#though my personal advice would be to add pictures to the headers on the fic as it is more eye catching

[francixoxoxo]

Oh my GOD EVERYONE READ THIS this is so genuinely heartbreaking to read, the way you write thoughtfulness and internal conflict is SO CAPTIVATING AND THE DIALOGUE IS SO FUNNY AND GOOD AND UGHHH I CAN JUST IMAGINE HIS DEAD SERIOUS VOICE AND THE LOOK ON HER FACE AS SHE SAYS "Oh, you're welcome," she says. "I am never letting you touch me in that way again." "I understand."

only one of two ways - billinea

you love me, but there's only one of two ways that this is gonna end -- someone dies, or someone gets hurt -- but if one of us dies, i hope i die first. cause i don't wanna live without you, i don't wanna ever learn how to fall asleep without you. tell me what's worse, losing you now or later? maybe i can break the curse and be in love forever, if i die first. (die first - nessa barrett) Billy tries to find a vestige of faith as Dulcinea struggles to give birth to their daughter. tw: childbirth, suicidal ideation

As he listens to Dulcinea scream, Billy tries to remember what it’s like to pray. 

It’s been so long. Faith — in God, in most others — has never really served him well, at least not since his mother died. He’d wondered what sort of loving deity could look at a woman like her and think that it was just, that it was fair, to take her from this life before she was ready. To take her away from the son who needed her. Who would be alone without her. 

Dulcinea screams again. He closes his eyes. 

“God, please,” he whispers. If he speaks softly enough, maybe his voice won’t crack. He can’t blink, he can’t break, or he won’t be able to do this. “Please, don’t take them away from me.”

She had been nervous to tell him. He’d seen it in her eyes, the way her smile hesitantly flicked up at the corners before settling into an uncertain, wobbly line, as if she might cry. Her hands, folded at her waist, had reached for him with uncertainty, grasping at the folds of his shirt. 

He’d taken her gently by the arms, drawing her closer to him. His heart had been beating a little faster, trying to push away the thought that she was going to leave him. She would be safer, then; she would be able to have the life she deserved, instead of the half life of danger and uncertainty that he had to bear. But the thought still makes him feel like he is drowning in sand. 

“What’s wrong? Please, just tell me.”

Her eyebrows had twitched together, her eyes meeting his, and she smiled again.

“Billy…”

Inside the house, she screams again. He can hear her sobbing, each breath a wretched heave, and more than anything, he wants to go back in. But both the doctor and Manuela had nearly carried him out the door. The doctor’s wife, his nurse, put her hand on his arm.

She’d said, “You can’t do anything for her now.”

Maybe it had been intended as comfort, a way to assure him he could take a step away, but it sounded like a curse. 

Dulcinea's voice had been shaking when she told him. He remembers saying, “Are you sure? Are you sure? ” Over and over again, until she was laughing, framing his face between her hands and saying, “Yes, yes, yes ” each time he asked. He’d wrapped his arms around her and held her so tight, a part of him had been afraid that he was going to squeeze her so flat that she could just slip through a crack in the floorboards at their feet.

“I know you hate me,” he says now, opening his eyes and tilting his head back to look at the stars. “And I understand why. Sinning to survive is still sinning, I get that. I do. But she hasn’t done anything wrong except love me.”

And the baby? If there was innocence in this world, surely it was this little life that had been created out of love, that hadn’t even opened its eyes to the world yet. 

Her eyes. 

Dulcinea has been insistent on that from the beginning, even before she started to show. “A mother’s intuition, ” she’d say, her expression almost smug, like she was in on a secret that he would never understand. He supposed she was right about that, at least. 

True, he had felt the baby kick inside her, putting his hand against the curve of her belly with a gentleness bordering on reverence. It had shocked him each time, like a splash of cold water, and each time, he’d grinned giddily like a man in love for the first time. And wasn’t he, really? In love with his girl, and in love with this little life, so intensely that it felt like it might push everything else out and leave him full. 

