#z.a.y.n.

[ziamhaze]

hi!!! i just want to pop in to say that i’m literally so thankful for you. Z.A.Y.N. actually inspired me to begin writing music, and i now have a meeting scheduled with a local record company to release a single!!! you have no idea how glad i am you wrote that and that you exist <3<3<3 thank you so, so much jess, truly!

Hello!

I'm literally speechless. I always go on about how disbelieving I am anytime I read a message or comment from a reader, explaining how my stories have touched them, but this is something else.

Organizing/Planning Z.A.Y.N. was singlehandedly the hardest out of all my fics. I just knew that I wanted to tweak Zayn's career ever so slightly to make it different, yet believable, and that I wanted to mess around with some sort of creative 'form' element a.k.a. what ended up being the lyrical insertions that, ultimately, served as the underlying thread that kept the fic together. (And what got it to all make sense, quite frankly.) It was a huge challenge for me as the writer, but I was pretty proud of the outcome (awkward sentence structures aside). Even so, I never would've thought that this many people would actually take to the story.

As far as fic is concerned, it was a massive risk for me to publish something like Z.A.Y.N. and expect anyone to read it. There aren't any explicit scenes. It's based on theoretical dialogue (yes, I'm going to call it that). And let's all be honest, IT'S SLOW. And not even in the yes-I'm-so-happy-they're-finally-admitting-their-feelings-to-one-another-after-90,000-words! sort of way that readers obsess over. It's just flat out, two characters developing - individually and romantically - in a very 2D setting/manner. Most fic readers want sex. Most want nail-biting pining. Most want a momentum that equals satisfaction! But I wasn't about to force Z.A.Y.N. to be something that it wasn't, nor make the characters act in a way that wasn't authentic to them. And somehow, the anomaly that it ended up taking shape as, people have fucking adored.

So you thank me, but I thank you! For appreciating the quirky writing style and the drawn out conversations and the subtle points that really hit when you let them. For letting me put out a story like this and not allowing it to fall to the wayside because it didn't fit the conventional 'fic norms'.

As for your own personal accomplishments, let's all just take a step back and give you a round of applause. My writing Z.A.Y.N. aside, it takes GUTS to go out and try for a job that seems damn near unattainable...at the best of times. Massive congratulations to you for not just attempting to give that a go, but for smashing it along the way! I will truly carry on remembering this impact for as long as I continue writing. I'm so very honoured to be a part of your artistic journey.

Because I never really advertise it, my followers should know that I have an email dedicated to my fic writing. Right now I use it for business things, analytics, all the good stuff, but people are more than welcome to get in touch with me in that way if you'd like or feel more comfortable: ziamhaze@gmail.com

Again, congratulations on your accomplishments thus far and keep writing! I'd love it if you kept me (and us) updated on your success.

[ao3feed-larry]

Z.A.Y.N.

by ziamhaze

For six years, international R&B star Liam Payne has topped the charts with his unique, upbeat songs. Even though he’s proud of where he’s gotten himself, he knows he can’t take all the credit; there’s one particular songwriter that goes by the name ‘Icarus Kalim’ that’s played a huge part in that. Because of the writer’s ability to craft thought provoking tracks that touch Liam in a way he didn’t even know was possible from afar, the celebrity makes an exception for ‘Icarus’, buying the man’s songs for himself, even though he had no help in creating them. But what happens when Liam finally tricks the soulful poet into meeting him after years of not even knowing what the man looks like? Will ‘Icarus’ accept Liam’s proposal to collaborate on his third album or will the singer be left disappointed in learning who the real person he’s dreamt about for almost a decade is?

Words: 92157, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

Fandoms: One Direction (Band)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Niall Horan

Relationships: Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson

Additional Tags: Chef!Zayn, poet!zayn, Solo Liam, Solo!Liam, Fluff, Fluffy, Songwriting, ziam

via AO3 works tagged 'Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson' https://ift.tt/2KtVyHW

[skinnyziamlove]

i've always wanted to make a fic rec but i never got the chance, but yesterday some friends (@introvertedbitch2302 and @liamislife​) asked if i could recommend them some of my favorite fics and i got all excited and here i'm !!!!

these fics are my precious babies and i love them all so they are not in a specific order (and please be aware of the trigger warnings in the tags before you read them):

Just the two of us and a cute little cup of cyanide

Or an I-accidentally-married-my-best-mate-in-Vegas fic, where Liam's completely oblivious, Zayn's completely in love, Harry's had enough, Louis plays mediator and Niall just wants his best friends to be with each other.

The Underdogs

Zayn Malik hates everything about winter. He hates the snow, he hates scraping the ice from his car, he hates freezing every time he steps outside, he hates wearing hats and heavy jackets. In fact, the only thing he doesn't hate about it are his hockey player buddies and his childhood best friend, Liam Payne, the teenage star hockey player and captain of their small town team.

Good Thing At a Bad Time

Zayn prefers to be on his own. It's easier to survive when you don't have to worry about anyone else. Liam leads a large group of people that have taken residence in an abandoned prison. When Zayn wakes up in a prison cell, all he can think about is finding a way out. Liam makes him want to stay.

