#also I’m on mobile. no beta reader either I wrote it and now I’m posting it and that’s how it’s going | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eye-of-yelough · 2 years

Text

Isabela and Anders friendship fluff, come get your Isabela and Anders friendship fluff, written at 4am!

summary: just a silly little micro fic about the flirty friendship dynamic Anders and Isabela should’ve had. Contains sexual references cos it’s Isabela

Justice, he is beginning to realise, isn’t very fond of Isabela.

When she’s around it’s a constant inner battle to not let the well meaning spirit bore her with another lecture that she won’t bloody listen to. He knows her, she’s stubborn. Lecturing doesn’t work on people like Isabela. But sometimes, on rare blessed days like today, justice isn’t righteous. Justice is tired. Dormant in the back of his mind.

And it’s on days like this that Isabela’s care free attitude and friendly-flirtyness is infectious. Makes him feel like his old self. And Maker, if he doesn’t appreciate the chance to feel that again.

So when she grabs a fistful of his coat to pull his face down, stands on the tips of her toes and plants a kiss just above his jaw bone that can only be described as filthy (and how she manages to make a cheek kiss feel sensual he’ll never know) he welcomes it, with an appreciative hum and a little squeeze on the soft flesh between her waist and hip.

She gasps, faux scandalised, as she pulls away, eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Anders, engaging in improper healer/patient activities in your own clinic? In front of other patients? In front The Maker? At 9am on a tuesday? What will they say?”

“They’ll say I’ve gone mad. Been seduced by a desire demon disguised as an irresistible pirate goddess. And perhaps they’re right!” He moves his hands to grasp her shoulders, worrying the white material between his fingers and putting on his best damsel in distress act, fuck-me eyes and all. “They’ll drag me away in chains unless you take me with you! Oh, Captain! You will, won’t you?”

He wonders for a second if he’s gone a little far, considering that’s a very real fantasy of his that he just confessed. But she doesn’t need to know that.

But she just tilts her head back explodes into a fit of adorable giggles at his unexpected play-along of absurdity.

“Aww, unfortunately I can’t, sweet thing. No ship, no dice.” She separates from him suddenly, walking around the table she was just sitting on so it’s between them. She grabs the salve she came for and puts it into her pack. Then slowly leans forward with her hands flat on the table, daring him to get an eyeful. He rolls them instead. Cheap trick. But that won’t stop him from thinking about it later. She is Not helping with his sexual frustration.

“I have to go, business, but… thank you.” She drawls, just above a whisper.

“You’re so welcome.” He tries to hide his disappointment behind sarcasm.

“You gonna watch me walk away?”

He looks at the ceiling, pretending to consider for a moment. A very short moment.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll add a little extra sway to it, just for you, baby.” She lifts one hand at a time off the table, maintaining eye contact for longer than necessary.

“ ‘Preciate it, sweetheart.” He dares a wink. He’ll feel so skeevy about this later, but he can’t make himself care. He wishes there was a way to nonverbally communicate how much the normalcy of this means to him. Words will come out all wrong, he’ll make it sound too romantic, too sincere, and it’ll scare her off. One of the few anchors of normalcy he has. He can’t lose it. He smiles and hopes it’s enough.

Isabela over-sways her hips so much she trips over her own feet, and it’s his turn to giggle.

#sorry if this isn’t like. presented well. yknow like the summary and stuff? I’ve literally never written a fic before.#also I’m on mobile. no beta reader either I wrote it and now I’m posting it and that’s how it’s going #also. Isabela with hip dips is my religion thank you and good night #dragon age 2 #anders my beloved #your daily dose of idiocy #Isabela #I guess? I should tag with that? don’t expect more from me though #Anders #the radiant isabela #my writing #2/3 of my ot3

52 notes · View notes

keep-it-i-resign · 3 years

Text

Fic Writer Asks

tagged by the lovely @vampcoffeegyrl23 I am soooo sorry this has taken over a week! I promise I was just busy away from my computer and using mobile is not the way to go about answering these! 😅

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

6 on AO3 and 6 on ffn.net. I haven't used the ffn.net account in years, i.e 2013 (and therefore my user name isn't even the same) so those 6 stories are different from my AO3 ones. I don't post most of what I write and now that I'm in my mid-20s with a few published papers behind me - I'm much more confident in my ability to write a cohesive and interesting story so expect more posted!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

17,425 words which isn't bad for only 6 fics with two of those stories having additional chapters coming soon.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3? Just 1, which is The Flash and by extension Stargate SG-1 for the crossover I did for Snowells Week this year. Counting ffn.net that's 3 more with Castle, Doctor Who, and Firefly. Over my lifetime of writing fic for myself? I think only 7 more. Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Sanctuary, Harry Potter, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: TNG, and Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead isn't much of a fanfic but I did use the zombie types as place holders in an original story until I developed my own.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'll Be Waiting (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry)

Well... This is Awkward (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry, Frost/Nash, Caitlin/Nash, and Frost/Harry)

Rewind Time (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry)

Through the Gate (The Flash/Stargate SG-1 - Caitlin/Eowells)

Harvest Season (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry)

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I don't write angst much and I haven't posted many stories yet but of the ones posted I guess "I'll Be Waiting" is the angstiest.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

"Well...This is Awkward" has a pretty happy ending with everyone alive and together. Or maybe "Twilight of the Gods" because ReverseSnow/ReverseFrost happens and there is hope of bringing everything lost back and balance the universe again. I guess it depends on your definition of what constitutes as a happy ending. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I've only written one - The Flash/Stargate SG-1 crossover. I don't normally think about crossovers just because the shows I watch are so vastly different they can't really work or they are already in the same universe with the canon crossovers. I'm also not always a fan of reading them because they can get chaotic quick and characterization takes a dive in order to fit characters into other universes/situations. I admire anyone who can write it well though!

As a side note: I did have a thought about a Snowells into the Arkham universe fic just because I have been replaying the Batman Arkham video games which I might give a shot at.

8. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

👀I wrote one smutty story years ago and it's terrible because I was young and naïve. I haven't tried recently but I'm not opposed to giving it a shot now. I have a few ideas on a prompt list I have for Snowells already so it's really a matter of when will I get to it!

