#they rlly do have that 'romanceable characters but they have more chemistry with each other than with you'

[ponuchuu]

puppetgear just has the vibe of "two guys that were supposed to be in your love triangle but they're dating each other instead"

[dracoandthehounds]

Fanfic Writer Ask Meme: K, Q, S, T

thank you for sending this in!!!! :)

K: Guilty fanfic pleasure--

hehe okay this was kinda a hard one bc i don't rlly have a lot of tropes that i feel like "guilty" about liking or anything, but I do think I have one!!!

Sometimes in some media that's super sad... i really like searching out the most like self-indulgent fix-it incredible/magic fics that undo all the bad lmaoo. Like the sort of stuff that would not make it a good story hypothetically bc it just magically fixes every problem just so I can like imagine a little world where everything had a happy ever after lmao. I guess it's sort of a guilty pleasure too bc it's not even something I want in a story lmao I want those characters to suffer lol for The Plot but sometimes I like to just read one story where just this once, everyone lives. lmao.

Q: Do you like getting prompts from your readers?

YES! I love it so much. I wish i had more time to respond to some of the ones I have sitting in my ask box or half written lmao. But I love it bc it can be so helpful for me thinking abut the characters in a different way. Like, really, go crazy with it. Send me ten different ones. (100% guarantee i will not get to all of them lmao but it would be fun to pick one out where I get an idea with it that just rolls lmao)

S: How do you feel about fanart inspired by your writing?

Ummmm like crying??? lmaooooo. it's absollutely incredible and i have no words for it at all. It's like..... unbelievable. One of my favorite things is the idea of like what it means to communicate (bear w me lmao). but like the idea that communication is like (idea in your head) > (how you speak it aloud) > (how the other person hears what you say) > (idea in their head) and how like each time the idea has to go through one of the ">" -- it changes. So like when someone draws fanart of something I've written, I get to see how the idea that began in my head ended up in theirs and is now being portrayed again. It's just like............ so unreal lmao. so. so so sos so sos sosooooo cool.

T: Any fanfic tropes you can't stand?

Oooh okay interesting... okay I feel like i can answer this better in the context of like general fiction tropes I can't stand. I cannotttt vibe with relationships being portrayed as like the... this character needs a love interest so let me put this cardboard cutout of a love interest into the show/movie/book whatever and slam them together until it works. Like... what I enjoy about romance is the concept of two characters with fully fleshed out personalities/identities slowly over time melding together until them being together feels inevitable.

I feel like that's why I enjoy fanfic of non-canon relationships bc it is more of a way to bring together two characters who *weren't* made just so they could be in a relationship together. Like they are very much their own people before the romance, so it feels more natural and more exciting. I want to feel like their relationship will last because they've developed and grown into each other if that makes sense.

so like even in canon media, I feel like a good example of this is angel/buffy vs. spike/buffy (.... no hate to angel/buffy shippers pls omg....) but this is why I'm so much more of a fan of spike/buffy bc those characters were NOT written to be together. Their relationship came about bc James Marsters did such a good job portraying Spike as this lovesick puppy (Joss Whedon did not ask him to do that lol and planned on killing him off after a seven epsiode arc), that everyone demanded the character stick around. And then the chemistry between him and Buffy just like leapt off the screen and it just made sense through their journeys that they would inevitably collide together. (unlike buffy/angel where angel was written to be her love interest and like she was into him after three episodes bc he was hot and mysterious lmao).

So that extends to fanfic sometimes I feel like bc sometimes I don't see a reason behind a pairing in the story and it can take me out of it. Like I want to understand why these characters would end up together... I want to see what they see in each other and I just can't do it when it feels like two dolls that are just being slammed together for the sake of making sure they don't end up w/o a partner. I'd rather have them single than that tbh.

[chryzuree]

i think my main issue is that this series doesn’t have a goal outside of the romance, but it’s rlly rlly trying to act like it does. oh, this is happening. no, this is too. and this is alllll important because….!! the plot needs it to generate chemistry between the characters!!

i get that romance novels are like that, but i find it’s a writing style better suited for a one-off. if you’re doing a whole series that’s jst a series of events to drum up chemistry, it comes off as rushed and shallow. why are they still interacting with each other? what’s the driving force that keeps bringing them together? if i, the reader, see that it’s only because the author wants it to happen, then that’s shoddy plot-work. there should be something in the story that brings it about.

there’s LOTS of ya romances that manage this, like, WAY better and more believably. being a little more clear w my reasons why i hate this series sm

[beanieman]

Not rlly. Controversial I think buuuuut . I definitely agree that Joe and sara's relationship staying strictly platonic in canon IS good and we need more of it in media . But generally I think it's okay sometimes to ship them romantically in non canon scenarios..?? Like if joesara became canon I would die a million deaths because. What the hell that's not cool. But I also love making AUs where it's different because shit! Love some good friends to lovers stuff. And uh. Generally idk it feels weird when I feel like I Have to be on one side or the other . Because platonic joesara is so SO important and I'm glad that's the canon point end of story, but I also enjoy romantic joesara for self indulgent reasons!

In other words. Platonic and romantic joesara is great . I think they deserve both v much <3

9/10

I've seen discourse on this before so it is controversial! But in my opinion both romantic and platonic Joesara is wonderful.

I understand that male and female friendships often end with a forced romance, and the narrative going "These two characters have little to no chemistry, but they're man and woman and looked at each other for two seconds one time so they're in love now. " And I'm really glad Joesara doesn't go that route considering I prefer them as close friends in canon.

However...I don't think there's anything wrong with shipping them even in canon. There's nothing morally troubling about the ship. They're both the same age and aren't abusive to each other in any way. So I don't see an issue.