I See You Babe, But We Are Both Blind

Zayn's fairly certain the world actually hates him. He's got the shittiest luck, and fate seems to want to fuck with him. But maybe that's exactly what he needs.

One Direction returns to London for a break from their Take Me Home Tour in August 2013, and after an unfortunate run-in at a coffee shop, Liam and Zayn find themselves in a fake relationship. Except, it ends up not feeling fake at all.

through the summertime, winter, spring, and fall

They change with the seasons, burning bright during the summer and biting cold during the winter, but that feeling of being in love Zayn found in the summer clings to him through it all.

Angel of Mine

"I'm Zayn, a third year english student, it's my first time here and," he swallows, throat thick with nervousness, "I guess I'm here ‘cause I'm an alcoholic."

Zayn is a recovering alcoholic and Liam is his sponsor.

Die Young, Stay Pretty

Zayn is happy being a hairdresser who minds his own business; that is, until someone called "Liam" has to come in, dragging his friend on the back of a bet. And, really, Zayn didn't stand a chance.

It's Always Darkest Before The Dawn

At a time in his life when Zayn thinks he has forgotten what genuine happiness feels like, Liam comes into the picture and changes everything.

Mad About the Boys

Or: Five times Zayn and Liam cheat Death and then one more time for good measure.

But You Held the Ice

Every time Zayn gets hurt, Liam is there.

Everything On You Intoxicates

Where Zayn maybe stalks that fit guy from his Intro to Lit class on Instagram.

Tangled Up in You

It turns out Zayn’s flatmate is essentially a disney prince. Zayn wonders how this became his life.

kill monsters in the rain

A story where Liam can't get over how great Zayn is at singing and drawing and pretty much everything, how just being near Zayn is enough to make Liam's life a hundred times better, how lucky Liam is to have a best friend just as dedicated to pretending to be a superhero as he is.

it keeps my veins hot (the fire's found a home in me)

or the one where zayn survives a fire and falls in love with the firefighter that saved him.

This Swirling Storm Inside

Or Frozen AU in which Zayn is the heir to the kingdom of Arendelle. He's also trans, and his lifelong dysphoria is finally reaching a breaking point.

I'll Be Strong For You

When Zayn breaks his leg attempting to skateboard over Harry's car, he ends up stuck in the hospital for two weeks. The only thing he doesn't hate about the hospital is the gorgeous volunteer, Liam, who is almost annoyingly sunny and happy. But Liam's got a secret a secret hidden behind his impossibly bright smile.

And You Know For Me, It's Always You

The Gilmore Girls AU I thought would be a good idea and it turns out, it was.

Beautiful Monster

Or, Zayn is a homeless vampire who, unbeknownst to Liam, has been routinely breaking into Liam's van for a warm place to sleep. When Liam catches him in the act things end up going in a direction no one expected. And then shit gets weirder. Because Liam might also be hiding some secrets of his own...

Z.A.Y.N

For six years, international R&B star Liam Payne has topped the charts with his unique, upbeat songs. Even though he’s proud of where he’s gotten himself, he knows he can’t take all the credit; there’s one particular songwriter that goes by the name ‘Icarus Kalim’ that’s played a huge part in his success. Because of the writer’s ability to craft thought provoking tracks that touch Liam in a way he didn’t even know was possible from afar, the celebrity makes a musical exception for ‘Icarus’, buying the man’s songs for himself, even though he swore he would never put his name on something he had no help in creating. But what happens when Liam finally tricks the soulful poet into meeting him after years of not even knowing what the man looks like? Is ‘Icarus’ really all Liam’s made him out to be in his head or will he be unlike anything the singer could’ve ever dreamt up…

I'm Almost Me Again, He's Almost You

(Or, where Liam searches across time and space for the answer to the question: Who the fuck is Zayn?)

A Full Course Meal

Liam had been dreaming about having his own restaurant for a few years. Money was always an issue, though, so when he heard the Food Network was recording a few episodes of Chopped in his city, he let his best friend talk him into participating.

Many things could go wrong along the way; from ruthless rivals to impossible ingredients, from unforgiving judges to his own mind getting in the way.

He spent long nights fretting about the possibilities and still, he never could have guessed what Chopped really had in store for him.

My Lungs and Your Lilac Eyes

This is a love story. It’s an accident, mostly. Nearly all of them are.

You're My Favorite Story

A zombie outbreak leaves Liam teamed up with Zayn, a stranger with a motorcycle who saves Liam's life. Their world has been turned upside down, and all they really have is each other.

Let's Be Alone Together

After getting his heart broken, Liam escapes his life in London by boarding a plane to Amsterdam. Along the way, he finds someone just as lost as him. Together they might just be able to find themselves.

Money Moves

~Fake Engagement AU with Boss!Liam and Secretary!Zayn ~

in the sun

"This man might wander into my dreams, too, some night. Wouldn’t it be nice, if I could pretend we’d met before? I’ve waited a long time, for such a lord.”