9. Do you respond to comments. why or why not?

I do when I can! I like to get feedback from my readers and having an open dialogue of what they liked or disliked is important for me! I want to know what my audience enjoyed and what to improve on! Responding to them also shows them I saw that they said and appreciate what they had to say! 🥰

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Surprisingly - no, even on my old and terribly written stuff. I'm perfectly open to criticism but hate? If you don't like it, you don't like it but others might. Why spend the time spreading negativity when the world has enough of it?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

As far as I know - no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No but given enough time I could probably translate mine. It would be grammatically atrocious because I rarely translate from English into any of the languages I know. It's normally the other way around! I'd definitely need a Beta who is fluent to correct my mistakes.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but it's definitely something I'd try! I co-wrote an original story with a few friends of mine years ago in high school and enjoyed it. I like the idea of getting to talk and bounce ideas off of someone who enjoys the same fandoms and character as me! I haven't really done that since I grew apart from one of my friends from high school who I did that with.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

What kind of question is this? Do people actually have an ultimate ship? Is that even possible? I have ships from several fandoms and sometimes multiple ships within a fandom. Most of the time I have a main ship from a fandom but that doesn't mean I discount any of the other ones that I or others enjoy as well. I'll throw out a few that I still got out and read for in order of what I read most often (either new stuff or re-reads) to what I read occasionally, at least according to my AO3 favorite tags.

Snowells (all variations) - The Flash

Jack O'Neill/Sam Carter - Stargate SG-1

Helen Magnus/Nikola Tesla - Sanctuary

Harry/Hermione - Harry Potter

William Murdoch/Julia Ogden - Murdoch Mysteries

Phil/ Melinda - Agents of SHIELD

Kathryn Janeway/Tom Paris - Star Trek: Voyager

Kate Fleming/Steve Arnott - Line of Duty

I will occasionally go check what kind of fics the fandom writes when I start a show just out of curiosity. Sometimes you can tell if there is fandom hate between ships by doing so and I know to steer clear, especially if I ship a lesser ship/non-canon ship. Also - the number of canon-divergence or rewrites will tell you if the shows writers start being ridiculous *cough* The Flash *cough* and whether it's worth getting attached at all.

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hoo boy. I have a drive full of them. Most of which aren't even close to being posted. My biggest one right now is a complete re-write of The Flash dealing with a what if scenario of Earth-1 Tess Morgan being pregnant the night that Thawne kills them both and he chooses to birth the kid rather than let it die with her. It's set a few years earlier (so 18/19 years stuck in the past rather than the original 15 that the show has it) so the kid isn't Jesse but it changes how season 1 plays out and definitely how season 2 plays out when Harry finds out about the kid while dealing with the Jesse/Zoom issue. Plus it's Snowells too and I want to deal with Barry's mistakes and the consequences of them better than the show did since the show just kind of brushes them off? For some reason? I wanted things to have a little more consequence because some of the mistakes made are egregious and then they acted like it never happened which bothers me. It's a beast of a project and I'm - unfortunately- a perfectionist and a completionist. I'm thinking an episode per chapter rewrite but right now it's in bits and pieces and a lot of notes on how episodes would play out differently with an added character and dynamic.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and scene positioning. I can write out the dialogue for a story quickly with the bare bones of the scene and movements playing out. After that, it takes me ages to expand the scene and fill in the bits between speaking lines because I can see the piece play out in my head and putting that to paper accurately and engagingly without being overwhelming is a multi-layered process.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Some of this is normal, you know, like grammar and spelling. My brain moves faster than I type so words or bit of phrases end up missing and I later have to fix it. I'm also a Southerner who grew up watching a ton of British shows so a lot of the way I phrase things isn't commonly used anywhere. I have to spend a lot of time double checking things like that. I think my biggest one is not knowing how to end stories satisfactorily. I haven't posted many fics because it's hard to post them when you don't know how to wrap everything up.

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It depends on whether it's an established part of a character or story and whether or not I'm comfortable with the language. Like with Sherloque - it's established he'll say something in French and then repeat it in English. I took 3 years of French so I'm comfortable writing it and it fits the character and situation. But take Cisco, we know he speaks Spanish, but it's never really shown in the show. So fics that I've read where he breaks into Spanish can be distracting as we've never seen him do it - even in dire circumstances. I also never took Spanish in school and I only know rudimentary pieces (I took Mandarin and Latin instead), so I'm unlikely to use it in any fic I write unless the circumstances warrant it (say - Cisco is talking to a grandparent or a meta struggling with English).

But again, it depends on the situation, what we know of the character, and how comfortable I am with the language enough to get it correct and in character. Any fic writer who can get the situation and character down while using a secondary language, and not make it distracting deserves applause!

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hit me with a hard one why don't you? 🤣 I think it was Stargate SG-1 or maybe it was Stargate Atlantis. You're asking me to think back over a decade and a half ago to when I started reading and writing fic at the tender age of 7 or 8. I'm fairly certain it was one of those two fandoms and it might've been a crossover. I do remember writing part of it on an old Gateway computer running Windows '98 with a glass monitor that was mine and my sisters. The other half was written on an electric type-writer that I owned because this was before laptops were widely available and affordable.

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

It's a tie between "Twilight of the Gods" and "I'll Be Waiting". "Twilight of the Gods" because I got to show off a few of my degrees (History and Classics, I couldn't shoehorn in my others but they are science related and that doesn't quite fit that story). "I'll Be Waiting" is a favorite because it's a big middle finger to whoever / collective group wrote The Flash season 7. I'm still pissed off at how the Wells plotline was dealt with and let's not get started on the whole Chillblaine/Kramer/Forces as kids of WA plots (ewwwwwww 🤢). I'd need a whole new post to talk about how tired I am of the WA kids showing up (because screw how that'll effect the timeline, right?) and the reliance on the future to drive what decisions are made (because, again, screw how bad that would be for the timeline - it's not like we have seen how much that effects things before right?) 😒

Phew.....That was longer than I expected, honestly, but a lot of fun!

Tagging whoever wants to talk about their works because you are all wonderful people who should get a chance to share!