I think it's more then fair to not like them as a romantic pair and appreciate the friendship they have, especially considering how rare platonic male/female dynamics are, but it's also fine to ship them. Plus some of the romantic Joesara content is really good ngl.

I think overall my opinion on this subject is: Yeah male/female friendships are important, and every Joesara shipper I've seen will acknowledge that, but some people just want to enjoy friends to lovers and that's okay. And you don't have to pick a side between shipping them or not, you can do both.

[sophfandoms53]

So, thoughts on Amphibia fanships like Marcanne, Sashanne, and Sahannarcy? I am happy even Amphibia shippers acknowledge Anne and Sprig as just friends with no romance between them considering how other cartoon shippers can get with paring the male and female leads together.

I absolutely love Marcanne both platonically and romantically. Marcy and Anne genuinely love and care about each other so much and it’s wholesome to see those two enjoying each other’s company throughout season 2, and that made Marcy’s reveal in the finale hurt even more for me. I’m also such a sucker for the best friends to lovers trope, Marcy and Anne have such an understanding of each other’s emotions and personalities and they have such genuine chemistry (not to mention the blushing) and that provides such wholesome content between the two and Anne’s mini arc of learning to let go of Marcy and trust her because she was scared of losing Marcy again was so sweet. I’m all for wholesome loving girlfriends who are protective of each other.

Sashanne, Sashannarcy and Sasharcy are all completely valid tho and I think they’re just as adorable and have a lot potential in fan works. Sashanne definitely adds a lot of conflict to work with (I think it borderlines enemies to lovers ngl) and with the complexity of Anne and Sasha’s characters, it’s not out of realm. My only real issue with the ship is that Sasha is rlly toxic, no hate at all tho I love her character and I’m excited to see where they take her in season 3, and her controlling behavior towards Anne and Marcy pushes me away from seeing them in a romantic light with her. But for the ppl who do ship them, you’re valid and doing great.

That being said #SashaRedemptionArcSeason3

But there’s no denying that all three of the girls completely love each other so much and have since childhood, I adore all 3 of them in different ways, and there i can see the potential for each ship, definitely.

I’m rlly glad to see so many ppl out there appreciating Anne and Sprig’s platonic relationship, it’s my favorite aspect of the show, like when I tell you I sobbed when Anne broke down about Sprig in True Colors... I freaking sobbed. The show makes it really clear that Anne and Sprigs relationship is meant to be seen as sibling best friends and everything between them is platonic love, and it’s so refreshing seeing a fandom not push for the female and male leads to be together. I think the show even made a joke about Anne being too old for Sprig as a way to lampshade the ship and that was Adjdksksksk they knew what they were doing. And there’s no way for anyone to say there’s romantic subtext between the two because there literally isn’t and if you try it’s rlly a stretch.

Sprig’s relationship with Ivy is also wholesome asfrick and I love how Matt said they’re meant to emphasize a healthy relationship because oh my god do we need that more in media. MORE HEALTHY AND SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS AND LESS OF ROMANTICIZING CLEARLY TOXIC ONES.

All this being said, I’m not the type of person to worry about ship canonicity unless it’s part of the story, so while I love talking about ships and different dynamics, they aren’t my main concern, and Amphibia’s story is just as good without it and that’s what matters, the story.

[chryzure-archive]

So I just now realized that even tho I don’t have a tumblr blog I can still send asks… my brain activity has truly been hitting a plateau lately 😭 ANYWAYS I saw that you finished TBONA… and I need to hear all of your thoughts!! What pissed you off the most? What would you have changed/done differently? What was one thing Stephanie did right (or could’ve done right, if she went a different direction?)… basically, I wanna hear you rant and give me all the deets :3 - Kai

OMG, KAI, HIIII, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN??? also, NO WORRIES, i didn’t realize you could do that either <//3

oh god…. okay, so. i think most, above all else, was the attempt to make jacks and evangeline… sexually involved with each other? not anything, like, insane, but it’s way too close for comfort—and not only is the age difference thing really weird (i’ll get into that), but the fact that the timing is… rlly bad. like, both characters are under the influence of a magical stone at one point, which makes all their interactions suspect, and the scene where she had literally been flogged and jacks was patching her up turned??? into something weirdly sexually-charged??? disgusting, disgusting, disgusting. that’s a major NO. YOU DON’T FUCKING TALK ABOUT HIM TOUCHING HER WHEN HE’S TRYING TO MEND WOUNDS. WHAT THE FUCK????

i mean, on that topic, forget jacks being like jacks at all. he was more in-character in once upon a broken heart, and he was already horrifically out of character in that one. oh, uh, we find out his backstory and it’s the lamest backstory ever? turns out he was “the archer” in the ballad of the archer and the fox and that’s how he got his cursed kiss (even though that was literally jst part of him being a fate…. let’s not think about how stephanie fucking mauled the concept of fates in this book, btw. she’s acting like they should have humanity when they shouldn’t. we just turned them into super powered humans for this book ://)

apparently jacks is from the magnificent north, which makes no goddamn sense given the original trilogy’s backgrounds <333 but whatever, we have to make sacrifices (i’m literally begging her not to lmao)

then there’s the writing quality, which took a massive downturn. evangeline is the most childish protagonist i’ve read in a while. like, i know i ranted about anatomy and how messy that plot + protagonist was, but guess what? it’s much better than whatever the fuck that just was. whenever she would talk about her ideas of love (“love is a battlefield, love is the greatest force in the world”) i was like…. okay, seventeen year old. you got it. go back to math class.

like…. man, the romance is the cheapest thing i’ve ever read. every moment attempting to be romantic is so forced that it comes out constipated, add to the fact that there’s no chemistry (because stephanie didn’t bother to write characters with depth), and none of the emotional moments pay off. OH MY GOD, ALSO, SO MANY SCENES WERE IN THAT BOOK SO THAT EVANGELINE OR JACKS COULD BE JEALOUS??? LIKE THERE’S NO POINT TO THE BOOK FOR THEM. the checkers scene i mentioned is PURELY written for jacks to flirt with someone else in front of evangeline. again, this is super immature, childish, sophomoric writing and i’m so ???? at everyone saying this is the most romantic book they’ve read. i truly don’t think stephanie understands love at a base level.