If I lose both of them, he thinks with a rather detached calm, the way he thinks when he’s planning a step in this never-ending war between him and Riley, him and Lincoln County, him and the rest of the fucking world — 

If he loses both of them, he’ll just walk out into the desert. He will walk until he can’t anymore, and then when his legs give way beneath him, he won’t fight. He pictures himself laying there with his cheek against the ground, his eyes closed, waiting. He doesn’t know, even as he tries to commune with God, if he would be reunited with them — with all of them — in the hereafter. 

Even if he’s not, at least this long struggle will be over. 

“ I was afraid you would not be happy.”

She’d spoken so softly then that he almost hadn’t heard her. The two of them, leaning against an oak growing on the property. Her, wrapped in a blanket that he’d insisted on bringing despite the mild spring weather, leaning back against him. Him, with his arms around her, one hand splayed over her stomach. 

Billy had felt almost insulted. A slap would have stung less. “Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

She hadn’t turned to face him, but he’d felt her shrug, her shoulders nudging against his chest. “Everything is so…tumultuous. I know you are worried all the time. I can see it in your face. This baby…”

She’d trailed off, and Billy put his lips against her temple. He breathed her in for a moment before he said, “This baby is ours. We made it together, you and me.”

Even though he’d been unable to see her face from this angle, he knew she was smiling. "T hat is typically how it works, from what I understand.”

“Hush.” But he was smiling, too. “I love you.” He nuzzled against her hair. “An’ I love—”

“Her,” she’d interrupted.

“Oh, her, huh? You’re sure?”

“Yes. Her. ”

She had expressed the desire to name a daughter after their mothers, and Billy finds it ironic now, as he listens to her labor to bring forth life and keep her own. He may lose a Kathleen all over again. 

He closes his eyes again. A breeze comes down from the sky, as if the night is sighing for him, and he feels it brush against his cheek, comb through his curls. He swears, for a second, that he can almost catch a familiar scent on the air. Perfume dabbed delicately on her wrist with a fingertip, because there wasn’t much of it, but it made her feel like a lady. 

“Ma?”

Dulcinea’s screams have faded to rhythmic, hushed sobs, like a terrible tide, and he can hear Manuela begging her to push, just once more. It’s fainter, but he thinks he can hear Dulcinea say, “No, I can’t, I can’t, I’m so tired…”

”Help her,” he begs. “Please, Ma. Please? I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me for the things I’ve done. Or maybe — be mad at me, but help her, anyway. Help my baby. Please.”

Except he knows his mother wouldn’t be angry. Disappointed, maybe, but that’s worse. Frightened for him, which is even more awful. But more than anything, she would love him through it all, despite it all, the way Dulcinea does. 

It’s like faith, that love, in its depth, in the way it can feed the soul if you let it. But it's unconditional, not blind, which is what separates the two. To have faith, you have to trust in absence, wring signs from silence, and see providence in the actions of men. But Dulcinea has always seen him exactly for who he is, even if she didn’t understand, even if she didn’t agree. She trusts him, and she believes in him, even when he cannot do those things for himself. 

But it’s because he has shown her, time and time again — and he will continue to show her, if God or his mother or the intervention of medicine, whichever works; he does not care if it is one, or both, or a brew of all three — that he will do anything for her. 

He wishes he could do this. If he could absorb every ounce of her pain, he would do it, right now. If he could trade his life for theirs, he would swallow a bullet like the finest whiskey.

Right now. 

“I just want to be a better man,” he says, to his mother, to God, to anyone who might be listening. Anyone who can help. “I want to be the man you always thought I could be. But I need them to be that man. I can’t do it on my own. They’ll take my heart with them if they go.”

It hasn’t occurred to him what he’ll do if he loses one but not the other. What if he has to look into Dulcinea’s eyes and search them for blame? He is supposed to protect her, and he keeps failing. Everything she has suffered, it’s because of him. And now this. 

