse.

Click for Tag List

— chapter summary:

Y/N runs a animal shelter, Calico was built on a simple principle, to help those who were in need. What will Y/N do when her sanctuary is threatened by an unexpected hybrid?

— A/N: This is going to be a series, I’m just getting back to writing, so I’d really appreciate your input and feedback <3

Ch. 1  Ch. 2 Ch. 3.5  Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

Yeah, you fucking with some wet-ass pussy

Bring a bucket and a mop for this wet-ass pussy

I woke up to WAP blazing through the house at eight in the morning. That was the moment I knew I was going to kill Jason. Well, not literally, but there will be payback. 

It was Monday, my favorite day of the week. Mondays have such a bad reputation for absolutely no reason. Personally, I liked a good Monday, it was the day when I organized the rest of my week. In case you are wondering, yes, I’m a nerd and the sight of stationary makes me drool. I got ready quickly, I had planned lunch with Song Hwa today, and after that DOBBY WAS FREE! 

“JASON,” I screamed as I stumbled into the kitchen, “you are so dead.” 

“Nah, you love me too much!” He laughed. How dare he! 

“Who told you that? Just you wait, one of these days I’m going to disown you, you brat!” 

Jungkook was sitting at the table eating cereal Jason must’ve gotten him. At least one of us was functional. I could barely take care of myself. Jungkook had gotten a bit more comfortable with us over the past week. The first two days he had stuck to his room but then I introduced him to our PS4 and he was hooked. The kid was a natural. He was wearing Jason’s clothes that were a size too small on him. His eyes widened at my murderous declaration. He was so cute.

“Don’t worry bunny, I won’t kill him ...yet,” I narrowed my eyes at Jason. I still couldn’t understand how we ended up becoming friends. Jason and I were always at each other’s throat when we were in college. Not a day went by without us going head to head, don’t even get me started on the mountain of assignments that we had to do as a punishment for disturbing the peace. 

“I’m going out today, do you want to come to the town with me? We could get you some new clothes, and maybe some ice cream, we are running dangerously low,” I asked while sipping on some overly sweet coffee. I mean, I could buy clothes for him but first, I had no idea what his size was, and second I had no idea what his style was. I myself was a walking fashion disaster, if it was socially acceptable I’d wear pajamas every day, to every event but alas! This world is cruel to those who can’t match their clothes. 

Jungkook nodded his approval and after our not-so-filling breakfast we left. It was a 2 hour ride to Seoul and on the way I pointed out landmarks in case Jungkook ever wanted to go out on his own. I made a mental note to teach him how to drive. The aircon was on full blast, it was summer, the grumpiest of all seasons. 

I was wearing black sneakers, black jeans and a black hoodie like a goth pauper. Jungkook was wearing Jason’s oversized hoodie and jeans, a size smaller, that hugged his lower body like a second skin, I had to constantly remind myself to keep my eyes on the road. Hey, I hadn’t gotten laid in months, not that I’d ever look at Jungkook that way, he was just a kid, even if he had the body of a Greek god. 

“Here we are, bunny, you gotta follow some safety guidelines okay?” I said as I parked in front of the mall. 

He nodded. I wondered when he was going to start talking comfortably. Was he just shy or scared? Or both?

“First, don’t go anywhere alone, stay in my sight. I don’t want to lose you. And second, let’s hide your adorable ears,” I leaned over and pulled the hood over his head. He blushed, I almost cooed at him, why was he so cute. Be still my heart!

“If it gets too scary, just hold my hand, okay?” I said as we walked in through the doors. It was a good day to go shopping, there weren’t as many people on a weekday. “Go on, you can buy whatever you want, I’ll follow you around,” I grinned, his eyes were darting around from shop to shop.

“Can I?” he asked nervously. 

“Of course honey,” I encouraged patting his head. 

We spent the next two hours going from store to store. Jungkook was hesitant at first but after he realized that I had meant what I said he got excited. He’d take something off the shelf and run over to show me, he did that with every single thing that we bought. I was having the time of my life looking at him having fun, he was like a kid in a candy store. I wondered how excited he’d be if I actually took him to a candy store, I mentally added it to my to-do list. 