(also, i really was struck by how young evangeline was. i feel like if i were her older sister, i’d be begging her to stop trying to get with another man and to spend time single so she can figure herself out. this girl is THE definition of “boy-crazy” and it’s kinda… ew.) also, the jealousy scenes?? REEKING with “i’m not like most girls”—there are no other important female characters, except lala. every other important female character is either someone to her jealous of or a throwaway line. so, uh, feminist win, i guess ://

it’s mostly upsetting bc i recently read this beautiful novel about love and sacrifice and the depths of it can truly be salvation—only for stephanie to say the same thing, but have it ring hollow bc she didn’t bother to add any of that book for further depth. fucking hell.

god, what would i have done differently? i would’ve scrapped this entire fucking series and rewrote it from the ground up and given it a similar vibe to the original trilogy. once again: the world building in this new series is piss-poor. it has no feeling of magic, despite magic being present. it doesn’t feel like the same characters from the original trilogy, nor does it feel like it could possibly be a spin-off.

in addition to that, i’d just write a completely different plot. this one is pointless. it’s stupid. there are no personal stakes to it. OH, THAT’S ANOTHER THING—FOR THIS BOOK HAVING A DEATH CURSE AND A THREAT AGAINST THE ENTIRE MAGNIFICENT NORTH, THERE IS NO FEELING OF TENSION OR FEAR. there is no action to this book except in the first 100 pages. we spend a solid other 100 pages in jacks’s “home” from when he was human (highly disappointed in the jacks human backstory btw, so jst know that i’m completely scrapping it and rewriting it because… how fucking dumb.)

so, basically, i’d, uhhh, fix it. make the romance have meaning. give it some deeper meaning in terms of how humanity can connect with it. make it feel more put together—give it depth. ((i know i already said this, but wow, my chrysijacks fic is…. way better already. it’s got a theme and a solid plot and a good fucking slowburn/getting back together plot. wow.))

…. also, okay. i know i said the writing quality was lower, but when i say it was lower, i mean lower. it feels very rushed. there’s no attempt to truly get you to feel, see, understand a scene. there’s no attempt to make an emotional moment stronger. you don’t need to say “his lips tasted like heaven and hell” when you can say that it stole your breath away or whatever (although he didn’t kiss her…. OKAY, WAIT, THAT’S MY LEAST FAVORITE PART OF THE BOOK. WHEN HE LICKED HER GODDAMN LIPS. WHAT??? THAT’S NOT HOT, THAT’S DISGUSTING. GET YOUR DISGUSTING TONGUE AWAY FROM MY MOUTH.) idk, jst reading higher quality books of late has really taught me of when less is more and how to write something with emotional depth. fucking hell. wow. that was really terrible.

truthfully, i don’t think anything was really done properly. it felt like a first draft, at best. the only saving grace of this book is the vampire ex-boyfriend (turned into a vampire in the last book). that man has no goddamn clue what’s going on at all times and he’s so annoying and self-centered. basically, he was the only fun part of this book. and, god. you have to have fun in your novel if you’re going for a whimsical type of fairy tale.

yeahhhh, uh. it was truly one of the worst books i’ve read this year. i think it’s actually the worst book thus far, bc i gave it two stars in my reading journal. everything else has gotten 4-5 stars primarily (the occasional 3 star)—bc i’m good at telling when is going to be good or bad lol.

[yellowhearther0]

okok spoilers for the aurora cycle series and a causal disclaimer that i haven't finished book 3 (and its been at least a couple months since i've read the first two books so if im remembering stuff incorrectly in spots then uhhh WHOOPS)

there are about 3 romance plots in the books between the main charcacters (theres 7 mcs.. at least at the start LMAO) and of the three romance plots only ONE is decent enough where it doesnt ruin anything- probably because its not rlly put into action outside of obnoxious flirting (but everyone in the crew obnoxiously flirts with each other so its fine) until the end of the 2nd book/3rd book so its whatevs

(I'm adding a cut here bc it gets pretty long and i don't wanna overtake the dash but give this a read? maybe?)

THE OTHER TWO ROMANCE PLOTS THOUGH

they very early on introduce romantic tension between cat and tyler in the most unnecessary way possible? their reasoning for why they dont get together is. very odd to the least? (it's like 'im leader of the squad and ur under my leadership so we CANT be together' maybe its about the power imbalance? but also they're literally childhood friends) but before anything happens cat fuxking dies so its just this weird plothole that occasion gets dragged back up as a sort of angst point for tyler? but theres no POINT to their whole 'i like u but we cant be together but also i dont like cuz ur my bff' thing bc u could do the EXACT SAME THING with no romance plot whatsoever!! its so annoying like the easiest fix is to just. get rid of the romance plot! BOOM

And then. kal and aurora. kal and FUCKING AURORA

i have so much pent up rage abt their relationship bc its so FAKE and just lazy fucking writing all around. HONESTLY their relationship is the reason why i started this rant in the first place!

whats even worse is that they had potential to have an interesting dynamic that lead to them being a couple but NOOOOO kal has the 'magical soulmate bond uwu 🥺🥺' with aurora for whatever reason and pushes her away bc of it bc he doesnt wanna make he uncomfortable (which was fine and i didnt mind) and then he finally tells her and OH WOW AURORA SUDDENLY HAS FEELING FOR HIM EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NEVER BROUGHT UP OR EVEN REALLY IMPLIED B4 THE GOT TOGETHER (<- my issue with their relationship) like yes aurora had shown (non-romantic) interest in kal BECAUSE he pushed her away and she didn't know why but it was never implied that she actually like. LIKED him outside of the occasional pointing out that he was attractive (which again is a commonplace for ALL the characters to do so it didn't really hold much weight)

so, because the writers so desperately need it i have! 3 solutions to this trash of a romance plot!

also before i start just as an overall statement: I WANT THEM TO INTRODUCE THE PULL/SOULMATE BOND THING EARLIER!!!!!!