Or what if he has to hold that baby in his arms, motherless like him, looking up at him as if he has what it takes to nurture anyone? He is poison. He must be. 

Otherwise, why would this keep happening to him? 

From inside, there is more urging, more begging, more sobbing. Another scream, and he swears he can feel the air itself swelling, the way it does before thunder breaks. He hears Manuela laughing and crying all at once, the doctor barking instructions like a general, and underneath it all, Dulcinea asking: “What’s wrong? What’s wrong with her?”

Her.

God, she’s quiet. Why isn’t she crying? He stands up, but then he’s frozen, waiting. 

Praying.

Please, God — please, Ma — anyone, anyone, please…

A cry rips through the air, rips through him, a plaintive wail that expresses, quite clearly, a perplexed sort of indignity, as if to say, “And how the hell did I end up here?”

It’s a question he’s asked himself before, but it’s never made him sob like this, even as the stupidest grin makes his face hurt. 

That’s his baby. His baby is crying. 

“Billy?”

Manuela is standing in the doorway. One look at her face and he knows, but he still finds himself asking, “They’re okay?”

She beams at him, but there are tears glistening on her cheeks, too. “Yes,” she says. “They’re okay. You can come in now.”

He follows her inside, wondering how he is managing to walk when he’s fairly certain he has become divorced from his body. It’s like he’s a puppeteer managing a gangly marionette, all shaky knees and fumbling steps. 

Until he sees them, framed in the doorway of their room, nestled in bed, and he comes crashing back down into himself with a roar of clarity so powerful that it feels like he has never seen anything before. Let alone anything as perfect as this.

Dulcinea smiles at him. He can see her exhaustion written on her face, painted in the sweat plastering her hair to her cheeks and her forehead, but — thank you — she is still here. Looking at him with gleaming eyes, cradling a mewling bundle in her arms. 

“What are you standing there for?” She raises an eyebrow, still smiling. “Come in here.”

He is aware of the doctor and his wife still standing in the room, but they may as well be ghosts, ephemeral, for the impact they have on him. Billy carefully lowers himself onto the bed next to her, putting an arm around her and burying her face against the crown of her head.

The baby snuffles, huffs, as if asking him why he hasn’t even looked at her yet. 

So he does.

“Oh,” he breathes out, awed.

Dulcinea laughs. “Oh,” she agrees. 

Possibly, he’s biased, but there has never been a more perfect baby in the world than the one looking up at him right now. Dulcinea’s delicate features, including a tuft of raven hair, but those are his eyes. Round and blue, almost challenging, looking around at this new world and asking who is going to come take her on.

He reaches out carefully and touches the round peach of her cheek. He’s afraid she’s going to start crying right then, but she just sniffs daintily. The tiniest hand he has ever seen emerges from the blanket wrapped around her, and when he offers her a finger, she grasps it tightly. 

“She’s perfect,” he says, leaning his cheek against Dulcinea’s head. “Thank you.”

Content now, wreathed in the sanctity and peace of new motherhood, Dulcinea leans into him. “Oh, you’re welcome,” she says. “I am never letting you touch me in that way again.”

”I understand.”

They are silent for a while, both of them just watching Kathleen exist. Breathing, eyes occasionally roving around the room before turning back to them, fingers flexing, little rosebud mouth parting. Billy thinks he could sit here forever. The world could burn to ash outside, and as long as the flames did not reach them here, he wouldn’t give a damn.

”Although…” Dulcinea starts, and he lifts his head to look down into her face.

”Mhm?”

”A little brother would not be so bad for her, I think.”

Billy smiles. He tilts hie head back against the headboard and closes his eyes. He cannot find it in himself to pray right now, not for lack of faith but because he can’t imagine asking for anything more than this.

Although…

”I think you’re right.”

