#tbh I don’t expect to hit the 50k

[dahldahlbills]

nano tomorrow 👁️👁️

i’ll be holding myself accountable by posting my daily word counts so feel free to filter #dahl does nano 23 !!

[actioncatmusic]

So I’m trying to follow the advice of successful authors to write every single day. I set my daily goal at 1k-3k words per day, and I stop anywhere within that range as soon as my writing quality starts to diminish from any mental exhaustion.

I started the second draft of my novel (a companion to a punk/rock concept album I’ve been working on over the last couple years) on Wednesday. I’ve made sure to work on the book on all 6 days so far. Wednesday through Monday. This will say I posted it on Tuesday, but that’s because I haven’t gone to sleep yet. 🙃 I made sure to write a minimum of 1k words each day. If I reach 1k that’s a decent day, 2k is a good day, and 3k is a great day. I only hit 3k once, Monday night, where I got sucked into the story and wrote a ridiculous 3,598 words, after which I stopped, despite only being a couple pages away from the end of the chapter. I really wanted to just finish the chapter, but I had promised myself I would stay within a limit, and so I did. There were two days where I found it difficult to get to 1k words, and it took me almost just as long to get to 1300 as it had taken me to get to 3k today. Everyday was a little different, depending on the difficulty I was having with different sections/scenes/chapters in this story. I’ve been stopping anywhere within a scene or chapter once I decide I’m too tired to write as well. I’ve found it fairly easy to pick up from wherever I left off the previous day, so no need to push myself past my limits unnecessarily just to finish any particular section.

Results so far are 14,493 words written in 6 days. I worked anywhere from 2 hours most days, to 4-6 hours on the few days I had written over 2k words in a sitting, typing 10wpm at the slowest (lots of pauses) to 50wpm at the fastest (this speed was rare tbh). Not only is my weekly word count very high from following this advice, but I’ve also seen greater improvement than expected in prose, descriptive detailing, and dialogue within my story. I’ve never felt so proud of my writing before.

I do admittedly write fast. I averaged 4K-8kwpd when writing the first draft, as I was focused on getting the story into the real world, not on making it good. But I would often only write 1-2 days per week, and sometimes take weeks or months off between bouts of writing. It was very clearly unsustainable. I had gone full pantser as well for the first draft. I don’t think that kind of writing speed would be possible if I were following a proper outline. The point of putting myself into a 1k-3k limit was to make writing daily a more obtainable goal, and to give myself more time to really get deep into the story while I write.

A daily writing goal doesn’t have to be a minimum of 1k words either. At 300 words per day, a person would still complete a 50k word novel in 6 months, and they would see improvement in their writing over time from all of that beautiful daily practice.

So yeah, when the top authors in the world keep giving us the advice of “write everyday no matter what,” when we ask how to become better writers, they’re not fucking around. It really does work, and the good results are quick to present themselves. I highly recommend giving it a shot.

[askaniritual]

fanfiction wrapped 2022

nobody asked but i saw somebody on tik tok do this and i thought it would be fun to do a little wrapped/retrospective on my fic this year since i had my most productive year since 2019

total fics: 4

total words published: 33,573

total ao3 kudos: 416

most kudos/hits/bookmarks/chapters/words: to sate a hunger or to stoke it (to trace its edges like teeth) [by an absolute landslide lmfao]

my personal favorite: limits of disguise

some thoughts about my work this year:

to sate a hunger or to stoke it (to trace its edges like teeth)

this was a story i wanted to tell for a long time, and i’m really happy that i was able to do it. i wrote this fic basically so i could read the story that i was imagining in my head but hadn’t found yet. i don’t do that for all my fic but i definitely did for this one

i’ve never written for such a popular fandom with such a large/active fanbase before and the response was really interesting. i yearn for what the my hero academia 50k coffee shop au writers have

this is also the longest fic i’ve ever written. i wasn’t sure if i had the stamina to keep up with regular updates but it was in some ways easier than i expected

a catalog of non-definitive acts

probably my least favorite fic i’ve written this year, i like the concept but i just don’t feel like the execution quite lands

i read x-men 2019 and avx/schism almost simultaneously and i was posessed

i spent so much time on the subway writing this lol

the prayer of going nowhere

ricstar was the pairing that got me into writing fic and x-men comics so i think it’ll always have a special place in my heart. i had to put this one down for a while and work on a catalog of non-definitive acts but i’m glad i was able to pick it back up to finish it

a lot has happened with them in the comics since i last wrote a fic about them so i wanted to write a fic that kind of addressed everything that has happened. plus i thought of the thing about cadre and i really wanted to add it to a fic lol

tbh i wish i’d given this a different title

limits of disguise

generally i have the idea for a fic and then i have to let it percolate for a long time to try and tease out the plot but for this one i thought of the entire thing on one long walk and basically sprinted home to type it out

i’ve never written a fic so quickly before and in some ways i think it’s better for the fact that i didn’t get precious about it and in some ways i wish i’d spent more time developing the plot.

definitely my favorite fic i wrote this year. i really really love the concept, which is interesting bc usually my fic is structured more around character beats i want to write rather than plot points but i guess this is kind of the best of both worlds

anyway tysm to everybody who read my fic this year and left comments or supportive messages. im so glad i’ve had so many opportunities to share my work and i’m so appreciative of the the feedback and support <3

[jkrockin]

ao3 wrapped ALL BITCH

oh my friend, you are a reliable source of "wanting to know shit", as always.

How many words have you written this year?

I have put 48,376 words on AO3! How many have I written? Trickier to calculate, but there’s about 50k in my mountain of drafts, approximately 30k of which I wrote this year but haven’t finished.

How many works did you publish this year?

Nine!