ANYWAYS

a) aka the easy way out: get rid of the damn 'pull' or soulmate bond or whatever. if ur gonna get them together at least do it naturally if ur gonna be lazy about it

b) the gay canon divergent option: keep the pull but have him become attracted to TYLER instead- i only say this because they genuinely do have the chemistry and not just bc i want it to be gay LMAO. it can be enemies to lovers where while the kiss they have (yes they kiss. it's not romantic or anything and done more-so to cover up what they're ACTUALLY doing but yeah.) is still the turning point in their friendship it also introduces the idea of kal having feelings for tyler via the pull and tyler having feelings for kal just in general.

and c) the canon compliant option: again, keep the pull and keep everything the same BUT when kal tells auri about the pull and tells her that she doesn't have to reciprocate she agrees saying that SHE DOES NOT HOLD ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR HIM but! that she would be willing to like. help him out. it can then either become a qpr instead OR later on down the line they could get together in a /r relationship BUT it'd have to be like. at the end of book 2 or maybe even of book 3

but like yeah. romance in the aurora cycle could've deffo been written better thats for sure

[horrorhot-line]

Do you have any writing tips Coz i rlly like your writing ❤😭

This one took a while to answer because of how much I had to say. (Please keep in mind that I am in no way telling you to follow these tips, take whatever you think will work for you and discard what doesn't, okay?)

Alright, first things first, I've been writing on and off for the past seven years, and I can say for a fact that I've definitely improved since my first fic (which was on paper, we don't talk about it). The following tips are what works for me, and what I believe has helped me become better at writing. 

Remember, fanfiction is supposed to be self-indulgent, and therefore you are entitled to write whatever you like because it's your work, so you don’t have to follow any of these tips if you don’t feel like it.

Proofreading, making sense & grammar

Grammar and punctuation make a huge difference. You could have an amazing story, but bad grammar can make that piece of work flop. Stories are supposed to be immersive, but if there are too many mistakes or the words don't make sense, it can ruin it for a reader. (I don't mean your garden variety missing letters, I mean something like 'an he and her goes and u were like oh no'.) I can't name the amount of time I've started to read something online and ditched it because the grammar irks me (your instead of you're, their instead of they're and so on). I've seen a lot of fanfiction writers also switch between past tense, present tense and future tense in the same paragraph, which makes it hard to understand what's happening. 

If you're trying to post and have it get attention, please do check your work to make sure it makes sense. Write down everything first, don't correct anything, and once you're done writing the scene, go back to proofread the whole thing. Get someone to read it for you and point out mistakes or things that don't make sense, if you can. 

If you can't, then there are alternatives. There's 'text to speech', where you can copy and paste what you've written down onto a website, and it will read the text out loud to you. It works the best (for me anyway). There's also grammarly, which is kind of similar to google docs except it points out all the mistakes you may have in your work. (Bear in mind a few mistakes don't matter, but if there's too many then it's likely that your post or blog won't get much attention.) This tip helps you to get a lot of likes on your writing.

Research

If you're writing fanfiction, please study the character(s). My biggest pet peeve when I read fanfiction, is that the love interest is out of character. Whether it be the way they talk or the way they act, if it isn't close to canon, I cannot read it.

So, if you're trying to gain traction and have your work get a lot of positive feedback or likes, then it's best to do research. Most fictional characters have wiki pages where their personalities, relationships and life stories are listed, so why not make the most of it? It's all there for the taking. When writing for a character, rewatch the show/movie to get a good grasp of their personality and then begin to write. The more canon your writing is, the more people will enjoy it.

Reader Inserts

Ever come across an x reader where there's way too much description about their appearance? (Specified hair colour, hair length, named family members etc.) I once read a reader insert where the author described the reader as someone who had pale skin, blue eyes and blonde hair... I was like, huh? That's not what I look like :') 

When you specify or go into details about 'reader's' appearance, it will most likely ruin the mental image your readers have in their heads already. I feel like when one tries to write a story or oneshot with a reader, they should be as vague as possible. There's no need to specify the height, or the reader's dream job or names of family members, or outfit choice- that's up to the people that are reading your stuff to work out. Leave it to their imagination. (This doesn't apply to requests made by others for specific character traits or appearances.)

Write believable characters

If your work has a reader insert or original characters, please make them believable. You don't want to write characters that are 2D and have little to no depth. Please don't make them perfect, that takes the fun out of things and makes your character somewhat boring. You don’t want to write a character that your readers find it hard to care about, so even if you were to kill them, the readers wouldn’t care. 

Make them real, with real problems and a factor of relatability. Heck, give them toxic/bad personality traits while you're at it. Easily irritable, overly sensitive, cynical, selfish, manipulative, people pleaser- the list is endless (we all have our flaws, no?). Contrary to what others may believe, this will make your character easy to relate to or understand, and more people will like your work that way. (this links to my next tip btw)

Mary Sues

I've seen this a lot in the fanfiction community, and oh god, does it make me cringe (this is because of personal preference, though). Mary sues, if you aren't aware, are perfect characters that have no faults. They don't make mistakes, and everyone loves them even if they do nothing. They are basically the perfect hero/heroine, and that makes them boring. My biggest pet peeves are mary sues in fanfiction author's works, (but, this is because I can't stand perfect and over-powered characters that everyone seems to fall for at first sight). 