[formulafics]

Hi there! I just wanted to come on here and say firstly I love your fics so much like they are amazingly good and also wanted to say keep up the good work :)

And secondly what tips would you give someone who wants to make their own smau?

And I hope you are having a good day/night ❤️❤️

A fic writers guide to figuring out how to create your own smau’s, and not lose your mind doing it!

A/N: Hi! Thank you so much, I appreciate it 🥹🫶🏻 Also, i’m sorry it’s taken me a while to answer you! <3 Since I get asked this quite a bit, I went ahead and made an ‘official’ post for it. You can ask any other questions in the comment, or through my ask box!

First and foremost, I’ve made a few posts about this, and as I always say, i’m still figuring it out myself, so take this advice lightly, as you may not agree with all of it as you make your own works! This is solely from my experiences as someone who’s been writing and making fanfictions for at least 4 years.

✎ ✐ CREATING SMAU’S 📱

This account is the first account i’ve made Social Media au’s on! Therefore, i’ve only been doing these for a little over 4 months.

My first tip is to play around with your layout! When you read smau’s, i’m sure you notice that almost every fic has a different look. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, just mess with it until you find what you like!

My second tip is to use whatever app your creating in the fic as reference. What I mean is, even though I do not use twitter, I have it downloaded so I can look at tweets and the responses, in an attempt to mirror that in my works! Same goes for instagram, and any other social media app you use! I also use the profile pictures that the drivers have by looking at their pages, as well as what other drivers/celebs like their posts.

Add on to the second tip: While I suggest doing that, It is up to you! Youre creating a fictional story and if you’d rather take the likes and responses into your own hands, that’s okay! That’s a part of learning what you like, but I added it as it’s something that I personally find incredibly helpful at times.

My third tip, and possibly my most important one is to have. a. layout. Fanfictions, for me, are so much easier to create when I take the time to lay it all out! You can either make a draft on Tumblr or use your notes app to just make bullet points of the order your story should go. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s genuinely so helpful in allowing you to keep track of your story, as well as not missing any of the points you want in your fic! I find that if I make a smau without a layout, there are often small mistakes that I only notice after it’s posted, and while it’s not that bad, It’s still much more satisfying to not have those mistakes.

My fourth tip is working smarter not harder. That’s not to say that if you don’t use these things, you’re not smart - in fact, to any smau creators that edit everything themselves instead of using a generator, mad props to you. However, if you’re interested in the generator, I use it for my twitter posts! I also added some other apps I use when creating my fics.

⌕ TWITTER GENERATOR LINK

-> used to create my twitter threads

⌕ COPY AND PAST SYMBOLS

-> symbols used in my fics, and to decorate my blog!

my symbol archive: © ★ ❀ ⋆ ⤷ ⤻ ⌕ ⌇ ⌗ ✎ ✐

⌕ PICSART

-> used to crop pictures, add filters to them, as well as the border you see on my tweets! it’s free (with some restrictions if you don’t pay), but still has a good selection of ways to edit.

⌕ PHONTO

-> the best phont app i’ve come across. used to create my header and any pictures you see with words on them, such as the header for this here post!

⌕ CANVA

-> i don’t use this one a ton, mostly because i forget about it, but it’s incredibly helpful for creating magazine esque covers, and i usually would use it for adding an article to my fic!

My fifth tip is to not worry about the length of your smau. It doesn’t matter if your fic is one instagram post or 20 of them, just do what you want to do, and what you enjoy doing!

Other than that, I honestly don’t have many tips! Just take your time, use inspo when needed, and have fun with it. At the end of the day, people just enjoy having more content of their favorite drivers!

✎ ✐ WRITING FANFICTION 💻

While I have yet to write full fanfictions on this account, a majority of my time in the fanfiction universe has been spent writing, so here are some tips for that, if anyone wants them!