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Fairly recent, but I’m really happy with the strangerthings werewolf thing I turned out for a Halloween exchange.

What work of yours has the most hits?

From 2022, it’s the Steve/Eddie thing where they go to a Judas Priest show.

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

I’m always a little surprised when stuff gets feedback at all, since I loathe doing promo and that’s basically how you get words in front of eyeballs, but I was delighted with how my Fitzjames/Goodsir fic about jerking off was received.

Favorite title you used

“heart into a glacier”. What better choice is there for a double drabble about a hairy old man confronting the inevitability of death in the ice than Kim Petras lyrics?

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

I exclusively use song lyrics (or poetry), and the only artist I used twice was Paul Kelly (on my werewolf fics), so I guess him!

Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

It’s Steve/Eddie strangerthings, at a current total of 4 fics!

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

Shocked and appalled to report that I only wrote ONE Crozier/Fitzjames fic this year, but I think it’s still them.

What work was the quickest to write?

Also “heart into a glacier”, which I knocked out in about three hours (that’s how long it usually takes me to write 200 words tbh)

What work took you the longest to write?

This year's Dear God, Jenn, Speed Up award goes to “a sense cannot be described” (the Fitzjames/Goodsir jerkoff fic), which according to my tracking spreadsheet I started writing in December 2020 and finished in February 2022.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

Let’s consult the tracking spreadsheet again! In the in-progress tabs, there are 24 WIPs, though one of those is for an exchange due later this month.

What’s your longest work of the year?

Judas Priest thing ("you gotta get a reaction") again!

What’s your shortest work of the year?

“heart into a glacier” again!

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

This is the same question as question 12.

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

“Anal Sex”! 🎉

Your favorite character to write this year?

It’s my BOYYYYYYY Eddie Munson, blorbo of my heart (or at least of my year, since, like, April)

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Annoyingly I do struggle a bit with my other boyyyyy Steve Harrington’s voice. This is annoying because I keep having ideas where he’s the best POV character, and a witch cursed me to only write in close third-person single POV.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

*glances at my 12 Steve/Eddie WIPs* uh.

Which work of yours have you reread the most?

I actually don’t re-read my own work much, though I have no issue with those who do. Probably “you gotta get a reaction” again, since I broke my own rules and started posting before I was done writing, and I had to re-read the first chapter to get back into the flow.

How many kudos in total did you get this year?

2,329.

Which work has the most comments?

Also “you gotta get a reaction”.

Did you do any collaborative works this year?

Nope! I still have yet to actually collaborate on something and end up finishing it.

Did you write any gifts this year?

I only did two exchanges this year— the Fruity Four Cocktail Hour discord’s Halloween mixer (the werewolf thing) and Fall Fitzier exchange (this coworkers-who-hate-each-other on a blind date thing https://archiveofourown.org/works/43300659 ), and I guess you could count heart into a glacier again as a gift for TUUNBAQ WITH A GUN.

Did you receive any gifts this year?

Yes! I thoroughly enjoyed my monster-hunter gift from Halloween, and the incomparable Kit wrote me this excellent Arctic no-nut November fic for Fitziermas!

What’s your most common category?

M/M. Writing women without getting in my fat dyke feelings is hard.

What do you listen to while writing?

I listen to a lot of synthwave and study beats when I’m trying to concentrate. Timecop1983, Mort Garson, Extrawelt, Kavinsky, Louie Zong, Dance With the Dead, kind of thing.

Favorite work you wrote this year?

Uhhhhhhh this is always a toughie, I like everything I wrote! I wouldn’t have shown them to anyone else if I didn’t! I’m going to give it to my Fall Fitzier Exchange work, “pass a lucky penny by” (link at no. 24) which I struggled with but ended up happy with.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I said a whole wanky thing about taking stuff out of context earlier but I quite liked this opening paragraph, from the Little/Crozier dream sex thing from Rarepair Week:

Most of Edward’s dreams, when he remembers them, are hazy, more sound and colour than anything else. Sometimes he has place-dreams of his parent’s house, searching cellar to attic for the sounds of his mother or his sisters’ voices, always a room away; sometimes, he dreams of being back aboard ships he had served on, adrift on a featureless imaginary sea. 

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

How fast I can get blorbo brainworms, I think? I’d started writing Eddie stuff like halfway through watching s4 and had a pile of concepts together by the time part 2 dropped, and my Spotify is just RUINED with 80’s metal.

[hozierbyrne]

Hi! Do you have any lengthy romance fic recs?!? Anything is great tbh!

hi!! i think for me, lengthy would be ~100k or more, so that's what i'll include in the list below! if you want a bit shorter (i have so many bookmarks in the 50k - 100k range let me know!!) and uh if there's a specific fandom or pairing... also feel free to drop back by and let me know!

upon our silver bridge (mdzs, lan xichen x jiang wanyin, post-canon, canon divergence, 443k+) - yeah okay this pairing is not my !! usual !! i know i know. BUT the mythology incorporated in this fic was SO cool and there are FOOTNOTES, and the writing and the character development is really beautiful. also, LONG.

love, in fire and blood (mdzs, lan wangji x wei wuxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage au, 360k+) - back to my ROOTS baby!! this one is a SLOWWW burn with some lovely moments of domesticity and a dose of political intrigue. and they're in loooove they just have. valid concerns about their whole situation!!

you can tell everybody this is your song (911, eddie diax x evan buckley, canon divergence, 470k+ over 24 works) - yes this is the fireman show, yes one of the firemen just told the other fireman that he's named him legal guardian of his son if something happens to him. IN CANON. anyway this is the creme de la creme of 911 writers and also this series is much better than the actual show. characters true to form, good writing, and the Romance and Drama of it all... unmatched.