#20 questions #writer asks #fandom things #fanfic #Snowells

4 notes · View notes

lil-creatorwritings · 4 years

Text

Author Interview

I got tagged by @alloveroliver ! Not sure how this will go but let’s do it~

Name: Well you can call me Becky! Trust me, my surname is a tongue twister and you don’t need to know that.

Fandoms: Er dear lord, that’s a lot if I count the ones outside of otome. If we’re talking just that, then it’s mainly Cybird titles (MidCin, IkeSen, IkeRev and IkeVamp). I have anime and video games fandoms too and you can ask me about that here or on my personal blog! Want to do in the future: Write more, I guess. And get a new phone for more otome games!

Where You Post: Tumblr and AO3 for my fics. Twitter is mostly for my ranting about routes or something about the otome and my main place for finding fanart (and retweeting them, BECAUSE WE DON’T STEAL OTHER PEOPLE’S FANARTS).

Most Popular One-Shot: It’s apparently my Day 2 Kinktober. A lot of y’all are thirsty for some Leonardo smut eh?

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: The MitsuhidexOC smut trilogy (which I am now calling the Phone Call trilogy lol). It’s hilarious because whenever I think of this story, I remember that it wasn’t suppose to be a trilogy in the first place (it was a one-shot but then someone aggressively persuaded me into writing more of it). I honestly didn’t expect it to blow up like that (and I underestimated the Mitsuhide stans hahaha). Here is part 1, 2 and 3.

Favorite Story You Wrote: Probably my Day 21 of a 31 Day Writing Challenge I did in 2018. I also had an original work, but it’s been put on the back burner for awhile now.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Five, which was my first IkeSen fic. I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if I got Masamune’s character right and for a personal reason (that I’m just gonna leave at that hahah).

How You Choose Your Titles: Most of the time, I either have a pending title for it or the title comes to me first as I’m writing it. The general theme of the story also has weight on its title.

Completed: 70-ish fics. Which reminds me that I need to fix and update my Masterlist lol.

Incomplete: *tucks away my wips and google docs of future fic ideas* What incomplete works? Who is she? (lol but seriously maybe..2 or 3. I don’t usually write something and then start another one without completing the previous one, which is probably why I have few incomplete WIPs--because if I didn’t start on it, it’s technically not incomplete lol.)

Do You Outline?: When I first started writing, not so much in the way that I would write them in bullets or a flow chart. I would imagine the scene in my head then write it out, which works for me most of the time. I suppose you could argue that it’s a form of outlining too.. But I mostly type or write the general flow of my fic when my thoughts start to wander and branch out of my original idea to keep me in check.

Coming Soon/Not Yet Started: An IkeRev Ray fic that... I’ll be honest it’s a little diamond in the rough, and the theme isn’t really a pleasant thing to talk about. But this is a fic that I feel compelled to write for personal reasons. I don’t want to say much now because I’m not even sure how to start it as of right now. But I do want to write it. There’s also a soulmate AU I want to do for IkeVamp (and for some reason I wanted to do it with Arthur but I haven’t done his route yet), an IkeRev mafia AU (trying to steer away from the ‘crystals are drugs’ and think up of another idea), an IkeSen detective with that femme fatale thing (look idk what the genre is called but think Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea), an Edgar Bright art student AU, and just... more stuff lol. But more smut!

Do You Accept Prompts?: I do, but I rarely get them. Maybe because I don’t get to them on time and my followers don’t bother to ask me for stuff lol :( . I don’t really mind that I don’t get them, since I often write my own ideas. But I mean, feel free to drop one if you want to!

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: Uh, I guess to finish my Kinktober..?? yes shut up i know its 2020

(Apparently the next questions were added by Ash, so I’ll go ahead and answer them too~)

What do you use to edit?: Currently, I’m not using any third party writing editor. That’s just my personal preference though.

Writing setup: My main set up is in my room, sitting in front of my desk with my laptop and bluetooth keyboard (some of the letters on the laptop aren’t working, so I use an external one. I always have a water bottle with me (because I could sit for hours) and Spotify playing on my phone on speaker. I use Google Docs for all of my fics. Sometimes I’ll go mobile and hook my bluetooth keyboard to my phone and type from there, especially if I can’t stay in my room.

Do you use a beta reader? Nope. For some reason, it’s not a habit of mine to ask someone to beta read my work, though I have done it a few times before. I write, walk away from it, come back to proofread, post, then try to stop obsessing over if it will get notes or not.

Where do you get your writing inspo?: A lot of places--books, songs, anime, tv shows, the internet, other people, prompt lists.. As to the motivation to write, well, that’s something that I’m also struggling with right now hahaha.

Can we get a quote from an upcoming WIP?:

It wasn’t much of a surprise. This amount of workload always comes with the highest ranking officer in the army, and you’ve always understood that. There are some things that can’t be delegated or that specifically need his approval. Yet it didn’t stop you from feeling a little left out and wanting some of his attention.

Feeling restless, you push off the table and head towards the door. If he was still working, there was only one other person you could think of to keep you company. Skipping down the hallway, you stop in front of one of the doors before knocking on it enthusiastically. “Hm? Little lady?”

Sirius’ room was pristine as always. You step in and plop down on his bed, not caring if your skirts ride up your thighs. “Ray’s still working.”

He smiles and sits down next to you. “And I suppose you came to me to keep you entertained?”

This time, you pout at him. “So what if I did?”

Idk who to tag so if any of my followers (who haven’t done this) see this, go do it!

#mepp #she tagged my personal blog but imma post it here lol

14 notes · View notes

theysaywhatasadsight · 5 years

Text

Kinks (Peter Parker x reader)

A/n: so ik I said I will disappear because of exams but I had to write this, okay. Originally I wrote it for @thelazypangolin who then made me post it. Also s/o to @raspberryparker for beta reading the original version of this. Also have a part 2 to this if y'all want it. The formatting on this may be wonky bc I'm doing it on mobile.

It all begins with him, obviously.

When it's Debate Club, the last place you want to be but have to because Liz Allan, editor of Midtown Weekly, does not take no for an answer.

That woman probably worshipped Miranda Priestley.

So you sat, almost nodding off, waiting for the lectures to end and the actual debate to start.

The opposition is good, but you have faith in your schoolmates. Michelle, who teared into opponents like some tigress, Allison who proved everyone wrong with merely a few words here and there, and Peter, of course, who spoke so firmly you had to drop everything and listen.