Fair enough if the entire story is self-indulgent, I'm not here to bash others over personal preferences (this is just how I feel on the matter), but that also means that you take the risk of your work flopping for that sole reason. Your work might not get any traction or positive feedback because it is overly indulgent. 

Don't make your original character or reader insert a mary sue. Throw hurdles and hardships at them, let them make huge mistakes and learn from them, let them mature. Let them have flaws, let them win over the love interest slowly, instead of having the two fall in love instantly. 

Use the right inspiration for romantic relationships

Please for the love of god do not use toxic relationships as your inspiration for the romance you write into your story. 'After' by Anna Todd comes to mind first, as it is a good example of a romance written horribly. If you don't know already, then it's a Harry Styles wattpad fanfiction that got popular and was published, with two movie adaptations out already, (with more on the way)- the classic good girl falls for bad boy cliche. 

So, what's so wrong with 'After'? For one, the male interest is toxic as hell. Anger management issues, substance abuse, trash personality, the list goes on. What does the female interest to about it? Absolutely nothing. She lets him walk all over her and forgives him for it every time. 

Please don't use stories like this as a basis for what the romance in your work is like. Relationships where one abuses the other, whether it be mentally, physically or verbally are wrong and shouldn't be glorified nor romanticised. Relationships are supposed to be healthy, and shouldn't tear the people in it, apart. Use the right inspiration, there's plenty out there.

Writing chemistry between characters

For me, I use inspiration where ever I can find it. Movies, animes, books, real life, you name it. Observe the different types of media around you. How do friends interact with each other? How is it different from childhood friends and family friends? How is it different to lovers? I watch Netflix shows/movies in my free time, mostly romance- and yes, it is for research purposes. From there, I take a particular interaction or scene and get to thinking. If the characters from my works were in that situation, how would they react? 

Ever watched a movie or a show and thought to yourself, 'Wow, the interactions are so awkward'? That's mostly because the script is forced, and that's the last thing you want to write like. Chemistry, whether it be platonic or romantic, should be natural. The best way for you to do this is by thinking about how characters would interact and letting it come naturally to you.

Don't rush it

You have all the time in the world to write chemistry between characters. Why rush it? Slow burns hit the hardest and a lot of people like them. What I mean to say is, please for the love of god, don't let the characters in your work meet and then immediately fall in love. 

The countless amount of times I've sighed in frustration because I've decided to read a story and the first chapter they meet, the second they're already a thing and the third they get married? (This is an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.) What? Why? The time between realising feelings and officially dating should at least take a month, so write with that in mind. (This tip doesn't apply to one-shots.)

Narration

I’ve seen authors skip out on explaining where the story takes place and give the bare minimum when it comes to details, and have realised that it makes it very hard for the reader to understand what’s happening. When there’s barely any context, the story is no longer immersive and is less enjoyable.

Focus on describing the settings. There should be more description than dialogue. The weather, the surrounding, if there are people near or not, smells, sounds, etc. This will help the reader visualise what's happening, and will make it more enjoyable all around. The surroundings should be included in your story to make it more interesting and to keep the reader hooked. I've seen authors do this in their fanfiction and my god, when it's done right, it is so beautiful.

The first paragraph

This is a tip I've only recently started to use. You should always start the first paragraph off with something interesting. It's gotta be eye-catching. This makes sure that the reader doesn't click off of your work before you get to the good bits. There are a lot of writers who start their stories off with the classic 'I woke up in the morning to the alarm clock sounding,' and it is the absolute worst because it's the most overused cliche I've ever seen. 

Reading about someone waking up isn't interesting unless it's important to the story. For example, you can start off with a character waking up, if they're sick, 'I jolted awake only to immediately groan at the headache I was hit with. I moved to massage the bridge of my nose, to ease my pain, somewhat. It was then that I realised I was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Breathing in through my nose, I kicked the covers off of myself in an attempt to try and cool down. Turning my head and coughing into my pillow, I wondered if it was even worth it to get up.'

Internal monologues

Internal monologues give character to the person you're writing about and also gives the reader a good idea of what they're like. They also make your story better as a whole and can prove to lengthen it a bit more. Sprinkle them in where you see fit.

For example, 'The school day dragged on. You gazed at the clock yet again- why did it feel as if the hand on it hadn't moved? You should have stayed home. What was the point of this again? You could be spending your time doing something better. You suppressed the urge to yawn as the teacher droned on about how to calculate frequencies and wavelengths.'

Read

I mean this. When you're not writing, read, and do it like it's a job. Find a good book or a fanfiction that's well written, and take note of things the author has done that you think, 'Oh! That's worded beautifully.' This will help you expand your vocabulary, provide you with inspiration and overall will improve your writing.

hope this helps 💞💞💞💞

[outerbankswriting]

do you ship kiara and jj? i rlly don’t see them as a couple, but a lot of people do

in all honesty, I don’t really think much about JJ and Kie.. I love both their characters and I don’t want the friendship they have with each other nor with Pope to be ruined for trying to involve any romance.. 

I want JJ to find happiness by himself first and THEN a love interest for him could be involved but I just hope and pray they don’t make Kiara be the one to get him out of his issues since I find it pretty cliche how they always make the smart female character be the one to fix the problems of the male character with issues by getting into a relationship with them (you know that’s why so many girls nowadays think they can fix their boyfriends’ problems)

however if JJ and Kie do have to get together then I hope it’s a slow burn and it flourishes during the last seasons so there can be even more chemistry between them since I can also see it happening later on, but well that’s just what I think

[canallynwrite]

for the book ask! 3, 27, & 36!