it starts in the middle (carry on, simon snow x baz pitch, college au, 130k) - okay HEADS UP this is written in first person and jumps from narrator to narrator to match the style of the carry on books, so if that's not your jam it's not your jam! that being said it's well-written and it's all about the *clenches fist* love you find in places you don't expect, if only you let yourself see it.

lessons in cartography (aftg, neil josten x andrew minyard, post-canon, 121k+ and a sequel that's ~70k if you're vibin with it) - this is the classic canon continuation but i'm trying to hit a range of fandoms here so i couldn't in good conscience leave it off! i don't know that they're uh, romantic in some senses but like they Love Each Other Very Much.

playing on (aftg, jean moreau x jeremy knox, canon-compliant, 142k+) - this fic is probably the best aftg fic i've read in terms of making exy seem like a sport! so much of jeremy's life is wrapped up in being the captain of a division i college program and this fic reflects that thank god. author understands how a sport works UNLIKE NORA but anyway. jeremy, jean, falling in love and staying in love.

switch (star trek aos, jim kirk x leonard mccoy, academy era, canon divergence, 230k+) - sorry i literally include this fic in every fic rec list i have ever made but. it's just that good. len mccoy pov, and he's so dry and whip-smart and also so empathetic!! and he loves jim before he ~loves~ him you know and i fuck with that!! it's my favorite fic honestly like it's literally in my ebooks library with a cover i drew i really feel passionate about this one lmao maybe i should reread it

[akaluan]

My three favorite verses of yours, in order: soulmate au, dragon eclipse, swan fae au

XD I’m glad you’re enjoying them! Soulmate AU probably haaaaas... 7 or 8 more segments to go unless my brain decides to demand more parts. Maybe as many as 15 but that’s doubtful. It’s definitely starting to wrap up even in my mind. (I have a whole outline on high points i want to hit but it gives some things away XD ) It’s definitely going to hit 50k with ease, and might even hit 70k before editing. It is my second longest story and just... woof I was not expecting that at ALL.

Even DE is getting closer to being finished, though i don’t have an estimate on that yet XD But functionally there’s not much LEFT -- finish the last few days in SS, some time-skippy downtime with family feels, then murder Aizen time and a bit of wrapping up to do. I might actually get a lot of that written during this year’s NaNo, tbh. We’ll see, but... i’m feeling cautiously optimistic about being able to wrap it up next year. We’ll see.

Swan fae au is just... honestly i have no plan, it’s just HILARIOUS and self-indulgent and i love it. I have a handful of scenes i REALLY can’t wait to get to, but I’m getting closer! No idea when that one will wrap up, but my muse has def not left me yet for it.

[delusioninabox]

Nanowrimo Day 20

I know I said it like fifty times already, but I’m still running laps about it.

But yeah!! We hit that 50k early!! Which has never happened before for me. Usually I start out strong, lose steam halfway, stumble through the holidays, and then scream my way through the last few days. So...yeah, this went a lot better than past years by a long shot.

What helped:

I planned the story out beforehand, so I always had a vision of where to go next.

I had written a few scenes and backstory scenes beforehand, which helped me a lot to know how I wanted to write characters and their dynamics.

My precious writing angels @sincerestaffect @cogwrites @tundra-tiger @raiswanson @zekethegm and co. I’d never been in a writing group before, and that helped a lot with giving me support. 😭🙏❤️

Every scene with Faramund/Decebal or Menelaus& Soleil was just honestly such a motivator. It helps to love your characters. Mwah!

Where things went off the rails:

I didn’t practice writing Channary enough, and it shows. I struggled to write her a lot, and I hate to say it, but pretty much all of the scenes she’s in (until maybe the end) require a lot of serious editing. This was a major source of that depressive slump I had tbh

Things didn’t always stick to the outline. Sometimes that was good! Other times...not much so much. But for the most part I think those alterations can work with more editing.

I made all those rules about Guardians and most of them aren’t in there because I struggled to find places they were natural to add. Whether it’s enough or not is TBD.

Channary again fifty times because honestly, yeah. Girl. Why.

Now what?

I’m going to keep working on it. This is the first book in a series. (I’ve tried to avoid writing series for a while now, but it can’t be helped.) I expect this draft to end at around 75k, which I think is a pretty solid place to work from as a first draft. There’s room to cut out the bad and expand the good. I’m still not quite sure where to end this first one and start the second one exactly...but hopefully I’ll figure it out.

I want to get this first draft totally done by the end of the month still, so expect more progress updates as I work on it. :) I shall leave you with one fun excerpt and one Yikes(TM).  😘

----------------------------

“No one’s here,” she said.

Soleil pursed her lips. “They didn’t know we were coming...right?”

Menelaus sighed. “Are you all magic deaf? There is something very wrong here.” Sol stared at him, waiting on an explanation. “A Guardian,” he said pointedly. “A really strong one.” When Sol continued to look unconcerned, he added, “Someone who might actually be on our level.”

Soleil perked up with a smile. “Oooh!”

“No, not ‘oooh’. Bad!” Menelaus lightly slapped her arm.

----------------------------

And now the Yikes:

----------------------------

Decebal didn’t know what to do. Faramund wouldn’t speak or move any further. It was like he was frozen to Alcaeus’ body, trapped in the moment he had died. Decebal sat on his knees beside them. He slowly reached a hand out and put it atop Faramund’s.

“We have to go,” he whispered. Faramund didn’t respond. Decebal swallowed and searched the side of his face for any sign of recognition. He took a deep breath and asked softly, “Did Channary do this?” There was no reply for a moment, but then, slowly, Faramund shook his head. Decebal almost felt relief, but then — “Who did?” Faramund buried his face deeper into Alcaeus’ chest.