Good God, he wouldn't like to be in your head right now. You let yourself imagine, what he would feel like, the things you'd like to do to him, all the while keeping a straight face.

You start to think maybe you have a thing for loud voices. The argument going, people shouting, asserting dominance.

But debating club is nothing without Peter there.

So when he's whispering along your neck about all the things he could possibly do to you; you pressed against him in a broom closet that anyone can walk into, you start to see stars anytime you see him.

The next time you think you have a thing is of course the school ski trip. Mountains, snow, hot cocoa, fire and the boy you kinda sorta may just have a thing for.

His fingers lightly graze the baby grand's keys, the pianist must've been on a break. He plays fluidly, the music so breathtaking it forces everyone in the surroundings to listen. Fingers racing across the yellowed keys make you hold your breath and pretend oh so hard you don't notice.

So that's what he does. Unwillingly, albeit, Peter commands attention.

Who knew fingers could be so sexy?

So when his fingers hold your wrists up while his lips graze your jaw, kissing every spare inch, you confirm your suspicions that you definitely do have a thing for him. Or the things he does. Anyone could do those.

But nobody can.

Maybe you're under his influence or maybe you're just stupid but even if you throw yourself at anyone at any party you still cannot get any satisfaction.

Kissing strangers doesn't give you the thrill it used to because it's not that one bloody stranger that's taken over you.

So when he grabs your wrist, stares at you and refuses to look away it makes you crave that feeling, the euphoria of giving up control. He certainly looks like he's glad to take it away from you.

Losing control only feels sexy when you give it up to him. There's an electricity between you two, a tension that makes you groan with the impossibility of it all. Desire was so overwhelming, it threatened to take over everything.

At Allison's party one evening he seeks you out, to confess that he no longer can stand this tension. That you're such a goddamn tease and that you'd get what was coming.

The game of seven minutes of heaven you play doesn't help, either. Both of you want nothing more than to make these chance encounters regular, and yet neither had the courage to blurt it out.

You're tipsy, swaying, when he spots you across the room. You maintain eye contact as you brush up against everyone dancing, making your way slowly to the other side of the room.

God, his face. You could write poetry on that face. Eyes, nose, lips; all begged to be tasted and teased.

You nearly fell on his lap when you finally reached him. You both smiled as if seeing each other for the first time.

"I love you." You blurted out, unsure.

He waited, a single eyebrow cocked.

"I love your face, and these eyes and that goddamn jaw. I love that you're so shy but so protective. I love that you're so intelligent and so damn responsible."

He rolled his eyes.

"And I love," you smiled as it was his turn to blush when you raked your eyes over him, "that you're so damn responsive. So, what say, Parker? Do we give this a try?"

Even drunk, you recognised the gravity of the situation. If he said no, you'd walk out, right now.

"Is this confession being made under the influence of alcohol?"

"No, its being made under the influence of Peter Parker."

He scoffs and looks away, then back at you.

“This, we're making this permanent. No going back, no longing glances. What if this spark of ours goes out? What if we want different people once we become a thing?” his beautiful face frowned, he looks up at you.

“Jesus, we won't know until we try.” you smile at him, confident.

"Do you want a drink?"

"It's you that I want."

"Easy there, tiger."

#peter parker x reader #marvel x reader #spiderman x reader #spiderman x y/n #marvel x you #marvel x y/n #peter parker x y/n #peter parker imagine #spiderman imagine #spiderman x you #tom holland #spiderman one shot #peter parker one shot #peter parker x you #peter parker #spiderman

195 notes · View notes

goingknowherewastaken · 6 years

Text

This is a writer shaming post.

Maybe “shaming post” isn’t the most accurate description for this post.

“Tip/Heads-Up Post On How Writers Can Get More Readers” is a more accurate description...with the twist that it is written in a salty and Done^TM manner thanks to the amount of bullshit that’s happened in the past year.

Basically, I am fucking done with it. Done with the pathetic bullshit that has been going on for the past how many fucking months - hell, this goes beyond months! Fucking years this shit has been happening in the fanfiction community and I am done with seeing this shit continue to happen.

Fucking. Done.

Anyways first and foremost before I get into this, I am not forcing anyone do any of these. Then again maybe I should be because these things are all things that have been repeated by all of a lot if not all of us writers and many writers have not bothered to improve on different points that I am about to make. So maybe consider these and how badly you want to improve your writing and note count, yeah? And dear god please stop with the bitching and moaning.

*sips tea* So, let’s get started, shall we?

♦♦ No one is obligated to read your work because SURPRISE everyone has their own preferences.

What does that mean????? It means that not everyone likes everything so they may skip it if they don’t like what their reading. If what you put for the fic is a turn off then they won’t bother reading it or if halfway through they realize they don’t like it then they will leave it.

So maybe the reason you aren’t getting notes is because it’s simply something that some people aren’t into. And don’t you dare get mad at the readers for that nor should you be trying to force them to read your stuff.

► Follow up point! There might also just be a small fandom for whatever it is you just wrote for!! Just keep writing!!! You never know, people might become curious and join the fandom for your content :D

♦♦ You gotta know your audience (for Reader Inserts).

Who are you writing the fic for? Women? Men? WOC? Trans men? Everyone?

Everyone has preferences for their fics, but the preferences get more intricate when you look at various demographics.

Women of Color are not going to finish a reader insert if they see details (from terms to gifs) that would make the reader a white woman. Men are not going to read a fic for a female reader.

It’s fine to tailor a fic to a specific demographic. Great, actually! But you need to be mindful and respectful of it. If you say the fic is going to be a gender neutral fic then you gotta make sure that it is gender neutral. Reader Inserts should always be race neutral unless you are tailoring it to a minority. Don’t try to get high and mighty about the “what about white people????” shit. Just don’t.

Speaking of which...

♦♦ Step away from what you know.

A phrase that many cling to often gets brought up in these moments: Write what you know.

A dangerous phrase.

“I don’t know how to write for X because I’m not X.” It’s the usual statement said when people are asked to write for something that they are unfamiliar with.

Now, if you’re a new writer - I mean brand, spankin’ new - and are still figuring out the writing world - you get a pass to say this, but the longer you’re writing...