Be cruel to me ('cause I'm a fool for you)

Or the one where Zayn is a stressed out single dad, Liam might just be what he needs, Louis and Niall are always happy to babysit and Harry's a loud snorer.

powerless (and i don't care it's obvious)

"Or the one where Zayn and Liam are in love, Liam has another bro female pal that might have been his beard in high school, Zayn has heartbroken sorta past, Liam is a superhero, Louis and Harry are disgustingly in love as Liam and Zayn are and Liam's friends just want him to not-be-a-virgin anymore.)

[indigogirled]

happy valentine’s day!!!!!!! a little pic to make you go bark bark sniff growl growl (you are literally the only person i will ever say that for thank you <3)

sunny i am SPEECHLESS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH 😭😭 you barked for me.....alpha beta omega dymanics tumblr AU........

z.a.y.n. as is in the fic 💕💕

[ziamhaze]

Producer/Artist Liam and Songwriter Zayn as ft. in Z.A.Y.N. by @ziamhaze

[ziamhaze]

i haven't read your new fic ZAYN yet but I just read through the description and your notes and : I love you. like, I think you're my absolute favourite ziam writer right now no joke.. the stories you've written so far are absolutely amazing. 100% on par with our ship legends and maybe even better !! anyway I'll definitely be binge reading it when I should be sleeping later but thank you for what I can already tell was a lot of hard work and love and dedication and your BEAUTIFUL mind.

I’ve been sitting on this ask for about a day now because I’m just so touched by it, that I don’t know how to respond properly.

As I mentioned in Z.A.Y.N.’s endnotes, I’ve been reading ziam fanfic for YEARS; they’ve been one of my main sources of entertainment. Sitting down with a great 50k superhero fic and going at it for about 8 hours has been a lot of my Saturday nights since I started reading fics back in 2013.

I didn’t really know what to expect - out of myself, and out of today’s ziam readers - when I started writing. I’ve been so overwhelmingly surprised at the reception of my fics, that I’ve been the sources of people’s entertainment for 8 hours or more. I’ve been even more grateful at the amount of positive comments on how my fics have impacted people.

When I get messages like this, I always find it really difficult to express to you (and anyone else who feels the same way) just how appreciative I am of the kind words. I have a few ziam writers that I think are absolute legends, and to be compared to them is insane. Genuinely, thank you so so so much.

Fic writing has been really transformative for me, personally - specifically to my mental health. That said, to the thousands of you who have read my work, it means the world to me that you chose to click read.

I do work on my fics (planning/research/writing) about 8 hours a day. I treat it seriously because I want to put out the best creative product possible, and because I’d love nothing more than to make this a full time thing.

If anyone can give to my Patreon to make that a reality, just the cost of that cinema ticket that you didn’t need to go out and buy in order to be entertained for a night, I would be eternally grateful.

And for those who didn’t see, my newest fic Z.A.Y.N. debuted Sunday. Go check it out!

[ziamhaze]

Just thought about “kick, Push“ and wanted to thank you for writing this piece. I come back very often. Also I wanted to ask what your writing process looks like (if you like to share)

Hope you have a great day!

Hello!  So sorry for taking as long as I have to reply to this, life has been crazy busy.

First of all, thank you so much for reading my work and then...reading it again.  It’s mind boggling for me to think that there are people out there who have such a fondness for a world I’ve created that they find themselves wanting to relive it.  Really, it’s a very surreal thing.

As for my writing process, I actually wrote a HUGE post about this on my Patreon about a year or so ago.  To save myself the time, I’m literally going to copy and paste it below the cut.  That said, it’s the mindset I was in back then, so do keep in mind that some points may have changed since, as this past year has been a whirlwind for my writing.  In general though, it paints a pretty clear picture of how I approach a story and the steps I take to see it out.

Also, it should be noted that by no means is there a right and wrong way when approaching any sort of art.  I’ve learned by virtue of being in a professional writing atmosphere for over a year now that how I work is VERY atypical, VERY regimented, and VERY analytical.  Art is not this.  It can be, but it usually isn’t.

Enjoy the process.  Enjoy the mistakes.  And most importantly, enjoy the story.  It’s shown itself to you and for you, above all else.

WARNING: The information below contains spoilers for nearly all of my fics.  Proceed with caution.

In a few of my writing updates for the last fic I mentioned how I tend to write in a non-linear fashion.  I’ve got zero background in creative writing, however, I did dabble in screenwriting during my high school and undergrad years.  That being said, it’s a lot easier for me to write in a visual way with blocking versus simply planning a plot arc and writing it as I go (and also why I have so much dialogue in my stories; they’re really just elaborate film scenes linked to form a story without the b-roll).

What does that mean?

If you’ve read Customer of the Week you’ll have read Zayn using a similar methodology.  And truthfully, many many comic/graphic novel authors use screenwriting software and blocking breakdowns for the subsequent drawings.  But I will admit, I was a bit selfish with using my exact method for Zayn’s in that last fic.