“Faramund,” Decebal pleaded. “Please. I need you to tell me. Are the others in danger?” Faramund lifted his head slightly.

“Others?”

Decebal nodded. “Yes. We all came.”

Faramund’s head dropped again, listless. “For Channary,” he said.

“No,” Decebal said. He tightened his grip on Faramund’s hand. “I came for you, Faramund. I was worried about you. You’re...” He swallowed. “You’re my friend.” Faramund gave no answer. Decebal watched the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Finally, Faramund said, “This is my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” Decebal said.

“I shouldn’t be here,” Faramund said.

Decebal froze. “What do you mean?”

“My bonded is dead. We can’t live without a bonded. I should...be asleep again. A crystal.” His voiced cracked with pain as he spoke. “Dead.” His head lifted to meet Decebal’s, face fraught with despair. “Why aren’t I dead?” Decebal’s heart broke. He took Faramund’s hand and held it with both of his. He didn’t care about the blood. He kept his eyes on Faramund’s.

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “But it’s not your fault. You didn’t kill Alcaeus.”

“But—”

“Stop,” Decebal said firmly. “Stop. You can grieve for him. You can cry. You can miss him. But don’t blame yourself. There was nothing you could have done.” Faramund didn’t seem convinced, but he said nothing.

[queenangst]

1 - 30 😗

you’re insane, anon. love u. go big or go home

things i learned from answering this: i guess i didn’t write that much fic this year? at the very least, i didn’t publish much. 

list of my fics i mentioned: 

Flare Signal (BNHA), a wip longfic wherein Izuku is a villain, but he wants to be a hero. More Than Friends (PJO), a “wip” two part fic about classic PJO tropes!these old bones (VLD), a completed one-shot exploring Keith, told in three parts.what if this storm ends (and i don’t see you as you are now, ever again) (VLD), a short one-shot after Shiro’s breakup, when he is comforted by Keith.

1. favorite fic you wrote this year

Flare Signal, hands-down. i’m just having a good time!

2. least favorite fic you wrote this year

probably More Than Friends. i just didn’t execute it well!

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

tbh i debated about answering this bc it’s not published yet (spoilers for FS!): 

“I may not be a hero,” Izuku said lowly, limping forward, “but I refuse to die a villain.”

4. total number of words you wrote this year 

tbh i don’t know bc a mix of projects and wips and stuff. but about 90-100k!

5. most popular fic this year 

according to ao3, ruins with 6,622 hits this year, closely followed by Flare Signal with 6,613 hits!

6. least popular fic this year

these old bones, with 402 hits this year

7. longest completed fic you wrote this year

complete?? maybe 3k, these old bones. 

8. shortest completed fic you wrote this year

it’s probably an ask fill/request from tumblr, which usually round out to anywhere from 1-2k. on ao3, it’s what if this storm ends (and i don’t see you as you are now, ever again)

9. longest wip of the year

Flare Signal for sure. right now it’s at 72k!

10. shortest wip of the year

More Than Friends...? technically it’s complete since each chapter is a standalone, but it’s a two-parter that i never really. wrote the second part. 3k.

11. fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year

i’ve been popping the biggest bottles in bnha! i just think the world and the characters are a blast to play with.

12. favorite character to write about this year

izuku lmao, what’s new!

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

probably Melodrama by Lorde, or kobasolo!

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

like, all of them, i bet! Flare Signal again; it’s much longer than planned (i thought it was going to be 50k, and then i realized it was going to be 100k, and now i’ve just given up guessing, though i have all chapters planned.) i honestly didn’t even expect to be sucked into bnha but here we are. 

15. something you learned this year

i have to give props to past!me for writing this question. good one. i think.... something i learned is that i’ve improved! and i’ve come a really, really long way. i’ve been writing since about 2012/2013, and for the past few years i’ve personally not noticed much change in my writing. but someone pointed out to me how much i’ve improved comparing one of my fics from around 2017 to my most recent wip, and it’s really gratifying to hear that and to make the realization that yeah, wow, i did improve. 

16. fic(s) you completed this year

i don’t finish anything tbh but:

17. fics you’ll continue next year

Flare Signal is the only planned fic that will continue next year! my vld fics are on unofficial hiatus, and i’ve really just been focusing on fs right now.

18. current number of wips

last time it was like, 21. this time it’s gotta be at least 30. maybe. who knows!

19. any new fics to start next year

nothing set in stone! i’m playing with a couple bnha ideas in my head that i think would be fun, but i don’t know. we’ll see :D

20. number of comments you haven’t read

i’ve read all of them in my email and in my fic comment section! however, ao3′s official count is 439. 

21. most memorable comment/review

this is only one of many but... 

"This. Is. SPARTA!!! YEET" 

I never thought I'd have those two phrases go through my kind at exactly the same time, yet here I am. 

22. events you participated in this year

honestly? i have no sense of time and i don’t really remember like, when 2017 ended and when 2018 began writing-wise. i was in the wild fyre keith zine, which was in the works last year, i believe, but finished this year. invictus/paladin magazine. riordanverse zine. lancito! zine. i think that’s it! a lot of projects were really long, so.

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

plenty plenty as always. uhhh something called the “distance soulmate airport percabeth au” which is fun and ridiculous and i love it! a different mortal percabeth fic where they meet in a sleepy beach town by chance years after breaking up as high school sweethearts, and they solve mysteries as they fall back in love. and a time travel percabeth fic called step forward, step back!

and plenty more. but let’s stop here.

24. favorite fic you read this year

i can’t stop at one. i particularly enjoyed Yesterday Upon the Stair by PitViperofDoom, but also every bnha fic i bookmarked! good stuff. oh and classic PeaceHeather coming back to hit me with Rend and Rebuild for that good, good, good merlin & arthur fic.