No. N - fucking - o.

Sticking to what you know and not exploring new themes and views stunts your growth. You do not improve. You do not grow as a writer. You do not grow as a person.

Challenges and learning new things help us grow and become better...and get more readers.

♦♦ Just because you can write it doesn’t mean you should.

Oooooh boy.

Everyone raise your hand if you’ve ever had a bunch of people come at you telling you that what you wrote is bad. By bad I don’t mean that they’re saying that it was badly written, but that what you wrote was insulting and/or wrong and you should never write that again.

If you raised your hand then I sure as hell hope that you heard those people out because if you didn’t and you just went into a pissy “waaaah these people are being mean and telling me to stop this and I don’t understand why and I don’t want to stop” mode then you need to pull your head out of your ass.

Sometimes, we do get readers who just want to nitpick everything and it’s easy to dismiss them. I had a person once tell me that I needed to stop using large spaces between paragraphs because they didn’t like large spaces. You’re damn right I ignored them because it was a stupid thing to pick at. (The spaces were due to the writing program I was using fyi.)

Other times, though, if many people are bringing it up, then it is something to be listened to.

► Example - Cisswapping. I said Cisswapping not Genderbending. Both deal with changing the gender of a character for a work. Now there are instances of genderbending that are acceptable - like if the character can canonically shift their gender at will and/or identify as genderfluid; there can never be enough fics written about trans characters or readers.

But Cisswapping - just changing the character’s gender...now that is a massive no-no. Like, saying that James T. Kirk (Star Trek)(male) is going to now be Jamie T. Kirk (female) - not making the character trans or genderfluid, but saying that from birth Kirk is actually female in your work - that is shitty. How do I better explain how bad this is? Hmmmm...you guys know how shitty it is when a POC character is whitewashed?

It’s that shitty and insulting.

Cisswapping characters erases and disregards so many people and their stories and struggles. See, fandom ships usually M||M and the majority of the time the people that are disregarded are people who are gay and/or trans. These are people who have gravitated to fanfiction to see themselves and those like them reflected in works because popular culture is still trying to catch up to them. We can now see more gay and trans characters and celebs in our movies and TV screens and such than we could years ago, but fanfiction will always be a sure place to find that representation.

So to suddenly find that Jane Doe decided that she wanted this popular M||M ship to be M||F ship... You bet your ass people are gonna be pissed. It takes strength and bravery to transition...but you just said that that means nothing compared to having an M||F ship.

If you are that desperate to have a character in an M||F ship, just make an OC.

Just leave the idea of Cisswap behind.

(PS - thank you @insane-sociopath ♥)

►► Follow-Up Point - Do your research before going and writing your fic. There are plenty of sources online - not to mention people to talk to - that will help you out.

► Example - And rpf ships because those involve real people whose personal lives you are disregarding for your “fantasy” and no matter how many times you cry “but I respect them!!!” the dozens upon dozens of fics and fanart you post (both sfw and nsfw) about the rpf ship says otherwise. And the hyper-analyzing of photos and stuff to say that they’re in love…it’s on the creepy side of obsessive.

Not to mention you guys tag the celebs in the ship in your posts... Like, you guys do realize that the internet is not a vacuum right? Celebs and those who know them personally can see your shit and the process is made all that easier when you tag the celebs so it shows up in the celeb’s tag. Platonic and romantic relationships between celebs have been damaged after finding out about the rpf ship you guys have been creaming your pants over.

If the rpf ship in question are both single it’s just a tad bit less weird (still weird though) and if they are a legit couple in real life it’s definitely less weird to ship them (writing nsfw stuff for them is disturbing as fuck though). If one or both are in a committed relationship with someone who is not the other half of your rpf ship then uh-uh no way did you not read the start of this example?????

Reader inserts involving celebs can be looped into this as well if you think about it. There’s usually more acceptance for reader x celeb fics, but it doesn’t mean that they are accepted by all nor that you shouldn’t be treading lightly.

To wrap up this point, you might have scared off readers because they are tired of seeing you writing something that you shouldn’t be writing. This isn’t a “well you just said that people can have preferences and don’t have to like everything” thing. This is a “you’re probably being a tactless dick” thing.

*note - many do get a lot of notes on celeb content, this section was more addressing the hate that gets sent

♦♦ People rarely have time to read your work right the minute it’s posted.

Did you know that mankind created this thing called Time and that the Earth is divided into timezones? No? Well, you’re education failed you.

See, when you post a fic online, the following people will see it - those who you tagged in it, those looking in the tags you tagged it with, those who have selected the option to be notified every time you post something, and those who are simply scrolling through their dash. The latter point is what we are going into right here, right now.

Posting it once and assuming that everyone else will do your dirty work on spreading the news that the fic is up for reading only allows for a certain number of people to see it. It is highly encouraged to reblog your own shit. A lot. Like, ten times a day or even days on end. Hell, you should still be reblogging it long after you posted it. When you reblog your work you are putting it back into people’s dashes and giving it a better chance of being seen by other people. Depending on when you post could mean if an entire country and it’s residents (aka - followers and readers) is enjoying their free time, sleeping, attending classes, or working.

So maybe the reason you’re getting no notes on it is because barely anyone has seen it due to it being posted at a bad time for them.

Also, even during free time people are busy; they could have also seen it and are waiting until a later date to read it. Or they just aren’t in the mood for whatever theme your fic is. Regardless, don’t fret or be like “well I guess no one wants to read this now” or shit like that. Give them time. Patience.

♦♦ How is your fic written?

You don’t become a fantastic writer overnight. It takes time and effort and practice. Sooooo much practice. Some people who have been around for a while will only read fics with good grammar. A thing which is actually rather rude considering those writers with “bad grammar” are usually people who are in the early stages of their writing career or they are writing in a language that is unfamiliar to them. And I give you writers in those two categories a damn huge KUDOS. Do not stop writing because a reader is rude and is like “blah your writing sucks!”

Writing takes practice and with every fic written and read we all get better and better.

►► Some extra tips for us all to look out for:

+ Research! Research! Research!

+ Massive blocks of text scare people off. Try breaking them up into smaller paragraphs when you can.

+ Take a look at your tenses. This is something I myself am working on improving in my own writing.