[3] WHAT BOOK ARE YOU PLANNING TO READ NEXT?

well, first off i gotta finish my current books (aka six of crows and given to the sea) before reading anything else. however, i do plan to read the rest of the grisha verse, the throne of glass series, and some of marie lu’s books (possibly), as well as doing some research for my wip. (i have an entire pile of books on ancient greece/greek mythology just waiting to be read!)

[27] IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT MAINSTREAM LITERATURE WHAT WOULD IT BE? (I.E. MORE DIVERISTY, BETTER WRITING, BETTER PLOT.)

more wlw, please! there are definitely some out there but i won’t rest until we actually get some more rlly good, mainstream books with proper rep. aside from that, though, i guess i’d like better written characters. most ya protagonists don’t move me at all, and then there’s a sizable portion that i outright HATE so it’s kinda hard to properly get through the books. i’ve only read a few books with protagonists i actually like recently (the false prince, six of crows, greenglass house) and fewer yet have made me emotional (’this is where it ends’ really came after me with that ending, tho. i still mourn for tomas). 

[36] NAME A BOOK YOU CONSIDER TO BE TERRIBLE OVERRATED.

anything by sarah j. maas! the first time i tried to read her the throne of glass series, i barely got a fourth of the way in before celaena’s conceited, annoying attitude got to me (pray tell, WHEN does she do any actual assassining? the majority of the book is her fantasizing about how she could totally kill this one guy in .02 seconds but SHE NEVER DOES IT. the rest of it is her failing to be competent, with a side-dish of a girl hate. i don’t get nehemia either, though she’s leagues better than celaena. idk, she just didn’t seem to have the temperament for being a diplomat or whatever it was she was doing. however, her character made a lot more sense than celaena’s and she actually has reasons i can get behind). i went back at finished it on an ebook, and the ending was completely dull. did anyone ever doubt that celaena would live? honestly! tbh, i would have preferred it if celaena did die from kaltain’s poison (what kinda cool-ass plot might that have opened up!?) and that whole deus ex machina fight with elena helping and nehemia preforming magic right IN THE FRONT WHERE EVERYONE COULD SEE (like her cloak would cover up that bullshit, pffft). i just,,,, it was a ride that i hated. kaltain also didn’t deserve that ending, mark my goddamn words. i’m almost done with the assassin’s blade, and i’ll admit the plot is much better and she actually does assassin-y things, but i still don’t like celaena’s character (so annoying and arrogant and contradictory), and, maybe i’m the only one to think this, but celaena and sam’s relationship doesn’t make any sense to me. what, despite her being an absolute jerk and openly antagonistic to him he falls in ‘love’ with her and then after one mission and one summer apart he can confess to her and suddenly she loves him too and he’d beat up arobynn for her??? what chemistry was there? i didn’t see it! sure he gave her music, but they grew up hating each other??? idk, i just didn’t get the hype. the only characters i liked in tab were ansel (because basically her entire character is fit for me to love, i mean: charismatic, friendly-but-manipulative red haired girl with cool armor and a tragic backstory fighting for revenge against the people that killed her family but having to struggle with her dark side and the body count she’s beginning to leave behind???? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP FOR THAT), and captain rolfe. rolfe won my heart in like two seconds with his “i’m the world’s greatest pirate, and i’m afraid of a great number of people. that’s how i’ve managed to stay alive for so long” line because that is some GREAT logic and it makes me so fucking mad that celaena doesn’t have it! honestly, the way she talks about the pirates in comparison to arobynn’s “educated, and oh so refined” assassins makes me so angry. it doesn’t matter how smart you are, celaena, y’all do almost the exact same kinda job as rolfe! the hypocrisy is astounding, imo. everything else in it focuses on sam and celaena, which, tbh, i can’t stand. i don’t understand why they got together in the first place, and the way celaena fantasizes about killing lysandra before they do makes me want to scream.i’m like, halfway through the crown of midnight, but i absolutely hate it. the only way i’ll finish it is if i get a ebook on my phone or smth. the only reason i’m keeping tab on my shelf is because i absolutely love the chapters that rolfe and ansel are in.

as for the acotar series, i tried to read the first book, and got like halfway through before i just stopped reading it. it was so boring??? there was nothing notable about feyre or tamlin (lucien was somewhat interesting tho?), and literally nothing interesting happened in the plot except romance, and it wasn’t even good romance imo. i think something was about to happen at the point i stopped reading at, but tbh i just don’t care enough to continue on. the characters were boring and i’ve heard enough bad things about the future romance *cough* rhysand *cough* to make me keep away.

like, i just don’t get the hype around her books! all of the conflict is just there to make the story look pretty and provide a backdrop for wish-fulfillment white-feminist-y fae porn. when you think about it, the characters barely every have proper reasoning behind their actions behind what would make them look “cool” and “badass”. i’m just,,, so tired,,, of them. 

and this has been a really long post, and for that i am sorry, but i have a lot of feelings about sjm and her books.

[fuckyeahkurokonobasket]

lucysaionji replied to your post “Hating yaoi isn't homophobic, quite the opposite. Yaoi itself is...”

I am laughing so much at anon. Idk about others, but in knb we ship them cz they have chemistry???? Have u heard of it??? Also a huge part of fandom is non nsfw? Lol what do u mean by getting it off. Please get off your high horse.