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

maybe by fandom? 

bnha: could i but teach the hundredth part by terra_incognita on ao3.the penumbra podcast: Hyperion City, 5:30 AM by grantaire_dont_care on ao3.critical role: now seek the far horizon (sister, sail) by Attilavld: Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy by wingedflower

26. number of favorites/bookmarks you made this year

164!

27. favorite fanfic author of the year

hmm, don’t have one off the top of my head! maybe mysterytwin, writing for trollhunters.  

28. longest fic you read this year

probably Yesterday Upon the Stair, a hefty 365k. delicious.

29. shortest fic you read this year

idk :( i read a lot of fic all the time! 

30. favorite fandom to read fic from this year

bnha! like i said in the beginning, i just think it’s a lot of fun. and there’s some good dads, and some good whump. could use more whump.

[fanfictionlive]

The Game of Stats

It's ironic how few days ago, I celebrated leaving my Stats class to cry but tbh, numbers are frustrating for me no matter the context.

I miss the first time I received a kudos and a glowing review. I miss seeing my stats grow and only feeling gratitude and disbelief that people were kind enough to read my fic, give it a kudos, a bookmark and a comment. I miss looking at other people's stats without jealousy or questioning myself. I miss appreciating a story without comparing this writer's writing to mine. Most of all, I miss writing without worrying if it will get popular.

Because now, I started expecting more and it's wrong. Behind those numbers are people. I should be grateful. I mean, I'm grateful and I love my readers but once my fics got an overall 4k+ kudos, 50k+ hits, 1k+ bookmarks, hundreds of comments and 1k+ subscribes since February, I can't help but compare myself to other writers, specially those who can just post and easily get to thousands. I started having a one-sided competition with them.

This is the part that I hate the most because it's unfair and disrespectful. These amazing and talented writers deserve their fame and some have a huge following already. Some have completed their fics way before I started.

It's also a disservice to my readers.

When people say that focusing on stats is dangerous, they're right. I'm trying to get myself out of this mindset now cause I still love writing. I still want to continue my fics. I don't want to hitch my self-esteem and focus on numbers.

That's why when I see posts celebrating their first everything, I feel so happy for them. I wish them all the best and hope that they don't ever, ever fall into the stats pithole.

Anyway, enough of my whining. Please wear a mask and keep yourself safe and healthy, guys!

submitted by /u/pomelobean [link] [comments] from FanFiction: Where Magical Ponies battle Imperial Titans https://ift.tt/31Vmytg

[doorsclosingslowly]

All the Nightbrothers.

Maul, not raised as a nightbrother but I’m gonna count him anyway.

do I like them: Pretty obviously yes.

5 good qualities: Does not know when to quit, cocky, clever, ludicrous survival instinct, shows a little more care towards other people than has been shown towards him.

3 bad qualities: Vicious, vengeful, believes in Sith philosophy which fucks up his life.

favourite episode/etc: I think I’m gonna pick the opening scene of Lockdown, purely because it’s the first Star Wars book I read and it hooked me by making me laugh so much. That delicious tension between the author trying to build up that other inmate as a credible threat so that the fight creates actual excitement and concern and so on, and Maul dashing it every few lines by bragging about how he’s totally amazing and that he could have killed his opponent hours ago.

otp: None, but I like Maul/Obi-Wan and Maul/Padmé.

brotp: Savage.

ot3: None really?

notp: Idk? Like, there are pairings I’ll only read as horror but I’ve got a good horror tolerance.

best quote: I’m bad with remembering quotes tbh. I think it’s super interesting every time he likens himself to a tool, which happens a bunch in some of the comics. And, not a quote, but I totally love the way he’s written in children’s books, all “Maul said with evil pride” and “He would pour all of his hate and anger into his twin blades” and so on, because I can’t help but imagine it as his internal voice and it makes him sound like such an edgelord.

head canon: A lot of the mechanics skills he has, he learned by repairing the assassin droids he trained with every time he managed to damage them. Fight to the death, repair it, fight to the death again.

Savage

do I like them: I didn’t really expect to love him, but yeah, I totally do. I’ve written so much about him by now, you can’t really do that without being kinda obsessive about someone.

5 good qualities: Caring, determined, forgiving, patient, also pretty good at dealing with Maul considering he has no clue what tf he’s doing.

3 bad qualities: Willing to do anything for his brothers no matter who it hurts, horrible relationship with agency, DEAD.

favourite episode/etc: That moment when they’ve been rescued by the Mandalorians and Savage hits his head against that lamp, tbh. Favourite moment. Also, I’ve got a really soft spot for Shadow Collective, even though that’s just a children’s book retelling his last four episodes. Quite a few scenes about how much Maul ‘n Savage care about each other.

otp: No.

brotp: Maul!

ot3: No.

notp: Everyone, unless they’ve spent a super long time talking to Savage about agency and consent.

best quote: “You should have been helping him!” He’s so disappointed in Morley haha. He totally can’t fathom that there’s anyone who wouldn’t want to help and care for that terrifying cyborg-spider that’s going to eat you if you get too close, because that’s his brother!! How can you not care about Savage’s brother?? Also “brother” in general which is like half his dialogue. The voice doesn’t sound enough like Savage yet? Liberally sprinkle in “brother” and… bingo! Such a considerate character

head canon: There are like 50k+ words of Savage headcanons on my AO3 account by now… Uh, another thing is that I like to think he’s actually not that amazing at cooking really? He just likes his own food. A lot of the gripes that Maul has, he’d still have even if he hadn’t been raised by Sidous.