1. Take your time: It’s so easy to get into the “I just want this done” mindset, but that is not helpful at all! It’s important to try and remember that there’s no deadline for you to complete your works. Slow and steady wins the race. I once wrote a 15k word fanfiction and it took me over two weeks, and even then, I tried to rush it, and that gave me MAJOR burn out. In fact, after that fic, I deactivated the account I had, and took a long break from something I enjoy, writing.

2. Use inspiration to your advantage: Even if you already have a good plot and layout for your story, it never hurts to find pictures and prompts that you can include. Take the time to understand the overall vibe/concept of your plot, then take to tumblr to try and find some pictures that fit it! This can also help motivate you when you’re feeling writers block.

3. As with the smau’s, have a layout. When I write fics, especially long, in depth pieces, I like to break the plot apart and write in portions, then add it together at the end, rather than one straight shot for the whole thing! I hate when i’m in the middle of a story and realize I completely missed a certain scenario I wanted to have in the fic, or when I forgot to emphasize something.

And those are all of the big tips I have for writing!

✎ ✐ THE MENTAL ASPECT 🧠

While writing and creating fanfiction is fun, and can be a stress reliever, it can also be a stress inducing activity, especially when you run an account doing it. As someone with ADHD, and a chronic overthinker, I have tendencies to stress myself out with a number of things, so here are some tips on avoiding that.

First, remember that this is a hobby. This is supposed to be fun, so if you aren’t having fun, consider stepping back. Try to determine why you’re not enjoying it, and go from there.

“I feel overwhelmed with requests.” Almost anyone who writes fanfiction has likely been here - so, know you aren’t alone. When requests start overwhelming you, I would suggest to close them, then take a break from them! Remember that they are requests, not requirements. If you don’t like an idea or aren’t motivated to write it, do not write it. As much as it can suck to have to deny a request or put it on the back burner, it’s not worth forfeiting something you enjoy.

“I just don’t know how to write/create this” That’s okay! Like almost anything in life, it’s a process of learning. Yes, it’s frustrating, but try to remember that this will probably teach you something that will be helpful in the future! If you do not want to take a break, consider looking at prompts and inspiration for your story. Take the time to reflect on your original plot or idea, and either try to change things, or add things that help your idea come together. Also know that if you’re struggling with ideas, many fic writers are probably willing to help you out! While I can’t speak for everyone, i’m more than happy to help.

“I want to write, but at the same time, I don’t enjoy it that much.” This is a feeling that you either understand or don’t, and it’s a good thing if you don’t, but is completely okay if you do! This is a sign of burnout or writers block, and unfortunately, many of us go through it. Like any other hobby, when you do it for an extended period of time, or hyperfixate on it all the time, you may find that you want to do it, but can’t enjoy it. Time should fix this, but you can also reach out to other writers, or even those who read your work! When this happens, either take a step back to remind yourself why you enjoy writing, or take on a new idea, with no commitment. Just write something that comes to your mind, and hopefully it’ll allow you to unclog your brain. (That sounds kind of mean, but I don’t mean for it to lmao.)

Secondly, if you can have a friend or mutual that will help build on your ideas, that is so incredibly helpful. Even if said person is just there to provide some prompts or pictures when you need it, it’s a life saver. That being said, I know not everyone just has this, so the least I can offer is my own inbox and dms.

Huge shoutout to @renarots. I’m sure by now you guys are used to me mentioning her in my fics, but she truly truly has helped me so so much and I cannot imagine making these fics without them. 🥹❤️ And also they’re one of the best friends i’ve ever had, echo chamber aside.

Lastly, write whatever the fuck you want to write. Fanfiction is a world of its own. There’s room for any and everything. As long as you aren’t being downright offensive and harmful, write whatever it is you’d like to, because there is bound to be a number of people who absolutely cherish your work. That’s part of the beauty of this app.