I usually start a fic with 1 of 2 ideas:

A career I want one of them to have

A typical AU setting [ex: uni/frat, coffee shop, supernatural, kidfic, famous (athlete, model, singer)]

Genuinely, that’s what it all boils down to.  From there, I spend some time thinking about what it is they could do in those worlds and form a very simple objective/path that they will allow them to fall in love.  If I had to guess, I’d say The Heart of Him was the most difficult to plan because it was VERY subtle, not a lot of action or huge relationship build up; the easiest by far was Kick, Push.

Next, I do a lot of research on certain plot points.  For example, with Kick, Push I needed to see what the Olympic schedule was in order to know how many scenes I needed to fill to make it one per day.  Or with Z.A.Y.N. I had to make the longest playlist ever to just get the music down because I obviously wanted to have Zayn as a songwriter, but then I took AGES figuring out ok, so I have these 80 songs I love for lyrical analysis, how do I incorporate them?  I remember shifting around the songs on paper just to visually see it all and thought I was crazy, but then I realized if I bunched them together by subject matter, that would allow me to make the scenes’ dialogue based on those topics.  Even with Compartment 451 I needed to do tons of Harry Potter related research to see, could Liam even be a Head Boy and Quidditch Captain?  How does that work?  If it wasn’t canon, do I want to divert?  If I want to stick with canon and he can only be one then how do I switch the plot because it was very obviously based on how busy Liam was with both labels.

Ok, so once I’ve got the research down (though I still find myself doing more during the writing process if I don’t know what something looks like and I need to make it historically accurate or if they have a food item and I need to make it match the setting), I take time to break down the story into scenes, which is where Zayn’s explanation finally comes into play.  For several days (sometimes up to a week or so), literally all I do is map out the entire book.  Essentially, this is the whole of the creative process.  I think about settings and pacing and where things need to happen at certain times and all that good stuff.  It ends up very fragmented, but the best part is finishing because then I have 15-25 scenes and a fully finished story.

Numbering aside, this is what Scene 14 looks like for Customer of the Month:

Zayn’s Flat - One week later

FOR THE NEXT WEEK - liam focuses on reading rather than experiencing bc he’s loved the worlds they’ve entered, but he feels like they’re such a small piece of the larger pie and that’s a little unfair to zayn for having created the whole thing

Takes a long time to get through each bc he’s busy looking at the detailed art and appreciating that just as much as the storylines

Thinks about how much easier it’d be if he lived a life this structured and immediately rewarding - saving people or fighting for them

Zayn notices him lost in thought and comes over to see what’s on his mind

I envy his life and practice;  you could do it; no I don’t think I could; let’s see then

NINJA - Gets a training lesson - gruelling and long, knows Zayn will pull him out with the time constraints

Pair up with training partner - Zayn; flirtatious fighting

Get called in for first test to spy and get info on military chief - kill whoever gets in your way; liam knows he’s trained enough that he won’t ever get caught, so he won’t need to make that decision

Make it through mansion and while zayn goes in to get info, liam keeps guard, outwits a single man, but then doesn’t hear young boy walking around - knows he should kill him but can’t even when boy starts yelling, zayn comes out and signals for him to get in and they have to race through the palace to get out safely

So maybe you’re more of a samurai with your compassion

Now, this was the absolute original outline.  Things change and/or get deleted during the writing process, but this is where I start.  So imagine the entire story blocked out this way.  It’s very very very very difficult to do this (in my opinion) because you’re literally writing the entire story in a few days.  But like I said, once it’s done, you’re all good.  You can stand back and look at the whole thing and think, ok this needs to happen sooner or there was no foreshadowing for that, go back and add in scene 5, or, actually I need to add a scene in between these two because this happens too fast.  I know a lot of people/creatives would say, “but that’s why you do what you do - to create.  If this phase is the equivalent of molding a block of clay in a sculpture, then shouldn’t it be the bulk of your enjoyment?”.  Probably, but the amount of creativity and intense focus needed all at once makes the process a lot less enjoyable than you’d think.

So the hard part is out of the way, now what?

The writing.  Sort of.

Oddly, I find myself writing the first 10k or so words normally.  And by that I mean, simply looking at that scene’s bullet note list and writing it fully/coherently.  After that, I tend to peter off and ditch writing linearly for my second method where I “block out” a scene during the daytime and at night, go back and “fill it in”.  Because my motivation/inspiration was so low for the last fic, I sort of went crazy and blocked out about 70% of the fic all at once, then went back for a weekish to fill it all in (spoiler alert: I hated it).  But typically, and certainly going forward, I stick to the daylight/night time routine.

Here’s what a “blocked out” scene based around dialogue looks like as taken from the above ninja scene:

He’s even more determined than I am.

He sort of has to be if he wants to prove himself using only one arm.  I made him a bit like a militant robot for a reason.  -stares at Liam’s side profile-  You could train that hard if you wanted to.

I don’t think I could.

With these muscles?  -squeezes his arms lightly-  At least try so I can watch.

-smiles bashfully-  Can you afford to take the night off?