Feral

do I like them: To be honest I mostly like him in a… second-hand way? Like, he’s Savage’s beloved dead brother and Savage thinks the world of him. Every time I write Savage’s POV I think about how much he loves Feral, but that’s very different from getting to know Feral by figuring out what language he uses and where his attention would shift in a POV section. If I ever write one of the things in which Feral’s alive, that’s probably gonna change

5 good qualities: Loving, inquisitive, quick, really good hunter, compassionate.

3 bad qualities: Dead, doesn’t quite understand how much danger he’s in which would give Savage grey hairs if he had hair, also I like to think he’s sometimes a dick in a very teenage boy way?

favourite episode/etc: Not like there’s choice here. Although I’m genuinely angry that they’ve cut Feral from that children’s book about Savage I bought on a lark, because how tf do you talk about Savage without mentioning Feral? Okay only very few parenty might want to give their six-year-olds a book about a slave who was forced to murder his brother and then sold to a man who abused him and ordered him to kill the good guys – who never learn what was done to that slave and always call him a beast – but I feel in that case don’t buy a Savage Opress book? The children have already watched Feral’s murder if they know who Savage is???

otp: I’m so bad at shipping questions.

brotp: Savage.

ot3: /

notp: /

best quote: I kinda liked his bravado? Saying “Aren’t I always?“ when Savage tells him to be vigilant because all the people around them have been killed etc.

head canon: In anything where Savage somehow gets Maul back and Feral’s alive, he and Maul have a kind of fraught relationship at first? Because it used to be just him and his big bro, and now his bro brings home this other guy and spends so much time with him, trying to make sure that Maul’s not bolting, and also Maul’s often kind of a dick to Savage? Feral is protectively concerned.

I’ve made up a bunch of nightbrothers (Stinger, Irascible, Dudgeon, Gorge, …) to make Savage’s life seem full and stuff, but the only canon one I can remember is Viscus.

do I like them: Kinda? Sorry you are the harbinger of bad news in everything I’ve ever written dude, it’s just the role society has given you.

5 good qualities: Feels pretty bad about what he’s doing, genuinely cares about people, much better at dealing with stress and loss than I would be, probably a strange sense of humor, good story-teller.

3 bad qualities: Does what he’s doing, traditionalist, strict.

favourite episode/etc: Not much to choose from again.

otp: /

brotp: /

ot3: /

notp: /

best quote: /

head canon: Tbh all of this was probably headcanons.

[nakamotens]

Do you know how well Cherry Bomb is doing? How likely is a win? I just want the best for them!!

they’re doing pretty well!!! definitely better than before seeing as limitless sold slightly under 50k within its first week, while cherry bomb just hit 50k sales today (halfway into the first week!)

it’s a bit harder to compare digital sales ngl since the digital charting system was revamped after nct dream’s comeback but overall they’re doing better than expected??? they charted at #31 and tbh that’s already pretty good given that only artists like iu and gd have been able to chart at #1 immediately after the new ranking system

tbh we’re not sure about how likely a win is omg because it doesn’t really depend on nct themselves but also on whoever else is promoting?? i don’t really know who else has stuff out other than svt who is finishing up this week LOL but twice is still going strong and other groups might come back so we don’t want to raise any expectations ;; but if 127 goes on the show (tues) sometime soon they’re probably gna win!!

[frenchibi]

1/2) Hi! I'd just like some advice some a seasoned writer who has a pretty damn consistent track record *Pokes*. I very recently starting writing, its the first time I've actually contributed to a fandom. With my first upload I was very nervous and feeling down right vulnerable, I remember thinking "If people don't like it, I'll probably take it down" but hallelujah, reception has been positive. TOO POSITIVE for me. It's a first world problem, but now I feel I can't measure up to expectations,

Hey there, friend!!

First of all, thank you for messaging me! I’m going to try and give you a bit of advice as best I can, though all I have to go on here is my own experience so I’m not sure how well that will translate into anything helpful :’D

I’d just like some advice some a seasoned writer who has a pretty damn consistent track record

Haha, thank you. The whole thing feels a little surreal to me. While it is true that I’ve been writing for… uh, 15 years now (what the fuck) and fanfiction specifically for at least 6 of those, I still wouldn’t consider myself a “seasoned writer” because, well… truth be told, a tiny bit of that nervousness doesn’t go away no matter how long you’ve been writing. Also, “consistent” – well. One of my resolutions for this year has been to post one fic every week. So far I’ve managed, more or less (if we disregard my own time zone a bit), but most of the time I’m flailing and wondering how the hell I’m even still doing this. It may look consistent, but tbh I’m struggling with that every week xD

I feel I can’t measure up to expectations

What you have to understand about writing fics in particular is that it is incredibly unpredictable. Putting something out there that you’ve poured your heart and soul into does not guarantee that anyone will click on it, read it or like it (and even then, they might not leave a comment, or reblog if we’re talking tumblr). There is no formula to follow for a “fic that will be liked”, and there are infinite factors why people click on fics and why they don’t. What are you tagging, what’s your summary, is your work complete or not, at what time did you post it, etc etc etc – and people are incredibly picky. So as a rule I’d say it’s… dangerous to put too much value in the feedback you get or don’t get, because not getting any hits, kudos or comments doesn’t necessarily mean that your writing is bad. Those numbers have little to no correlation to the quality of your work, and that’s… a hard concept to wrap your head around.

Now, that said, in your situation… you’ve gotten very positive feedback and maybe even a few subscriptions, you might be able to assume that people will come back to your writing – and of course they will expect something similar (in quality, though that is incredibly subjective as well) to what you’ve written before. These expectations can be terrifying, and I get that. (And they can also make you afraid to try new things, maybe even to write for different fandoms, for fear of losing the audience you’re building. I know this, too. I’ve been there often enough).