He was still non-verbal, which was making me worry. Was he uncomfortable with talking? Was he nervous, scared? I kept wondering. The only times that he had spoken, his voice was small and unsure, as if the words he was saying held the weight of the world. 

We ended up being late for the meeting with Song Hwa. The shopping bags barely fit in the trunk but somehow we achieved the unachievable. She had called me in to talk about Jungkook’s case, she had done some research and she insisted on talking in person. It worked for me though, that meant I could take the day off and relax. 

Song Hwa’s office was in one of those big commercial complexes. We had her on retainer but she worked for one of the biggest law firms in the country. Jungkook grabbed my hand as soon as I opened the office door. He was sniffing the air furiously, fear on his face. I peeked through the little crack that I had opened. There was a man sitting across from my favorite lawyer. I had seen him around Song Hwa’s firm, he was one of her colleagues. I had no idea why Jungkook was afraid of him, he seemed perfectly normal to me, but then again I didn’t have superhuman abilities unlike my bunny. 

His voice got closer and the door opened. As usual, my brain stopped working. I grabbed Jungkook’s neck and pulled his head on my shoulder to hide his face. Song Hwa and the man stepped out of the office and looked at us as if we had sprouted a fifth head. It must’ve been a sight, us holding hands and Jungkook’s face buried in my neck. I just looked at Song Hwa who made some excuse to the man in the beige suit to get him to leave. I was too embarrassed to register what she had said. 

“Is he gone?” I whispered, before Song Hwa could answer, Jungkook nodded in my neck. I stepped away from him, still holding his hand. “I’m sorry, are you okay?” another nod. He was redder than a tomato, I guess he was twice as embarrassed. 

“What the fuck?” Song Hwa’s expression matched her question. I sighed. I told her what happened as we sat down in her office. 

“His name is Brian, he is a sleazebag and a coward. I wouldn’t worry about him,” Song Hwa reassured Jungkook. I didn’t like it, I could see how scared and uncomfortable Jungkook was. He hadn’t let go of my hand and he was clutching it as if his life depended on it. We ended up leaving her office and going to a nearby restaurant for lunch. It was well past noon and I was starving, I’d bet my Bleach collection that Jungkook was starving to. I was used to skipping meals and starving until I got a hunger headache but I couldn’t do that to him. I sucked at taking care of people. 

“Here,” Song Hwa handed me a newspaper while I was stuffing some fries in my mouth. She had highlighted a small article, just a paragraph not worthy of front page news. It was about a stolen lab equipment from an Apexi lab. There was no mention of a hybrid. 

“Please tell me this is good news,” I said through clenched teeth. Even though I knew it was terrible news, I could always hope. A multinational pharmaceutical company doesn’t just hide the fact that their lab animals were stolen along with a hybrid and their research destroyed. Unless it was something big. 

“It's not and you know that,” Song Hwa had terrible bedside manners. 

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow, today we feast!” I tried to sound enthusiastic but I failed terribly. Worrying about it would only ruin the rest of the day, not like I could do anything about it at the moment so I decided to ignore the screaming voice in my head and focus on the delicious meal that had suddenly turned bland. 

Jungkook had fallen asleep on our way back. His head was resting on the back of the seat, eyes closed, soft lips slightly parted. Every time he scrunched his nose my heart made cooing noises. How was he even more adorable when he slept, I could watch him for hours. His hair was covering his forehead, I had forgotten about his haircut. I wondered if they were as soft as they looked. I lightly ran my fingers through his hair, yep, his hair was super soft. I felt like a stalker so I mentally shook myself and focused on the road. 

Previous  ||   Next

[littlestarofthewest]

Hi, I love your fics and wanted to know if you have some tips for someone who wants to start writing? English is not my main language and I don't know if it's worth writting on my first language and then translate/adapt to english...

Hey anon, sorry this took me so long to answer, but I just wanted to do a somewhat decent job with it. Also, thank you. I'm really honored that you consider me to be someone who can actually give valid advice. I put this under a read more because it got super long (I’m sorry if that’s not at all what you were looking for).

Important side note: While I use phrases like "this is better," everything below is my personal opinion and not some sort of universal truth. I'm not criticizing any writers. I'm sure they know what they're doing, and we're all just looking for ways to put out the best works we can.