Yah exactly. At least 90% of the people who ship yaoi/gay shit aren’t doing it just because “OOH GAY GUYS SO HOT” but because the characters just WORK together. And yeah, most of my KnB ships are gay, bUT THAT’S TO BE EXPECTED IN A SERIES WITH 100 MALE CHARACTERS AND LITERALLY 4 FEMALE CHARACTERS (two of which are in their 30s so yah not really giving us much to choose from here)

To quote a post I saw: “Realizing it’s not romance that I hate but overdone straight relationships with zero chemistry built on a slew of misogynistic tropes was like a huge revelation for me.”

I do tend to avoid most mainstream media because of this. I’ll complain “ugh another romance movie” but it’s not that I hate straight romance, it’s that I’m literally just sick of these forced straight relationships that aren’t even good. 

Like me, an aroace, and my bisexual female friend, came out of the Miss Peregrine movie thinking “well yeah it was good but that romance subplot....yeesh” LIKE THE GUY KNEW HER FOR THREE FUCKING DAYS (I counted as soon as they started getting flirty - which was p much immediately) AND HE GAVE UP HIS WHOLE LIFE AND HIS FAMILY FOR HER???? NO NO NO STOP (and that was TAME)

But that doesn’t mean I’m against all straight people and straight ships.

ffs I ship Hyuuga and Riko they’re ADORABLE??????? I prefer Hyuuga with Riko far more than I like him with Kiyoshi. Why? Because he works better with Riko. 

And then look at Kagakuro for example. They started off fighting all the time and beating each other up, and look where they are now. Breaking down into tears because they don’t want to leave each other, telling each other they’ll always be the best partner they ever had. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

It doesn’t matter what sex they are, IT’S THE CHEMISTRY THAT MATTERS

And even if people do prefer gay ships over straight ones, literally why does that matter? Why is it suddenly a problem to like gay couples (especially if you’re LGBT yourself)? Straight couples are everywhere. If I wanted to see them make out I’d go sit in my sister’s room with her and her boyfriend. Literally why is it a problem to think it’s cute when guys are together? I also think it’s cute when girls are together ya know. KnB is a problem for me because I rlly don’t like Momoi at all (soz) and therefore don’t really like her with Riko, BUT LESBIANS IN GENERAL ARE FUCKING GREAT. WHY WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO SEE TWO CUTE GIRLS SNUGGLING TOGETHER???? It’s literally the same with guys. LGBT people are awesome and it’s real disappointing that people are trying to tell us not to appreciate them (especially when half of us are LGBT anyway?????) 

And jesus even if some straight girl just really does think gay guys are the bee’s knees and doesn’t give a fuck about straight or lesbian couples, tbh as long as she is accepting and supportive of real gay people then i don’t fuckin care????

And you’re absolutely right, it’s not always smutty things. Plenty of fanfics and fanart are cute n fluffy (I’ve written a bunch of v fluffy fics about characters of KnB being asexual for eg)

And even if it IS smutty, WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?????????

I’m gonna link to a particularly good post that I reblogged on my personal a while back. Here. It does start going into the pedophilia issue which doesn’t apply to us rn (I hope. I’m watchin u anons so don’t get any ideas because I WILL ROAST YOU) but the beginning of the post is very relevant, so I encourage you to take a look (maybe look at it on the dashboard, my theme is a little iffy for reading long text posts).

Lol now you guys know why I avoid the dashboard. Because shit like this is always going down there. This is exactly the kind of crap I want to avoid. My life is stressful enough, I don’t need ignorant idiots flapping their mouths about things they LITERALLY DO NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND. I just want to enjoy my damn gay ships (and straight ones, and lesbian ones) in peace. 

So this will be the end of the discourse. If anyone ESPECIALLY ANONS sends anything more about this, I will delete it. 

[kaedekayano]

001; Kanzaki and Kayano. 002: Gakushuu Asano

oh boy i’m abt to get so excited and emotional fuck adkaldjahdhdjsd

kanzaki/kayano

when I started shipping it if I did: i don’t remember tbh. i always lowkey shipped it haha, but i don’t think i really realised it until @wassailtofivehundred was like !! yukikae !! and also i saw cute fanart and i rewatched a couple episodes (kyoto trip ehh) and i was like, fuck i really ship this. also a lot of it was b/c around december (the time i published be your own hero) i started liking kayano a lot more and then that made me salty bc nagisa/kayano was so poorly written and an injustice to her character. she deserved a person who she had actual chemistry with, and i think kanzaki is definitely that person (or one of them).

my thoughts: pure!! good!! beautiful and amazing!! i love it!! so much!! i’m working on a v v long yukikae kayano-POV fic right now and i’m excited to show it to y’all b/c i have trouble expressing how much/why i love characters/ships until i have a fic to support it, haha. but anyway i think kanzaki is really good for kayano b/c she’s so understanding and caring, and kayano is good for kanzaki because — look they just care so much abt each other okay they’re so Good.

What makes me happy about them: so good. so pure. so beautiful. they’re just healthy for each other and i love the idea of kayano’s best friend supporting her through all the shit she’s gone through because fuck, man, kayano’s mom and sister are dead, the only “friends” she had, she built her friendship on a lie, the teacher she tried to kill and then turned out not to be guilty is dead anyway (bye bye, purpose that kept her going for a year despite all her issues), the person she was for a year was a lie but — not all of it, okay, deep down kaede kayano/akari yukimura is still a good caring person and kanzaki knows it even if she did lie and the two of them supporting each other and I just — yeah