This might sound a little harsh, but, with respect to quality – I think if you could do it once, you can do it again. I feel like faith in one’s own abilities is a difficult thing to have, especially with how unreliable feedback is for fic writers. (I don’t mean to sound ungrateful here for the wonderful responses I’ve received for my own writing, but at the same time I’m aware of many, many times I’ve been bitter and unhappy about getting little to no meaningful feedback for something that I personally thought was pretty damn great or something I really enjoyed writing. Putting your writing out for people (people you don’t know, mostly, and people who can be very opinionated, too) to judge is grueling and not always rewarding.) Also - the more you write, the more you’re going to improve with experience!However, the first and most important opinion on your work is your own. If you don’t like what you’re writing, it’s unlikely that other people will, either. You’re not writing to please other people. First and foremost, you should be writing things that you would enjoy to read, as well.

Now, as for your questions:

How do you stay motivated?

I feel like this is a very subjective question and depending on which writer you ask, you will get different answers. I also feel it has a lot to do with personality? Also everyone struggles with different aspects of being creative.

For me, it’s like this: I get inspired all the time. Hear a new song? Potential AU. See interesting people in the street? AU. Watch a movie? AU. Have an interesting conversation? Hc for a character. The sun’s shining? Fic idea. It’s raining? Fic idea. Snow? Idea. Feeling sad? Idea. Feeling happy? Idea. Feeling empty and unmotivated? Okay but what if I project this onto xy character? - you get the picture.

So for me, there’s never a shortage of ideas – my problem is focus. With 50k ideas, how do you pick one to focus on? My answer is: You don’t. You write whatever the hell you feel like writing. Forcing something that you’re not 100% into never really works out to anyone’s satisfaction. At least it’s never worked in my case, because my writing heavily depends on my emotional state. (An attitude that @josai taught me, by the way. I am always WAY too worried about “pleasing my readers” by writing what they want. No. It’s your writing. You’re the one sharing ideas, here.) If this means that it takes longer to update a certain AU, then I guess that’s how it is. But since I’m very excitable, if my readers want a particular update, all they gotta do is scream at me about a particular fic, I guess, and I’ll immediately be inclined to jump on it again. I’m… very easy that way.

As a general rule, if you’re finding it hard to motivate yourself to write, I can suggest several options:

1)      Clear your schedule for an hour (or half) every day, find a quiet corner, get a cup of [hot beverage of choice] and just write. If you don’t have any ideas, look up prompts and write drabbles. Experiment with your style. Mine is dialogue-heavy, for example, so on occasion when nothing is working I try for something more descriptive. Or: minimalist. Tell a story in as few words as possible. OR the drastic opposite – how overboard can you go, describing every tiny detail? These kind of exercises can help you find a style you’re comfortable with and also expand your repertoire, so to speak. (btw, I have posted some of these more experimental fics of mine, hmu if you want to know which ones they are)

Alternatively, if no prompts are helping: do a writing exercise. One I particularly like is to give yourself a time limit (say, 5 or 10 minutes) and then force yourself to write without stopping, no matter what. No ideas? Tough luck. You gotta keep writing. Even if you’re just writing about not having ideas. Fill a page. Maybe fill two. I find that getting started is the most difficult thing, and this sort of exercise can help you with that.

2)      Get yourself an accountability group – a reliable one, not “just” the commenters from your first fic. WRITER FRIENDS! Most of my ideas are fleshed out by talking about them to other people in the fandom, and having someone else get excited with you can really boost your motivation. Also, of course not everyone just has writer friends – they’re surprisingly easy to make, though. I’d say 90% of the people in this fandom that I talk to who are writers became my friends after I yelled at them about how much I love their work. It goes both ways, of course, but that’s just a bonus?? You get to see what people you admire are working on, and maybe get their input for some of your works!! Jackpot! Excitement is incredibly contagious, and I feel like that’s what makes fanfiction writing so rewarding. The “sharing” part of it. That’s why I do it. And even if one of my fics doesn’t get as many responses as I might’ve liked, at least I got to yell about it with a couple friends. This ties in to your next question:

How do you not get so invested in other people’s opinions on your writing?

See, anon – you’re under the misconception that I’m not invested in people’s opinions :’) On the contrary. I check notes and comments religiously, read the tags of every reblog I get, and scream when someone leaves me a comment that’s longer than one line. I don’t think it’s possible to get over caring so much for feedback – at least not for a person like me. Maybe there are ways. Maybe there are people who are just so incredibly confident in their abilities that it doesn’t matter to them at all. I am not one of those people xD

What helps, though, is having the above mentioned Trusted Writer Friend(s). Put your value in their opinions instead of the opinions of “the broader readership” because everyone is different and there’s no way you can please everyone. And if you’re not sure you can trust/value another writer’s opinions that much (we’re all different, too, after all) – have some faith in yourself. I know that’s the most difficult thing ever, but it’s not a problem anyone can solve for you.

How do you get over those feelings of self-embarrassment (self-consciousness?) when you write?

Those fade. I may care a lot about people’s opinions, but when I write something, I have a pretty good idea of whether I think it’s “good” or not, by my standards. I know my own style well enough by now to know what I want it to be – and if it’s not, I scrap or rewrite. As simple as that. And if none of it helps – take a leap of faith and just post. It might not be as bad as you think it is, because we’re overly critical of ourselves. There’s got to be a point when you stop revising and just post the thing, otherwise you’ll drive yourself crazy with worry and perfectionism.