[itshaejinju]

I need to ask, how do you keep your creative flow going? For the life of me I cannot sit and write for hours. It has become exceedingly frustrating and I want to get my story out there but all my motivation flies out the door. I wanted to see if you could offer any advice since I look up to you! Thank you -Shy Chocobo 🐣

Aw, dear Shy Chocobo you touch my blackened sinnamon roll heart!

I have several things I do to be honest to keep the creative juices flowing and moving around, the old noggin.

I understand though the frustration! Like there are days when my brain, muse, hands and general self are like separate beings and not liking each other and I can’t do a fuckin’ thing. Motivation just go flying out the window along with all desire to do anything and everything and you stare at the notebook or screen and scroll on your Tumblr feed for hours on end.

I have a uber active imagination that helps but most writers do and those that don’t know how to utilize their imagination.

What I do is make sure that the area I’m writing at is stocked with all that I need, so snacks (ones that don’t get the keyboard, phone, tablet, notebook greasy, crumbly) water, a caffeine drink (I prefer ice coffee myself), all my writing items. I like to write on my phone, computer and notebook I have notes for everything everywhere. Like the Mafia Fic, I have stuff on my phone (like picture references), the plot for the story on the notebook and the chapters on computer. 

I cannot have the television going or talk to people (I can chat on tumblr chat, FB Messenger and be okay) as those distract me as I need solid focus on what I’m doing. So if someone is trying to talk to me while I’m writing I’ll end up writing what I’m hearing that person say so I have to stop and listen to them. And if the television is going most often if I can’t block out the show I’ll write down what the people are saying. All the sudden Gladiolus is saying lines from Dr. Owen Hunt on Grey’s Anatomy and things get weird in Insomnia. (Though Grey’s Anatomy crossover with FF15 sounds interesting) I glare daggers when I’m in a middle of a good section and someone goes to talk to me, I’m like LOOK I’M WRITING SHOO.

^ Literally me when interrupted.

Music is a HUGE influence on my writing, like it keeps me motivated and going. I can zone out with music in my ears and just let what happens happen. Say if I’m writing for a specfic character I have a special play list if I’m writing for a bunch of characters I use a medley or my standby music playlist. I am big on kpop so I use that a lot when I’m writing general stuff. Though if I’m writing something angsty I will use my other playlist with is full of, metal, grunge, rock, pop, emo, electronic and the likes. I do have a youtube playlist (private) that I use for each character if I’m feeling a bit out of touch with them. The songs to me doesn’t have to actually “mean” them as the example I used below has the song Sober by Tool and that isn’t something would associate with Iggy as he doesn’t drink booze and that’s the subject of the song (in a way) but it’s for his Ebony to me.

Like say for angsty Ignis writing I would listen to: (just a few songs he has a 50 song playlist)

Mrs. Jackson by Panic at the Disco, This Kid is Not Alright by Awolnation, Sober by Tool, Cold Water Symmetry by Fiction Plane and Crush U by CBX.

I also have a set list for smut writing songs that invoke “dirty” thoughts to me. Most of those are kpop songs as I like to sneak peaks at the pretty on the screen in between paragraphs.

I don’t always state it but a lot of fics have songs that go with them only a few that I’ve posted have songs incorporated into them. Like the “See Me, Feel Me” has the song Crush U in it, with the actual lyrics put into the song. That helps because the song just screamed Ignis to me and it made me feel for him even more. It gives you almost a script how the fic should go. Like helps a lot.