+ Find yourself some beta readers! They are a huge help when it comes down to figuring out your fic!

+ If it’s a long work, please use the read more option. Hitting a long post on tumblr mobile without a read more is one of the worst things and it puts many readers off.

+ Use a mix of said and adverbs; don’t be afraid of either. Adverbs can help set the scene more, but too many or using the wrong ones just makes the writing tacky; said gets boring after a while and only brings forth so much to the table.

+ Make a masterlist - preferably a mobile friendly version!! You can do this by making a text post and linking your works and then embedding that link in your tumblr bio!

+ Read! Read! Read! Reading a wide variety of fics can help improve your own!

+ Don’t steal anyone else’s fics!!!! This is just really obvious people.

♦♦ Did you do anything at all to introduce your fic to people?

This is a huge point. See, most people don’t bother reading a work if they don’t know what it’s about. I don’t. If I can’t immediately see the ship or characters involved (not everyone likes every character or ship), warnings, a summary, or even the fandom (there’s so many Steves guys...you gotta include the last name of a Steve if you’re not gonna put their fandom) then I don’t even bother reading it. Books and movies and TV shows introduce us to these things; why can’t you?

And warnings.

♦♦ Did you post any warnings about your fic?

There are two types of people in this world. Those who see no warnings and don’t bother reading it because they don’t know what’s in store for them and others that will see no warnings and will then assume that the fic is safe.

Big surprise when they’re caught off guard by something serious and they refuse to finish the fic. If people know that you are a chronic non-warner of sensitive content then they will not be returning to read any of your work. SPOILER - NOT WARNING PEOPLE ABOUT SERIOUS AND/OR SENSITIVE CONTENT NOT ONLY EARNS YOU NO NOTE ON THAT FIC BY PEOPLE BUT IT ALSO MAKES YOU A FUCKING JACKASS IN THEIR EYES

Warnings save a writer’s ass.

I cannot stress this enough - include warnings for your fic!!! Ao3 is built on warnings (the tags are warnings people) and people seem to get readers fine there. What’s your issue with putting warnings on tumblr fics? And they help summarize a fic (summaries also can act as warnings fyi)!!!!

Some people will argue that warnings = spoilers. They don’t want to give a heads up about sensitive content in lieu of not letting anyone know a single detail of what happens. Do I need to point out what’s fucked up with this statement? You are putting spoiling your fic above the mental and emotional health of your readers? (I swear to god if you try to argue that a trigger is only something that sets off self destructive behavior you need to check yourself. What about those that end up suffering panic attacks or emotional breaks? Or that writing doesn’t trigger anything? How does seeing other visual stimuli set off a trigger but not text? People can be triggered by any number of things; it all depends on the person. We can’t tag or warn for every trigger because there are so many, but the least you can do is warn about the mains ones (sexual assault, violence, abuse, self-harm, injury,...).) If you’re really gonna be anal about that then a trade off will be putting them in the tags and then telling people they can find the list of warnings there. But you gotta tell people where to find the list of warnings.

Not to mention that this stuff will dictate where someone reads your fic. Now, a lot of people read some really sexy or violent store bought books in public, but that is strictly text. I’ve seen a lot of fics with some nsfw gifs and moodboards slipped in. Most of us are already fearless when it comes to reading nsfw stuff in public, but the visual things can get people into a shit ton of trouble. And of course you have plenty of people who are mindful of what they read in public.

Or that they don’t have to use warnings because movies and tv and such don’t give warnings. Oh, yeah, you read that sentence right. There are people who have not been paying attention at all to movies and tv and such created over the past several decades.

Or that ‘real life doesn’t have warnings’... I’m sorry have you checked the labels on medicines and other products? Or have you seen road signs? We have warnings everywhere people!!! It’s about fucking time that written works got better with it.

If you don’t have anything serious to warn about then don’t put any warnings, but if you do then dear god you should probably do some warning.

♦♦ Make sure to tag!!!!

On tumblr there are two different types of tags - the @ and the #.

The @ tag - Tagging people means that those people will be notified that you posted a fic (or they should be assuming tumblr is working properly)! If you don’t know who to tag, pose a question to tumblr asking if anyone is interested. A lot of people also are open to and encourage you to tag them if you have something that you think they may be interested in. And regardless of if you do tag people or not, people will often times approach you through comments, replies, asks, and DMs with requests to be tagged in future works.

The # tag - using tags on your fics is so fucking important. These tags are how people find your stuff. Tag wisely.

► Example - Let’s say you wrote a Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers fic; expected tags should be - bucky barnes, steve rogers, captain america, the winter soldier, marvel, stucky, bucky barnes/steve rogers, bucky barnes x steve rogers, captain america x the winter soldier, avengers,...

Honestly, I could add more tags to that.

Another example - A Bucky Barnes reader insert fic; expected tags should be - bucky barnes, marvel, reader insert, bucky barnes x reader, bucky barnes/reader, the winter soldier, bucky x reader,...

You get the idea?

Tag your shit, but don’t over tag it. Stick to the necessary tags and don’t skimp on those, but don’t tag the unnecessary tags.

What are unnecessary tags? These tags are tags that have nothing to do with the fic and/or are not the main focus. Bucky Barnes x Reader fics should not be showing up in the Sam Wilson tag if Sam is not a main focus in the fic. Spirk fics should not be in the McKirk tag if McKirk is not the main focus of the fic.

Many people will not read your work on purpose if you pull this shit because they’re pissed that your cluttering the tag with unrelated work for not reason.

But tumblr used to say that only the first five tags will be counted towards where a post shows up in searches, but I’ve sort of found this to be false? I’ve found many posts show up in searches where the tag I searched is actually far past 5 tags in. Basically, all of the tags are valid.

So tag responsibly people!!!!

And I think that wraps it all up.

I was going to do a section dragging readers, but I think that will be for another time because this is a little on the long side. Because sometimes us writers can follow all of the above and still have no notes.

Anyways, once again, I am not forcing anyone to do any of these; it’s all up to you what you want to do in regards to your writing. I and a whole bunch of other people are just exhausted with the bitching and moaning people are doing in regards to not getting readers when there are several easy actions that could be taken to change that.