A lot of writers use things in their stories that I try my hardest to avoid, and they still have lots of happy readers. It comes down to personal preference, and all I'm offering here are a few ideas for you to consider.

-------

Let's start with the language issue. When I started writing fanfic I thought about the same thing. I think you have to consider 3 things:

1. Do I have the time / am I willing to translate everything?I'm usually so excited about finishing a story that I want to post it right away. You won't be able to do that if you need to translate it first. Also, writing itself can already be exhausting, and you're going to have to do the same work twice with each story.

2. Is my native language interesting for others?I'm German, and since the majority of the German people I'm in fandoms with speak English, there's no need to post anything in German. If the source material is English, they will consume English fics.

If you know your language to be interesting for other people, it would make more sense to post both languages to reach a bigger audience.

3. How close is my native language to English?Again, I can give you the example of German. The two languages are very different when it comes to sentence structure and how to phrase things. So, if I were to write in German first, a translation would be quite tricky. I'd probably end up "rewriting" the story rather than translating it word for word because the English wouldn't sound so good.

In conclusion: I know it's tempting to write in your own language because it seems more natural but unless you have good reason to do it that way (as mentioned above), I'd probably try to write in English right away. That's what I ended up doing. If you want to find the best way for you, try it both ways and see what works best.

Judging from your ask, I'd say you have enough knowledge of the language to write in English, and while it might suck a little in the beginning, it gets a lot easier over time.

--------

GENERAL ADVICE

1. Write! Practice is key. Talent might be a thing, but what makes you better at something is actually doing it. You don't have to publish everything, but the fact that you wrote it will help you to get better. I cringe whenever I look at things that I wrote 6 years ago, but it's also great to see how much better I am now compared to then. If you keep at it, you'll definitely see that change at some point.

2. Don't get discouraged if there's no significant response. Even for amazing writers, it takes time to get some traction. Especially on tumblr it's tough to be seen. There are also a ton of reasons why people might not interact, like forgetfulness, blog aesthetic, laziness, shyness, etc. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy your work. I hate to say "write for yourself," but that's the mindset you need. It should be still fun for yourself, even if you don't get a lot of feedback.

3. Have a healthy attitude towards your work.It's absolutely okay to love your own stuff, and if you enjoy it, feel free to show it. Still accept if not everybody else likes it, though.

BUT… don't hate on your work. A lot of writers are a little unsure about themselves, and that's okay, but if you say things like "this is garbage" about your own fics, you shouldn't be surprised if people don't read it. Why would they, if even you don't like it? So, don't put yourself down. Putting words on paper out of nothing is hard work, and every fic is worth at least the time and effort you put into it.

4. Read! My English improved a great deal just by reading. You'll pick up vocabulary and ways of phrasing things without even trying too hard. Read with variety. Fanfic is great, and it's a good idea to see what's out there, but fic writers are still a certain kind of writer. Mix it up with published books (even if it's hard to find LGBTQ+ content), preferably with different genres you're interested in.

5. Mingle. It's hard to put yourself out there, but don't be shy to promote yourself a little. If you feel like doing that, offer to take requests. Check out other writers. One great way to find readers is actually to interact with other writers. We can all need the support, and you might end up picking up some good advice.

Be respectful, though. I've seen people leave comments just to go like, "Hey, you wanna read my stuff, too?" Not nice. If you interact in a friendly manner, there's a good chance they'll check you out anyway. No need to pressure them.

6. Make an effort. I learned that one early on, when someone commented on one of my first fics that they "almost didn't read it because of the way it was formatted." It kinda sucks when you finally have something to post and then need to "waste time" with that stuff, but it's just as important as the story itself.

You don't have editors who will fix every little thing but try to do the basics yourself.- correct your punctuation- try avoiding walls of text- make enough paragraphs (when different people speak etc.)- check for major spelling errors

7. Consider advice / ignore haters. When someone gives you advice (if you asked for it or not), consider it. It's not smart to reject it right away, but you also don't have to do what others tell you. Pick out what works best for you. If someone's rude, kick them out of your life and don't waste a second on them. It's not on you to teach them to be polite.