What makes me sad about them: i’m always full of salt about kayano so :/ i don’t like it when people don’t acknowledge the kayano arc happened/kayano’s real personality is very different from the one she pretended to be/she lied to the class for a year? yeah matsui just decided to forget about it and sideline her because he’s a shit writer and what the fuck is continuity, but that doesn’t mean you should follow his example. so it’d be great to see those issues acknowledged!! give me kanzaki understanding kayano did fucked-up things and is a messy person who was not the kind, cheerful, sweet girl she pretended to be and loving her anyway!! (acknowledge and justify the kayano arc for why it happened without throwing logic out the window, and i’ll personally send you a thank-you card)

things done in fanfic that annoys me: there are two fics on ao3 for yukikae, lol (i’m planning to remedy this because inexcusable!!). one is kayano third wheeling karmagisa w/ like 5 lines of actual yukikae (no offense to the author, the fic is fine, it’s just Not Yukikae). the other is green’s fic and admittedly there isn’t a lot of overtly romantic yukikae but it’s a really good fic and there’s good worldbuilding and concepts and y’all should read it

things I look for in fanfic: having it exist. that’s what i’m looking for. that being said, see above rant, because while there aren’t many fics about kanzaki (beautiful daughter pls love her more), there is plenty of fic about kayano and it is almost never accurate. it makes me sad. accurate, well-done characterization is what i Live for

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: both of them, okuda. as previously mentioned, kanzaki, maybe yada? for kaede, rio, also yada, maybe kataoka (it’s mentioned kayano admires her and i don’t think that was a lie, akari seems like the type of girl who recognises and respects strength and competence in people). um. the 3-E girls are all good in general haha, the only person i can think of off the top of my head i’d say no to is okano with kanzaki because okano dislikes her and kanzaki is uncomfortable with that, so. :/ although seeing them work past it (and okano getting past her own insecurities regarding her femininity) would be cool, so even then, i can’t say Absolutely Never. just not nagisa/kayano pls

My happily ever after for them: sometime in their mid/late-20s, they move into an apartment together and own lots of books and cute stationery and various trinkets. also a cat. maybe other pets, like a hamster or a dog. kayano is a successful actress all over again but keeps her relationship with kanzaki not secret but lowkey. kanzaki is away from her parents and likes her job and reads a lot of books. their friends come visit them pretty frequently and the neighbors think they’re adorable. they’re happy.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: omg fuck i suck at this kind of thing. i think kayano would be the big spoon and kanzaki the little spoon but i don’t think they’d mind switching

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: um theyre fond of reading and decorating things (apartment they move into together) and baking and taking walks together. probably taking walks with the dog tbh. that was like 4 i dont know sorry im still in the developing stages of headcanons for these two ive only been highkey invested in this ship for like a month and a half okay

gakushuu asano

How I feel about this character: today i started thinking about him completely out of the blue, with no prompting, and then i sat down and wrote 4 pages in my notebook about an AU where ikeda doesn’t die and gakuhou remains a good dad. last sentence is “in another world, gakushuu asano is healthy and happy and okay.” this is pretty much how i am all day every day i love this child so much he’s just. i see a lot of myself in him (hes relatable okay) and he’s so amazing and brilliant and full of curiosity and potential and i!!! love!!! him!!!! i want him to be happy so much!!! i love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

All the people I ship romantically with this character: karma (obviously haha), um. fuck. im really fond of renshuu (like really fond) but i usually ship it as ren having a one-sided crush on gakushuu that eventually concludes in ren realising shuu’s crushing unattainability (also i hc gakushuu as ace arospec and he’s kinda ehhh abt romance in general. projecting? me? yeah) and dealing with it and they become really really good best friends even tho it makes ren’s heart hurt a lil bit but mostly its okay. fuck i had a fic abt this i started months ago that i never finished i gotta do that but yeah i envision the virtuosos’ dynamic as being very very complicated in general. oh yeah i cant believe i said i ship karma/gakushuu only once in this post so far so anyway i ship karushuu i love karushuu karushuu is love karushuu is life

My non-romantic OTP for this character: the virtuosos of course its not like i wrote like 1k+ of meta on this hahahaha also gakushuu/isogai, gakushuu/kataoka (why cant we see his respect for her acknowledged as well i know isogai gets his own ep and all but kataoka is still important and is also a class rep :/), gakushuu/nagisa a little bit (i used to be super into it and i still kinda like it), i actually really like the idea of platonic!karushuu because those two are cute boyfriends but working their way from enemies to rivals with grudging respect for each other to best friends?? it’s good

My unpopular opinion about this character: he and karma are not the same person or quite frankly anywhere close to it. there’s lots of parallels they’re good narrative foils but seeing people act like gakushuu is just a recoloured karma makes me sad. pls no my son is so complex and wonderful and different pls pls understand this he’s not just karma akabane with orange hair he’s his own character and such a good one

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: he goes to MIT and is separated from his father’s awful awful toxic influence and lives a happy brilliant successful life and is emotionally okay. i mean it’s not non-canon hahaha but seeing it onscreen would’ve been cool. we can assume that happens anyway tho b/c it’s gakushuu. uhh seeing him interact with his mom onscreen (or like, seeing his mom at all) would’ve been really cool!!! for who i imagine his mom as, i pretty much just think of @cosmicyue‘s hideko asano headcanon :)

my OTP: karushuu obviously. ohh man i love these two nerds so fucking much okay. they hate each other so so much but they also have this respect for each other alright if i start talking about why i ship karushuu (something ive actually never done on this blog bc i dont want people to think im trying to push karushuu on everyone ajdkakdkajsh; theres hardly a shortage of karushuu shippers around) then im gonna b here all day and this is already really long. ill shut up

my cross over ship: none i dont rlly think about AC in relation to other fandoms tbh

a headcanon fact: i have so many. fuck. um one of my favorites (ive mentioned it before but) is that the asanos are both fluent in 3+ languages and they talk shit about people they look down on in those languages when they’re around those people, just to make people uncomfortable.

send me a ship, a character, or five characters