-liam doesn’t get an answer, just enough time to take a deep breath before he’s launched into another dimension-

And here’s what it looks like filled in:

“He’s even more determined than I am,” Liam mumbles, defeated over what it means to not be able to hold a light to a fictional character.

“He sort of has to be if he wants to prove himself using only one arm.  I made him a bit like a militant robot for a reason.”  Amid Zayn’s pause, Liam can feel his profile being studied, but he refuses to see why.  “You could train that hard if you wanted to,” Zayn opines boldly.

“I don’t think I could.”

“With these muscles?” Liam’s upper arm gets a light squeeze.  “At least try so I can watch.”

The racy comment finally gets Liam to raise his line of sight, his typical bashful smile present.  “Can you afford to take the night off?”

But Liam doesn’t get an answer, just enough time to take a deep breath before he’s launched into another dimension.

From there, it’s straight to editing draft one.  Word count depending, my beta reader will be sent their copy a week or so after that.  While she edits, I do all the administrative tasks associated with putting out a fic (drafting all the ao3 authors notes/tags/summary, making the picspam, making the BTS page, etc.).  When she’s done, I’ll split my screen, go down the fic for a final read through (draft 3), and look for her edits as I do my own.

As my plots get to be deeper slice-of-life pieces, the longer the scene breakdowns will take for me to create.  Without having ultra detailed bullet notes on talking points, the stories’ slow pacing and societal commentary will be near impossible to smoothly weave into a love story.  Can’t wait to see how much hair I lose in the coming years!

Anyhow, I hope this was an interesting look into how my fics go from concept to final product.  If you’re hungry for more, you can go back to the BTS page for “Compartment 451” to see the full fic in scene breakdown.

[ziamhaze]

First Fic Lines Challenge

Rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). see if there are any patterns. choose your favorite opening line and then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Thank you for the tag, @malik-payne ​!  Hats off to anyone who has 20 stories...

Compartment 451:

“Malik!”

Kick, Push:

“As a kid, you dream about a lot of crazy things.”

The Prince King:

“Post a New Ad”

You Win:

“I wish I had this much appetite as a human.”

Z.A.Y.N.:

“‘He’s twenty minutes late.’”

The Heart of Him:

“Why are hospitals always so white?”

Red vs. Black:

“Fifteen minutes before Zayn's set to leave his desk for the day, he gets a text from Louis.”

Customer of the Month:

“Today’s the day.”

Patterns:  Though it may not seem incredibly obvious, I think one constant with my openers is the inclusion of tension.  I think it’s really important that when you start a novel, you start it with some sort of tense moment; in my opinion, that’s how you know your story’s starting where it’s meant to.  A story always has a before and an after from where you start/end it, but it’s pinpointing that moment where you need to begin that makes all the difference.  But tension doesn’t equal action - that’s crucial to note.  You can create tension by hooking the reader into wanting to know the answer to something, the why.  However, I will say, I’m novelist, not a short story writer, so things might be different in that regard.

[ziamhaze]

hello! i wanted to ask what parts of zayn’s and liam’s personalities you enjoy the most or that you like to use as foundations in your writing. i loved kick, push and thought that zayn allowing himself to just feel was very true to who he is as a person or at least that’s how i see it

I fucking love this.  Thank you so so so much for reading my work, including the end notes, but thank you even more for asking such an under-appreciated question.

The truth is, each fic that I write, I choose a few specific traits of theirs to accentuate.  Because they're in new careers each fic, I've had to really think about which parts of their personalities the job and its setting would bring out.  In The Heart of Him Zayn was a lot less outspoken (and obviously chose smoking as a way to keep this up) than he was in Red vs. Black.  Liam's characterization in Kick, Push was considerably more determined than his portrayal in Customer of the Month.  And yet, each version was still true to who 'Zayn Malik' and 'Liam Payne' are at their core.  But here’s a little list for you:

Liam:

His openness towards learning from the world around him - I think this is an amazing quality for a character (and person) to have, because you can explore so many topics in full curiosity mode and allow for the reader to learn alongside them - major points with reader resonation too.  Exhibit A, Exhibit B

His naivety - not necessarily as present nowadays as it once was, but it helps with the above and also creates a gap for another, more intelligent character to come in and 'fill' - aka that puzzle piece fitting feeling aka the best part of a romance

His patience - a great sounding board for a more rambunctious character to play off of

His struggles - yes, his flaws are a positive.  You've got his constant strive towards better mental health that's more than needed in today's world (especially by male characters), his on and off self-confidence which I really played around with in Customer of the Month, his coming to terms with overwhelming amounts of attention, all of it.  I'm not particularly happy that he goes through any sort of hardship in real life, but as a writer, a character with flaws is what makes them believable and human - the only way for stories of any kind to be memorable

His varied childhood (not a personality trait, I know) - between his kidney disease, hearing him talk about his time with his sisters/family, his running career, his bravery saving Andy during the fire incident, Liam's got a hell of a lot to work with in terms of still making him 'Liam Payne' simply by playing on a part of his youth

Most importantly, the fact that he's still actively finding himself - it's all done so openly as well, and I think more than anything, the general demographic of those reading fanfiction are on that journey too, and therefore, having one of the main characters of a story have tinges of this outside of his teenage years is much needed

Zayn:

How certain he is of himself - don't misinterpret this as pompous, because Zayn's anything but.  Having beliefs that are as solid as a rock and a personality that refuses to waver from them makes for a main character that's not only strong, but can also spark major drama when their stance clashes with another

His book/street smart combo - can he be a tenure economics professor?  yes.  can he also be a graffiti artist who smokes cigars?  sigh.  yes, and so very well.