8. Be mindful of your readers. It's their job to construct a safe atmosphere for themselves online, but you can do a great deal to help them. If you post on AO3, tag your stuff!! I hate to give away spoilers, but a lot of readers will feel better reading your stuff if they know that you look out for them.

On tumblr, use the right tags. Don't tag every character and ship in the universe. People will hate you (for a good reason). Go with what's actually in your story. Mentioning the basics in your post might be an option, too. (I give a quick overview on top of each story, but many writers don't. That's personal preference.)

And due to recent events, a plea from myself. Please consider all genders, sexualities etc. when you post. Tag your male/gn/female/trans reader inserts, tag your ships, tag major triggers, etc. You can't know every dislike of every person, but you have a bit of responsibility here, so please make an effort.

9. Write first - edit later. I'm shitty at this myself, but it's still great advice. A good way to avoid writer's block is just to put down the words, no matter what. It sounds like garbage? It doesn't matter. Did you use the same verb three times in one paragraph? Fix it later. No idea how that sentence should go? Add [character is doing some great action move to defeat the villain] and move on. Fill it in later.

Neil Gaiman said: "There is no first draft worse than a blank page."

You can always change and fix what's already there, but you can't work with nothing.

10. Take writing breaks. You don't have to crap out 2k of words a day to be a writer. In fact, letting your mind rest can be a great way to gain motivation and inspiration. Do something you love and don't hate yourself if the words don't come right away. They'll be back.

----------

SPECIFIC WRITING ADVICE

There's one golden rule: You want your readers to be so enthralled by the story that they forget that they're reading it.

These are some things that I picked up and still look out for to get exactly that effect. If you do that or not is totally up to you, though.

1. Use paragraphs when another person speaks. Although pretty much every advice blog tells you this, I still see stories that don't do that, and it's super confusing for readers.

NO:Arthur stands up and comes your way. "Are you sure?" You put your arms around him and nod. "Of course."

YES:Arthur stands up and comes your way.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

You put your arms around him and nod. "Of course."

There are a few ways to do this, but the important part is that your readers know who's talking at all times. The second they have to ask and maybe reread to find who says what, they're thrown out of the story.

2. Don't be afraid of "said" and "asked." I know there are these great lists of other words, but there are a time and place. Imagine yourself in conversation. Do you switch between sighing, whispering, growling and shouting with each sentence? Most of the time, people just say things. Use said and pepper in other words when it matters. Also, people tend to read over said. When you switch each sentence, they'll notice which breaks the golden rule.

3. Read out loud. If a sentence is weird, that might help you distinguish what doesn't work. If you notice a point that makes you reread or pause for a moment, chances are your reader will too.

This is also a great way to find weird dialogue. Actually speak the words, and you might notice that nobody talks that way. It's also great to find "the voice" of a character. Read it in their voice and dialect (nobody has to know if you suck at it), and you'll see if that's something they would actually say.

4. Only use epithets if they are absolutely necessary or convey an important fact!!! (This one is a real pet peeve for me because it's so dominant in fic)

NO:The Blonde leaned over, holding out his hand. You shook it, and were taken aback by the older man's shining blue eyes. The cowboy had a voice that made your skin prickle when he finally talked to you.

This is bad for a few reasons:a) You have to come up with all those epithets and oftentimes, they're not very good. b) It can be confusing because it might seem as if you're talking about more than one person. c) Your readers will focus on each new epithet, which breaks the golden rule.

It can be great to introduce a character as the tall, handsome stranger, but as soon as you know how they're called (and you should try to get there fast), for the love of God, use the name. It might sound repetitive to you since you're the one writing it, but readers usually read over names.

If you have to use a workaround, stick to one. The same person is always "the stranger," the next one is "the loudmouth," etc. That way, you can have multiple unknown characters without confusing your readers.

The only!! other reason to use an epithet is to emphasize a particular fact.

YES:"It hurt Arthur to leave John behind, but he wants his brother to be safe."

You could just write "he wants him to be safe," but in this case, "his brother" isn't only a replacement but is supposed to show that Arthur thinks of John as a brother and not just a friend. It actually means something and might even convey information your reader didn't have up until this point. It works well in dialogue, too.

"I need to go with them," you tell Karen, "and try my best to keep tall, dark, and handsome out of trouble."