I tend to use headphones just so I don’t bother other housemates as that’s rude and well my taste in music is strange so I don’t want others to suffer. LOL But I also find that helps keep other noises away from distracting me. So I buy the noise cancelling ones so you need to be screaming at me to get my attention. (Or waving a naked Gladiolus my way)

I also don’t force myself to write if it doesn’t come it doesn’t. If I force the writing it doesn’t feel right to me and I don’t want others to read it. So if I come across a spot that is rough for me, like a wall that I just can’t get past I will step away write something else or stop for the day. When I go back to it I read it over again then I see what the problem was. It is often that it is because I wanted the characters to do the thing and they didn’t. I try my best to put myself in their shoes and do what they would in that situation. Not what I would do or what I want them to do. It can be hard and you can get stuck in a mindset of it and be like it’s fine then all the sudden you are like hmm something is wrong this plot feels weird. It’s because you forced someone to do something they shouldn’t. Correcting that can mean deleting a lot of shit and it can be depressing, DON’T get rid of it. Cut and paste it in another document and save it you might be able to revise it and use it elsewhere! Silver linings, eh.

Try to write from experiences you had too in situations as often as possible, if you think about it a lot of things you will be writing about you’ve experienced in some way. So you can draw from that memory to add to it, give it more feels and such and that is a easy thing to access. Also don’t be afraid to add a lot of detail to stuff, most stories don’t do that now but it is nice to see a lot of detail or even just random details to things. And just because everyone else writes a certain way or thing doesn’t mean you have to. Like I really don’t like writing “s/o” for headcanons I rather take my time and write out significant other. To me it means that the writer is putting more care and effort into it so it makes me feel more connected to everything. I’ll use s/o for the header and occasionally I’ll use it in a headcanon but I tend to not be too happy with myself for doing it. (But that is just my personal opinion there as some people have told me that writing such things like s/o is more intimate. To me it means lazy and emotionally detached.)

WRITE WHENEVER THE MOOD STRIKES. Of course if you are driving please use a voice recorder so you don’t crash, okay. I adore ya, I don’t want you smashed on the guard rails. Don’t be like I’ll write this down when I get home you will forget, you will have a warped sense of the idea, you will get busy and not get it done. JUST DO IT.

Like even if it is “cliff notes” of it, short hand or whatever on a napkin from the restaurant you were at. Do it don’t let that golden nugget your muse tossed your way out the window because you were not at the computer or your notebook. Hell I’ve written ideas for stories and such on my arm. I’ve come home from work with both arms scribbled with notes and my family staring at me like I’m some weirdo. (I mean I am but more so than normal) Keep a notebook in your pocket, purse, download those writing apps on your phone, (Evernote is badass) or desperate writer mode and write on your body. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to write out ideas that popped up in my head, if I say “oh I’ll do that shit in the morning” by morning I’ve forgotten completely or just remember enough to be like I had a idea about “blah” and be confused.

Also I find it helpful to talk to other writers, I know this part is kinda hard as that means jumping out there and talking to people (scary I know) about writing. Like talk about the characters, your ocs or just the process itself. I talk to a lot of people about their OCs and such. It really helps me a lot get a grip on what others think of the characters, like what people gush about on Noctis or Prompto you know? So you can see how others view the characters in a more personal setting than just reading the headcanons. It’s also nice feeling you know? Like I have a few people that I talk to about  their OCs and you get this personal peak into their lives in a way because OCs are small parts of you and that fuels me in a way as they are exposing a part of themselves to you. So say we are trying to develop their character a little I’ll toss things their way that I was say stuck at for writing and I’ll see what they do with it and I’ll be like oh that’s good. So that view helps me develop my own view of it. As we all interpret things differently and see things differently.

Last thing I can think about saying is taking breaks even if you aren’t leaving the writing area go take off the headphones, check your email, read something, jump in a discord chat, watch a few good youtube videos. Or get up walk around for a few minutes some fresh air or just pace around the house. Go check the mailbox, walk the pup or play Pokemon Go for a few minutes then come back. It is kinda refreshing your brain. You know?

Also don’t give up! Like even if it seems like all is lost try looking at something from a different side. Instead of this character’s POV do another!

Well I hope this helped any! I know a lot of this is probably just me rambling on a soap box! But when I get to talk about things I’m passionate about I tend to blather! Always feel free to drop a ask for anymore advice! Honestly a good read for all writers in my opinion!