How he speaks - no, not his thick accent.  The way in which he voices his thoughts can be both super philosophical (see: Z.A.Y.N. - writing him as a songwriting poet was a fucking pleasure) and...not.  Having the ability to play on both sides is a god damn gift for a wordy person like myself

His hidden sense of humour - call it goofy in the x factor days, call it cynically sarcastic towards those that annoy him, call it dumb when he's under the influence.  Any way you tag it, it's there and it's subtle and it's lovely

His (relatively) calm demeanour - what can't I do with this?  Perhaps it's because I'm quite chilled myself, but I think writing about someone who isn't crazy outgoing is refreshing and a lot less hectic for people to read about

His ability to emit warmth without direct words - Liam can do this too, but Liam's much more verbal with how he praises/loves/gives attention, whereas Zayn will show you all of that.  It's necessary to really get into a character/celebrity's psyche when writing fanfiction, and when you really understand who Zayn is as a person, it's clear that he most often cherishes through actions.  I love weaving this into his characters through touches or subtle lines or gifts or things he notices.  They're all extremely faint - the reason he takes Liam into specific graphic novels and not just any in Customer of the Month, how he's the one to instigate every relationship first in Red vs. Black (first date, first kiss, first meeting of a family member, first 'I love you'), how he treats Liam in the second half of The Heart of Him, what you pointed out: how he falls in love during Kick, Push.

I do all of this on purpose to get into the reader's subconscious and make the characters my own while also still very much making them recognizable as the two people you love reading about.

Fanfiction is such an art shrouded in finesse if you do it correctly.  I’ve written a whole essay on my Patreon about how/why I view Liam and Zayn from a psychological standpoint in order to write fanfiction that I can also take major creative liberty with.  It’s my belief that only when you know how to tread the fine line between writing a person and writing about a person, can you get away with this.

[ziamhaze]

Writer Questions

Thank you for the tag, @zqua1d​!

1. When did you start writing?

Almost exactly two years ago.  I’d never done any sort of individual creative writing prior to writing Compartment 451.  Crazy how random that was and how much it’s changed my life.

2. What fandoms do you write for?

Exclusively 1D, specifically ziam.  I’ve had people ask me if I would ever consider writing for another fandom, but I just don’t have it in me.  Not now, at least.  Every idea I’ve ever had (written and saved in my ideas doc) has been inspired by ziam as individuals - either because I’ve wanted to explore a specific characteristic of theirs or because I had an AU setting that I’d love to see them interact in.  Can’t say I’ve had that for any other fandoms/individuals.

3. Do you write better in the morning or at night?

Night, hands down.  Writing is my “full-time job”, so I can pretty much create my own hours.  I go through phases, but for a majority of the year, I’m usually nocturnal.  I like the darkness and the solitude.  The silence is a plus, but I think it’s the ‘in my own world without distractions’ sort of thing that gets me.

4. What music do you listen to while writing?

I’ve gone through phases with this too.  I wrote C451 with instrumental film soundtracks playing throughout, then with Kick, Push it was primarily lo-fi music because of Zayn’s character.  Since I knew that I was going to write Z.A.Y.N. after The Prince King, I listened to a CRAZY amount of r&b during the latter.  Listened to that all the way through both.  As for the last three stories posted online, I don’t remember listening to anything in particular.  The book that I just finished that I unfortunately can’t post, I used Korean ‘Study with Me’ videos on YT.  Highly, highly, recommend.  This one and this one are my two favourites.  I work like crazy, so these are great if you’re like me and enjoy tracking how much you work/ can create a good schedule when you don’t have an external source (office, class, etc.) to give you one.  OR, if you can’t sit down and study/write on your own accord, this would be good for you to build in breaks and good habits.

5. What do you/plan to major in at college?

Fuck, what didn’t I major in in college?  I’ve got a BA in Film/TV Production Management and Geography (specifically urbanization and the middle east).  Then I’ve got an MSc in Management (specifically international corporate strategy) and an MA in Creative Writing (specifically fiction, novel writing).  In the Fall (unless I move to Sydney, then next Feb-ish), I’ll be starting a PhD in Creative Writing which will be looking at masculinity, ‘the city’ in the novel, and the presentation of male-centric mental health in literature.  All wrapped up in a novel I’ll be writing for the program.

6. Do you write an outline before writing a story?

If you asked my workshop classmates that question, they’d just burst out laughing.  It was an ongoing joke about just how much I outline/plan a story.  For reference, Red vs. Black ended up being ~113k, but the outline document I had for it was about 25 pages on its own.  My outlines look a lot like a VERY detailed bullet note list of points that need to be touched on in each scene.  If you want a look at my lil baby one for C451, click here.  This is soooo bare bones compared to what they look like nowadays, trust me.  Each scene nowadays would probably have about 10x this many bullet notes and timings and all that.