I am very prone to doing this, and what helps here is an opinion from outside, from someone you can trust. I always shove my writing into one of my friends’ faces before I post, because two pairs of eyes are more likely to spot typos and mistakes and stuff like that, and it makes me feel a bit better about posting it. There’ve been disagreements there too, though, of course. For example, I’m very particular about rhythm in my own fics, but I’m never able to explain exactly what I mean by that? Sometimes a sentence just doesn’t read well, to me, and I have to rewrite it until it feels right, which can be… tedious and questionable if seen from anyone else’s perspective but my own. It’s hard.

That said – sometimes I just… have a feeling, about my writing. This is a very subjective thing, again, and ties into what your focus is when you write and post – are you telling a story, conveying a feeling, an idea, a relationship? That differs from fic to fic, and your approach to different areas of focus might be different. For some of my fics, I didn’t want anyone else to read them before I posted them, because I felt that if I made changes that someone else suggested, it might take away from the impact that I wanted to convey in my own words.

It also ties into why you want to write – and this might sound, I don’t know, arrogant, maybe? But. In general, I write because I have stories to tell. I write because I am excited about ideas and about my interpretations of the characters and I kind of… want to expose them and see what people feel. I’m… ambitious about them, in a way, because I tend to like my own ideas a lot? So I want to know if I can make people agree with me, convince them of my interpretation, in a way. Get them just as excited as I am. I know it’s not a contest, but I’m competitive. That gives me the drive to keep writing, because I want to be better. That’s a huge part of what drives me to keep writing and posting, even if my most recent fic didn’t get as many responses as I would have liked.

It’s like… why write another coffee shop AU, if there are already so many? Well, because mine would be different. I don’t know about better, but I’d still want to tell a story my way. Have you ever read a book and thought “I would have worded that differently”? That’s why I write. Because sometimes I like my own words better than those of other people.

All this, of course, not to say that I don’t get super excited about other people’s writing! On the contrary. I see works on a daily basis that I feel have a better grasp of the characters and of the English language that I do, and those make me want to improve.

QWESADLFJNSKJDB

I agree. That’s… generally what writing makes me feel xD

I guess, in conclusion – there’s no right way to do these things. I can just tell you what works for me, and hope it helps you a bit. If you feel like I didn’t answer your questions to your satisfaction, feel free to shoot me another ask, or twenty. I love talking about this, and I know everyone has different opinions/tips/advice here so hmu anytime!!

[highlyintelligentmoss]

hey, i just wanted to say that "a sliver to call mine" was just. beautifully gutting. wow. i think my issue with a lot of post-reynolds fic is people not managing to strike that balance between "eliza deserves better" and "Let Eliza Say Fuck" but you wrangled it with such grace it took my breath away. Eliza is messy and hurt and wanting and groping her way back to some kind of sense and it just WORKS, man. wow. (1/2)

and the way you characterized Maria! she can feel like such a non-entity in so much fic but you brought her to life with so much careful detail and it really, really works. i believed every second of their affair. this fic is a masterwork and you should be real proud of what you’ve written here. (2/2)

aaaahhhh oh my gosh thank you so much! someone else commented to say that i’d made “unconventional character choices” and i assume they meant that my alex is kind of withdrawn and depressed more than the “fighting his own ass in a dumpster” canon alex we all know & love but tbh - eliza!! what’s really important to me about eliza characterization in general (& also something i try to work on in myself) is the idea that good is something you do, not something you just are - it’s a choice, it takes work. people who are Good People still fuck up and are petty and messy and don’t always take the high road - and alex in this fic doesn’t necessarily get that? i didn’t lean on it or anything but he does kind of think of her, at least at one point, as this shining example of Good Person, so like, the scene where she realizes she doesn’t trust him anymore, she’s kind of lashing out because she can’t rationalize that with the fact that she’s doing the same thing he did, with the same person?? a Thing i’ve noticed in fic - and in a lot of fiction actually - is the desire to have everyone self-actualize, like Here Are My Flaws And I’m Aware Of Them, which is fine and it’s not that she’s not self-aware, i just wanted to kind of leave that a little more messy and open-ended.

maria, too - you’re totally right about her being a non-entity a lot of the time and i worried about that, that having her be kind of closed-off and guarded would just end up being shorthand for a blank slate boring character, or whatever, so i’m glad that worked! like - i was very aware of drawing contrasts between her and eliza in a way that wasn’t reductive or cartoonish or whatever, you know. like, the way musical hamilton paints her as this seductress gets taken at face value a lot and that’s so?? ugh. it’s so uninteresting to me. and there were a couple of times even with small things, describing looks or speech patterns or whatever, that i was catching myself falling into the like Sweet vs. Sexy boxes and the Whole Point of this fic, basically, was not to do that. i’m not sure when i hit on the “they’re drawn to each other because of the lack of expectations” thing but that just broke it open. this fic took a long-ass time to write and a Lot of fucking reworking - i had originally envisioned it for nano, discovered 50k was not actually realistic or a thing i particularly wanted to accomplish, and ended up cutting out a ton of what just amounted to filler. like, just staring at it for so long lost me any sense of objectivity and i wasn’t sure if it would even make sense to anyone else, so i’m really glad you liked it!! wow this got long sorry!!! 

[effelants]

Trapped in Amber beta hunt

Looking for a beta (or two) for a currently 50k+ word Cullen x Trevelyan DA:I fic. Expecting another 50k words before it’s over, tbh. Beta doesn’t need to stick around for that long if they don’t want to. I am very particular about language and would very much love a beta who also is. Literally need someone who wants to get into fiery arguments with me about the placement of commas. Bonus points for having a feel for the characters in DA:I, and being able to slap me upside the head if I screw things up.

Message me on tumblr or hit me up on Origin or Steam or Skype (troyatistic) or BattleNet (Troyatz#2295) if interested! I can’t offer much in return except some fluffy Cullen feels and the privilege of being the first person other than myself to get them... whatever that’s worth!