#neng's ted talks ꒰ᐢ⸝⸝•༝•⸝⸝ᐢ꒱⸒⸒

[loaksky]

you are such a talented writer! i’m taking a creative writing class this summer and i wanna start writing my own fics, do you have any writing tips? like ur process and how tf you pull such wonderful imagery and feeling out of a story?? thank you! xx

hi babes ! sorry it took me a bit to get around to answering this ! thank you so much for such a sweet message AHHH ! i actually took creative writing my senior year of college as an elective and it was SO fun so hopefully you have a blast taking it ! also so excited that you're getting into writing your own fics, it can definitely be a gratifying experience. even though i feel like i'm not qualified to give writer advice, some thoughts are under the cut LMAO <3

my initial thought is gonna sound so unhelpful, but i read this quote / saying somewhere and it's stuck with me since: just write and keep writing after, even if you hate what you write. and the reasoning that came with the quote is that you already have 100 percent more to work with than if you were to write, hate what you produce, and then stop until you feel 'good enough' to go again. you can always revise, you can always edit, you can always delete and rewrite, but you'll have something to work with. this is something i really struggled with in high school when i was really getting into writing.

obviously you don't want to push yourself into a state where you develop an unhealthy relationship with it, but it's just a little encouragement or motivation that i used to remind myself of when i would get in a funk.

some random technical (?) advice in no particular order:

use pinterest for writing prompts, templates (for world building, character building, plot structuring), creating moodboards for your projects, etc. pinterest is my holy grail for writing both fanfiction and regular fiction / personal projects. possibilities are endless with miss pinterest.

said and says can get repetitive, yes, but they are still very useful. if you try to swap out said and says with too many alternatives, you run the risk of compromising reading flow and sounding a little too wordy.

in that same vein, try out different word choices, but be careful with which ones you choose! sometimes (like with said and says), writers will use a thesaurus and pick the 'smartest' sounding word and then it ends up throwing off the way the sentence reads...if that makes sense...i'm rambling now lmaooo

in regards to your specific question about my process:

i'm literally so all over the place. sometimes i'll think of a really cool title and then just run with that.

other times, i'll think of a conflict and craft a plot around the conflict and build outwards.

sometimes i'll already have my ending in mind and backtrack all the way to the beginning. then i'll the time to flesh out the foundation.

i also listen to a lot of music. if you go through my masterlist, you'll probably peep a lot of song titles hahaha. i usually use music as a way to feel out a vibe or write using inspiration from the lyrics.

as mentioned above, i love making moodboards and perusing pinterest !

also, this may sound lowkey crazy, but i love writing as if i'm describing scenes in a movie. or maybe directing a movie? i'm a very sensory person, so i try to make sure i include most, if not all, of the senses when constructing these 'scenes'.

and finally!

just have fun! in both the creative writing class and online, don't let outside pressures like your peers, numbers, or other things get in the way of you creating what you love and being apart of a community. it can be difficult and a little isolating at times, but no matter what, just remember what you went into your endeavors looking for!

ik i was a little all over the place, but this is what i can think of for now because my brain is absolutely fried lmaooo. if you have anymore specific questions: lmk, i love talking n chatting hehe

best of luck to you in your class and i hope you enjoy the journey of writing fanfiction as well! <3

[loaksky]

I wish I could write like u, how do u do it aaaaahshjsbsjd

LIKE ME??? stopppp edkejsk, if you read my writing from even like three years ago babes, i'm BARFING lmaooo

(my real unsolicited advice under the cut hahaha)

real talk, i've been a really avid reader my whole life, so i feel like that for sure contributes to it! i also just write like HELL because it's my favorite thing to do & one of the only consistent things i've enjoyed.

some things that have really helped me improve recently:

expanding my vocabulary, i use a thesaurus a lot, probably one of my favorite tools.

whenever i read, i like to challenge myself to read outside of my comfort zone, i find that i come across so many different styles of writing this way and can implement that into my own work.

i keep a note or journal & write down words i've never heard before. then i look it up & try to use it in an exercise or a future project.

i try to exercise my brain by practicing using prompts (found on pinterest or here on tumblr!).

write & continue writing even if you think it's bad. you can always edit it later. you'll never get it perfect the first time around and pressuring yourself into trying to achieve that will just frustrate you (sincerely someone who stopped writing for like two years because i hated everything i put out the first go around and wouldn't invest anymore effort into it).

bottom line for me is that i try to observe a lot and then put what i see into practice!

[loaksky]

not a request!! more of an ask— do you write every request sent to you or do you ignore those that does not interest you? if so, does it make you feel guilty? (considering they might have been waiting for it) fellow writer here and i am in a bit of a dilemma (and writer’s block, ugh.)

hi !! <3

TLDR; yes & no, first round of requests, i did, this time around i'm a bit more selective. do i feel guilty? a little, but that's normal and there's no obligation to serve others before yourself especially if you're feeling burnt out / uninspired.

more detailed thoughts below the cut ! :)

in the first batch of requests that i received, i wrote all of them, but in this second batch, there are a few that don't really pique my interest. i don't delete them though because at the very least, i want to draw inspiration from them & then when i do get around to incorporating them into something, i'll link it in the notes of the post!

i'll be so completely honest in telling you that i do feel a little guilty because obviously i wanna be fair to everyone since a lot of people who request probably already engage with my content and i'm always so grateful. but i just remind myself that while writing is a career, writing fanfiction for ANY community is just a pastime / hobby for us and applying pressure to please every single person we come across on the internet can be detrimental to our own person enjoyment.

i think that the relationship between reader and writer can be a little shaky because even if we write for our own enjoyment, engagement of any kind does feel really good and can be a great motivator! but pleasing people at the expense of your own enjoyment can become overwhelming. not only that, but i find that if you pick and choose what you want to create based on your requests, you're curating a collection of your own work that you're proud of and spent time consciously producing instead of just pumping out things that people want to see, but don't have your full efforts / heart.

i know you probably just wanted a short and succinct answer, but this is for any new (or even experienced) writers who battle with this. i for one, admittedly do, but it's just one step at a time. :)

ily & hopefully this provides at least a little insight! <3

xx neng