#long post

14 notes · View notes

writingwife-83 · 7 years

Text

It’s Left Me So Undone

@likingthistoomuch recently said that the lyrics from “Shake It Out” by Florence + The Machine really fit Molly post the ILY phone call. I chewed up and digested the words as well and totally agreed! So I wrote a somewhat feelsy little one shot from Molly’s POV after the call. Though, naturally, I had to get an actual Sherlolly scene in there too hehe. Enjoy, readers! ;)) And thanks for helping and beta reading @artbylexie ❤️

Molly’s fingers lost their grip on her mobile phone and it clattered onto her kitchen counter. She jumped slightly but didn’t bother to pick it back up, instead covering her trembling lips with her hands while gulping back silent sobs.

As anyone tends to do after an emotionally charged conversation or confrontation, Molly began desperately trying to replay it in her mind; trying to solidify and retain the details as best she could and understand it all fully. And often, after an experience like that, one would naturally tend to bring to mind the things they wish they’d said in hindsight. But strangely enough for Molly...

Not this time.

For one of the first times in the many long and winding years of history with Sherlock Holmes, Molly felt an overwhelming sense of peace and relief. Which was at first perplexing to her, considering the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

As she sniffled in shakes breaths and swiped at her face to wipe the moisture away though, she began to realize that the tears weren’t so much sorrow as a simple emotional release. The sort of release that came from lifting a long carried weight from your shoulders and throwing it off along with all the cares that went with it.

No more regrets, nothing unsaid to haunt her during sleepless nights anymore. It was all spoken aloud, she realized while thinking about her end of the conversation. In fact, she couldn’t believe how much honesty had been packed into that tiny little phone call. She was blown away now when thinking of all that had tumbled from her lips without the benefit of forethought. Somehow just the right words had been said. Especially in comparison with some of the darker times in her past with Sherlock.

Is this one of your stupid games?

Why are you doing this? Why are you making fun of me?

I’m not an experiment, Sherlock.

You bastard.

You say it. Go on, you say it first. Say it. Say it like you mean it.

I love you.

Molly let out a heavy breath and actually laughed aloud for just a moment. Some more tears fell as her lips lifted in a shaky smile that was for nobody but her...and pride slowly began to swell in her chest, warm and comforting.

Toby wound around her legs and silently mewed up at her. She mindlessly bent to scratch his head for a moment while still contemplating all that had just happened. As she straightened up again, she glanced at the cup of tea and pushed it aside with a smirk, reaching instead for her celebratory red wine.

Molly poured herself a glass of the dark and velvety liquid and strolled out of her kitchen and toward the bathroom, Toby following at her heels.

“You coming too? Mummy’s going to take a nice bath,” she said with a smile.

She let out a contented sigh, leaning her head back against the rolled up towel serving as a head rest as she lifted an arm from the water, murky from the bath salts, to view the puckered skin that was developing on her fingers. She didn’t care though. Molly could swear she hadn’t felt this light and free in years.

Her heart had gotten a much needed restart that evening.

No, she didn’t believe that her love for Sherlock Holmes had magically flown away the moment the words had left his lips and hers. But there was an aspect of that love that had. The part that held her captive and left her forever deprived, wanting, and unsure. The part that made her wonder ‘what if?’ And the part that forever plagued her with whether she’d missed a chance that would never come around again. That was what she’d finally shaken off.

And it felt magnificent.

It was dark by the time Molly finally climbed out of the water, her limbs deliciously relaxed and her skin feeling luxuriously smooth, especially after she applied her favorite lotion. And she even slipped into something special to sleep in that night. She only chose to wear that silky button down sleep shirt when she was feeling especially confident and maybe even a little sexy. And somehow it felt really good to put it on tonight, turn off the lights in the rest of her flat, and slip under the covers of her bed early.

She propped herself up and set her mobile phone to play one of her more uplifting playlists as she also opened her laptop. And for some reason, her eyes almost instantly fell on a file saved to her home screen that was labeled, ‘Get Away.’

Molly smiled, wondering what better time there was than right now to do what she’d been half heartedly planning for months and months. Yes, she did need to get away. She needed a vacation and she had more than enough time coming to her, as well as money that had been set aside for her previously planned honeymoon that was never to be and she’d somehow never had the heart to touch it. Not until now.

And so she bought plane tickets and booked herself the beautiful vacation in Ireland that she’d so badly wanted, not feeling the need to check with anyone or find out whether the end of the month was a good time to leave or not. It was a good time for her, and finally that was what mattered.

All plans finally having been made, she shut her laptop with a contented sigh and turned off the music on her mobile. She scratched Toby’s head who was purring next to her and softly kneading the comforter, and then slowly sunk down to rest her head on the pillow as she shut off her bedside lamp.

Molly spared a moment then, in the quiet and darkness, to think of Sherlock. She wondered what, if anything, that phone call had done to him. There was a large part of her that didn’t believe he was wholly unaffected by their exchanged words. In fact, he really did sound like he meant it. Perhaps he did. Perhaps there was at least just a little corner of Sherlock’s heart that loved her just as she loved him. If so, that felt like more than enough. Either way, she refused to be plagued with the ‘what ifs’ anymore.

That night, Molly Hooper had no trouble drifting off to sleep.

She was awoken a while later though, feeling the mattress dip down slightly with the added weight of another person. After a brief jolt of adrenaline, Molly exhaled in relief...because she quite easily recognized that breathing pattern. She felt Sherlock scoot over under the covers, not far from her back, and then she heard him release a heavy breath. Molly didn’t turn at first, knowing the routine. Not to say that he slept with her in her bed every time he stayed at her flat, but when he did she knew how to act and how not to.

Years ago, the first time he’d climbed into her bed with barely a word, she’d begun questioning him rapid fire about what he was doing and what was wrong and should she move and was there anything he needed...and on and on. But he’d shut her down, not harshly but just firmly. He made it clear that he simply needed to be there. As the months and years passed she began to see more of a pattern. He joined her in bed when he was troubled, when things weren’t ok, when he wasn’t ok. And the idea that he needed space was a bold faced lie that she told others and herself. No, he didn’t need space.

He needed less space and more close contact.

Tonight though, Molly did consider turning and addressing his visit. It wasn’t just that she felt confident enough to do it, she actually felt entitled. But it ended up being Sherlock who made the first surprising move.