7. Do you write multiple stories at one time or only focus on one?

NEVER.  I have to stay with one at a time.  My stories have so many tiny intricacies and details that need to be given my entire attention to unfold correctly.  I fully throw myself into a story; I get lost inside the world and characters much like an actor does.  I have to in order to make everything consistent and more importantly, true.

8. Do you write every day?

Yes!  It may not be for a novel, it may be academic papers or applications, but I do write something every day.  Also, it may not even be original writing, but I count editing sentences as writing.  You have to engage your brain in a similar nature.  You have to manipulate your native language and just...words.  That’s writing.

9. What are your goals for your stories? (& do you want to become a published author one day?)

Well, my summer goal is to get my latest story a publishing deal.  As most of you know, it’s currently sitting with Harper Collins, but I really don’t expect anything to come of that.  After that (inevitable) rejection, I’ll be shopping it around to agents, so I’d say that’s my latest goal.  Eventually, I want to publish Kick, Push, The Prince King, and The Heart of Him with lots and lots of rewrites.  Clearly copyright would make publishing Z.A.Y.N. as it is impossible, but I think the way it’s presented and the two characters that live within it are kinda cool.  I’d have to rewrite all the lyrics to be original and obviously change Zayn’s name to something that could fit with the title being an acronym.  (Zain/Zayn was a true blessing for that)  Plus, a lot of the magic falls with the songs that come out of their relationship and the hints that I gave to them throughout.  An original song wouldn’t be something a reader could do that with.  So, yeah, it’d be a stretch.  With Red vs. Black, I’ve been given some professional (let’s say) advice telling me to rewrite it with a different metaphor other than superheroes.  I see where he’s coming from in regards to sales and a publishing deal, but then I’ve also had another, professional (let’s say), from a different sector of the field tell me that it’s fine with storyline, but that if I’m trying to sell it in novel format, it might not work.  So, that’s going to take some reworking/deep thinking on my end.  And as for Customer of the Month, I’d like to adapt it as a YA book.  I think the message rings the clearest for that age group.  Which of course means, more rewrites beyond simple edits.

10. Favourite work of yours?

Besides the one I’ve just finished, I’d say Red vs. Black.  It’s really fucking complex if you take a step back and look at it on a character level and not a ‘ziam fic’ (same with COTM.  Zayn’s character in that one is actually really fucking heartbreaking).  It took so much precise weaving and timing and development, that finishing it was a massive accomplishment for me.  I’m glad people enjoy it, but honestly, coming out of it, I remember thinking, I don’t even care what people take from it, I’m proud of me for pulling that the fuck off.  It’s got NOTHING on the book I just finished (so you can imagine the self-pride I have for that), but given the fact that I’d only been writing for a year, RvB was a huge accomplishment for me.  I also really fucking loved writing Zayn’s character in that story - his humour, his turmoil, his arc.  It was a massive challenge, but I actually enjoyed it and that’s huge for me.

[ziamhaze]

ur fic z.a.y.n. is making me upset 😐 stop being so tender

Haha, do I dare ask what part you’re at?

I can’t tell you how much fun I had writing that story, simply because I was able to be so philosophically romantic/(as you put it) tender.  Given that it’s about character development/individual thought processes rather than high action plot points, I’m always so excited to see readers used to less serious storylines enjoy themselves all the same with Z.A.Y.N.

And to those who commented on the ask where you shouted out the fic, I see you and I appreciate you too!  I always go through every little tag on any of my picspams or picspams others have made for my fics, so your words never go unseen.

If you, or anyone else ever reblogs something about my fics or gets an ask about them, tag me!  Authors love nothing more than to read thoughts - good or bad.  I mean that!  No matter if you have 1 follower or 1,000, a comment is a comment and a writer can only improve by constantly meeting their own personal goals, as well as taking constructive criticism.

And if you too are looking for a ziam songwriting/singer fic to read in light of the new album, check out my fic Z.A.Y.N. on AO3 or Wattpad.

[ziamhaze]

Ziam Ficrec - Z.A.Y.N. by @ziamhaze

Zain’s eyes turn to Liam’s, “Like you.” The singer stares with intrigue. “I haven’t known you for that long, but I know that when you laugh, like really laugh,” Zain emphasizes. “You get crinkles by your eyes and the indent under your right becomes more prominent. It’s gorgeous to witness, and I could write a hundred sonnets on the one second it takes for you to go from listening to squinting, and another hundred comparing the final form to the warmth of Saturn, but-”

“Not the Sun?” Liam interjects, taken by surprise at the unusual choice of planet.

“Not the Sun,” Zain confirms resolutely. “The Sun’s common, the Sun’s expected, the Sun’s scorching hot.  At its core, Saturn’s even warmer; it’s the planet with the most orbiting moons because of its strong gravitational pull.” Zain licks his lips innocently, “You’re not like the Sun. You’re like Saturn.”