Karen looks over to John and rolls her eyes. "Good luck."

Of course, the reader character knows John's name, but using the epithet here gives a little insight into how they think about John and that they're comfortable sharing that information with Karen.

5. Check your punctuation. Nobody's gonna kill you if you forget a comma, but try to get it right as well as you can, especially with dialogue. Those are a few rules that aren't hard to understand, and it's especially important if your native language does them differently.

English:"Would you just shut up," says Arthur, giving Micah a mean stare. "One more word, and I'll have to shoot you."

German:"Würdest du mal die Klappe halten", sagt Arthur mit einem bösen Blick zu Micah. "Noch ein Wort und ich werde dich erschießen müssen."

In German, you put the comma after " while you put it inside " " in English. It's a subtle difference, but it threw me a lot when I started writing in English. And if I notice, then readers might notice which again breaks the golden rule.

Besides, we're trying to make some effort, right? Let your story look pretty and professional. You can google a lot of useful guides about comma rules, dashes, and correct punctuation in dialogue.

6. Passive voice can be avoided. Or better said, avoid passive voice. I'm not saying, don't use it at all, since some very common phrases use passive voice, but try not to overdo it.

In most cases, there's always a better way to phrase a sentence, and active voice usually has more dynamic and drives your story in a way that passive voice can't.

7. Adverbs. Most writing advice blogs will tell you to avoid them like the plague. When I first started writing, I was a little on the fence with that advice, but by now, I agree with all my heart. Again, not saying that you can't have a single adverb in your story, but on many occasions, there's a better alternative.

NO:With his heart beating rapidly, Arthur moves quickly around the wagon, pulling out his gun. He fires back, shouting angrily at his attackers, "You gonna pay for this!"

YES:With his heart almost beating out of his chest, Arthur darts around the wagon, pulling out his gun. He fires back at his attackers, his anger sounding like a lion's roar in his voice. "You gonna pay for this!"

I'm not saying that version B is THE best way to write this, but I dare say it's way better than version A. Maybe that's because I'm not a native speaker, but it hurts my head if I have to read 3 words ending in -ly in one tiny paragraph.

A lot of writers very much abuse adverbs in their dialogue tags, which can make things repetitive and takes away the opportunity to put better information there. BUT, there's definitely a time and place for adverbs.

"He speaks quietly to her" is NOT the same as "he whispers to her," and that's the hill I'm going to die on.

8. Strong verbs. I suck at this myself, but this is where you should actually look for long lists of "other words for." This might be especially helpful when you have the above mentioned adverb problem (e.g., dashes, darts > goes quickly).

Still, don't overdo it. You might find words that sound fancy, but chances are that even native speakers might have no idea what you're saying.

9. Past or present tenseWhen writing in German, I often used past tense, but somehow I'm more comfortable with present tense in English.

From what I gathered over the years, most fic readers don't care either way; the only important thing is: pick one, stick to it! It's a widespread mistake a lot of writers make that they somehow switch tenses while writing. It happened to me a lot in the beginning and still does to this day. So be warned ;D

10. What POV should I use?

Again, google is your friend. There are a few different POVs you can use, some of them are very common in fic while others seem to be less popular (like 1st person as in "I do this, I do that"). There are 3 rules that I find important.

a) Don't switch inside of the story. Decide which one you want and stick to it. It's very confusing to switch at some point.

b) After you picked one, look out for the traps. If you write from one character's POV, they can't know things unless somebody tells them about it or they were present for the event. It's easy to suddenly have a character know something because YOU know it. Make sure it makes sense within the story.

c) Don't switch mid-sentence or mid-paragraph. I've seen this a lot lately in reader fics. You have 2k of story from the reader's POV, and then when they interact with the character, the author suddenly ventures into the feelings and inner thoughts of the character. That's confusing, especially if it happens without any marker or break in the text.

Don't switch just because it's convenient. If you want to give them both a voice, do it from the start. And if you do, switch where it makes sense, e.g. every other chapter, in the middle of the chapter with a visible break, etc.

------

That's all I can think of for now. I hope it helps you in any way, and feel free to talk about it with me whenever you want. I can ALWAYS talk about writing.

Good fortune with your writing!!!