For six years, international R&B star Liam Payne has topped the charts with his unique, upbeat songs.  Even though he’s proud of where he’s gotten himself, he knows he can’t take all the credit; there’s one particular songwriter that goes by the name ‘Icarus Kalim’ that’s played a huge part in his success.  Because of the writer’s ability to craft thought provoking tracks that touch Liam in a way he didn’t even know was possible from afar, the celebrity makes a musical exception for ‘Icarus’, buying the man’s songs for himself, even though he swore he would never put his name on something he had no help in creating.  But what happens when Liam finally tricks the soulful poet into meeting him after years of not even knowing what the man looks like?   Is ‘Icarus’ really all Liam’s made him out to be in his head or will he be unlike anything the singer could’ve ever dreamt up...

Support this author on Patreon!

[ziamhaze]

So today I just finished reading Z.A.Y.N and coincidentally Liam did a YouTube livestream whilst bobbing his head to the music he was listenig to (parallel to how liam was dancing to the music all the time in the fic). What I want to say is how beautifully you have captured all the intricate details about zayn and liam individually but also together. I mean to say that it is so realistic that if I didn't know it was a fic I'd have believed it was real. You're an absolutely amazing writer <3

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I’m so pleased that you loved Z.A.Y.N., as it’s not my most popular of fics and yet, I think it shows off their soft side of understanding possibly the best out of all of them.  I’m also partial to poet!Zayn, so sue me.

But yes!  I 100% saw Liam’s little head bobbing!  It’s one of the many many intrinsic mannerisms of his that I sprinkle throughout my writing to make both men appear as themselves, while also following the radically different life I’ve given them as a writer.  If you’re interested in what individual traits of theirs I love to use as foundational pieces, I did a lil write-up here.  And another here about why I love their dynamic as a base to work off of.

And just as a little treat, this is one of the many gifsets I used for reference while writing Z.A.Y.N..  It’s taken directly from when he and Zayn were writing ‘Love Language’, hence the light xylophonic taps.  If you go back and listen to the song while watching the gifs, guarantee you’ll smile.

[ziamhaze]

Babe, i just finished reading ALL of your fics and I had to come here and say YOU ARE SO TALENTED. Your writing is perfect, your ideas are great. I’m in love, honestly.

Comments like this never cease to amaze me!  Thank you so much for taking all that time to read my work.  No doubt that took you a while!  Seriously, thank you so so much

For those of you wanting to read some new fics during the winter break, check out my current library of ziam fics:

Compartment 451: HP, friends to lovers au with a message about finding your identity in a world where you’ve gotta make your own family

Kick, Push: Olympic au where Zayn’s a world champion skateboarder competing at the Olympics, but his crippling performance anxiety haunts him.  Can his assigned physiotherapist help him win gold?

The Prince King: Kidfic where Zayn’s a widower and a painter, but all he really wants to be is someone who can give their kid a better life than the one they had.  Step 1: hire a carpenter to build the little guy a tree house.

You Win: Werewolf au made for 1dtrickortreatfest - only 666 words

Z.A.Y.N.: Liam’s a top selling r&b/pop artist, yet the only songwriter he buys from, refuses to meet him.  What happens when the singer tricks the writer into working with him for his upcoming album?  What kind of person will the man Liam’s been admiring on paper, turn out to be like?

UNTITLED Jan/Feb fic: Ha, as if I would ever reveal the plot I’m currently working on before its release date.  Unless you’re one of my Patrons on Patreon, then you’d already be in on all the behind the scenes secrets!

[ziamhaze]

Tell me why "I Found" by Amber Run came on my Spotify shuffle and my mind IMMEDIATELY went to Zayn and Liam lying in the grass early in the morning listening to it in Z.A.Y.N. . God your stories are all so beautiful, they really have my mind permanently captivated.

This is honestly the greatest compliment.  The fact that you remembered the song, and then remembered exactly where it was placed in the fic is a dream.  I’m so so so happy to hear this!  Thank you very much for the kind words and for giving such a character driven plot a chance!

If you’re tuning in to The LP Show: Final Act today you might hear another track featured in that same scene from Z.A.Y.N. by Nina Nesbitt - The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change.  I put together the lyrics for that fic almost 1 1/2 years ago.  The odds that she’s been included...

If you’re interested in a deep, songwriter/singer ziam fic, check out my fic Z.A.Y.N. on AO3 or Wattpad.

[ziamfanfiction]

I'm pretty sure the one you're after is this beautiful fic called Z.A.Y.N by @ziamhaze

If you haven't read any of their fics yet I highly recommend it. They're all so unique and beautifully written and they've blessed us with such amazing work!

- Katelynn

Hello!

So I've been looking for a fic where Liam's a singer and Zayn is lyricist probably? I don't remember quite well. Also he doesn't meet anybody and harry is like the middleman between him and Liam.

Thank you in advance 💕

Worst Behavior (Nothing was the Same)

This is the only one I could find with songwriter!Zayn