Molly’s breath hitched as she felt his arm encircle her middle and gently pull himself in flush against her back. At the same time he dipped his head, burying into the back of her neck and hair. The breathing that she felt against her skin was unsteady, and she began to realize that this wasn’t like any other time he’d hopped under the blankets beside her.

“Forgive me,” he murmured, hot against her neck.

Molly reached up and clutched at his arm around her, feeling how tense the muscles were.

“I do,” she whispered softly and nodded her head, and she felt his hold tighten with the bestowed forgiveness.

Molly didn’t want to stay just like that though, not anymore. With some effort, she turned over within his hold, facing him almost nose to nose. Her lips parted in a silent gasp when she did, because in the bit of moonlight she could see his eyes now; weary and worn from what looked like tears not long before.

“Sherlock,” she breathed, reaching up to place a hand on his cheek, thumb stroking the skin gently.

His eyes connected completely with hers then, and she saw something rather surprising. In some strange way, she saw another version of herself.

All that night she’d felt that this was a turning point; a time to let the demons from the past go and start fresh, no matter the brief suffering in doing so. What she hadn’t expected was to see the very same thing in Sherlock’s eyes. And it wasn’t just about them or their phone call. It was bigger. Bigger than both of them. Very possibly bigger than Sherlock was equipped to process at the moment, which he confirmed a split second later.

“Please, Molly, please don’t ask. Not tonight,” he requested in a whisper. “Please just...be here.”

Molly nodded silently which tipped her head forward a bit more, causing their noses to actually touch now. And suddenly, like a wave crashing over her from her toes to her head, she realized that she desperately wanted to do more than just ‘be there.’

He must have felt the same thing, because his hand began to slide from around her back to the curve of her waist, his fingers digging in a bit through the fabric of her sleep shirt. And then his face tilted forward…

At the first touch of his lips to hers, she actually felt him pull back momentarily, almost in the same way that you’d pull your foot back from overheated bath water. But in the same way that the pull to the warmth always wins out, coaxing you to step in fully despite the initial sting of the heat, Sherlock’s lips almost immediately came back for more, quickly overcoming the unfamiliarity to sink into hers completely.

Molly sucked in a breath through her nose as she anchored an arm around his neck and parted her lips in unison with his. He pulled her in tighter, kissed her harder, and even slid his hand down her hip to the where the hem of her shirt fell at her thigh. She hooked her calf around his to hold him that little bit closer.

“You did mean it,” she murmured almost incoherently in a brief separation between their mouths as Sherlock tilted his head to the opposite side, and she felt him nod in answer before he took her mouth again.

She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, kissing and clinging to each other till they were lightheaded and breathless. But finally, a stillness settled in again and they rested their foreheads together, sharing the same air while still holding tight.

“Sherlock,” she began in an unsteady whisper. And despite there being plenty of other statements and questions that would have been completely appropriate at the moment, that wasn’t what came out next. Perhaps those other things could be saved for tomorrow. Instead, she simply said…

“Wanna come to Ireland with me in two weeks?”

For a few moments there was silence, only the sound of Sherlock still catching his breath. Maybe the Molly Hooper from long ago would have instantly taken back the offer and apologized for even speaking the words. But not anymore. No more regrets, she reminded herself with a smile. And her patience was rewarded with his whispered answer a second later.

“More than anything.”

#sherlolly #mollock #It's Left Me So Undone #likingthistoomuch #prompt fill #sherlolly song fic #will post on ao3 soon #and can you believe that as I described how this scene would go to Lexie #she told me that she was in the middle of drawing their first kiss after TFP lying in bed!#great minds lol

234 notes · View notes

jarchieriverdale · 7 years

Note

I'm writing a Riverdale fanfic (Jarchie mainly, with Beronica on the side) which is one of my first proper fanfics ever. Any general tips or maybe even just tips for being brave enough to actually, you know, share it? I'm feeling so awkward about this entire thing!

Can I first start of with saying: so much kudos to you for wanting to put your fic up! Fandoms getting new fics and writers is always a huge YES because we always need more & definitely welcome it ^_^(This definitely ended up being really long, but I made a list further down if you don’t wanna read all my rambling. I’m not sure what specifically you’re feeling awkward about, but I covered a bunch of stuff :))

Reading this I was like, I’m probably not the best person to ask because I have really bad anxiety ?? but then I was like, actually, you know, that’s why I’m probably one of the best people to ask because HOW the HELL do I manage to do this despite that? And honestly it involves a lot of self-talk + bravery + a fuck-it-I’m-gonna-do-it-who-cares mood. And I have a feeling this post is going to be rather long, but I’ll just talk through my own experience and what I’ve told myself, and maybe it’ll help you (or someone else) as well. :D

(I decided to put this under cut IT’S SO LONG IM SORRY (& if you’re on mobile I’m even more sorry t_t)

I’ve actually been writing stuff for YEARS. I started fanfics in middle school, before that I was writing my own little stories. Little me in primary school and early middle school, so badly wanting to be a writer (I RP’d a lot between 07-10 as well). But I never shared my writing. SOMETIMES with close friends, if I bought up an original story and they were interested I would send it to them. Otherwise, I wasn’t about to share it with anyone. ESPECIALLY not my fanfics when I started. A lot of my earliest have gone unseen by the world (and myself for years). I’m sure this may apply to a lot of people if you’ve written stuff for years, regardless what type of writing it is. I don’t know if you’ve written other stuff before anon, but if you haven’t that’s okay because we all gotta start somewhere & if you want to share it right away that’s one hell of an achievement and damned awesome. On the other hand, if it’s taken a while, that’s great too. Either way, sharing can be one hell of an anxiety inducing situation.

Okay, so when it came to finally posting stuff up, I’d definitely been writing a while, but at this point I knew I really wanted feedback on my writing, and to see if people enjoyed it, so that was a huge factor in me sharing it online. I’d never find out what people thought if I kept it to myself forever. Critique can sometimes be tough (just before my ImperialRemnant account on AO3 I wrote fanfic elsewhere and definitely had “this sucks” reviews - which isn’t so much a critique, but actually being a dick because they weren’t helpful - and definitely had fics that did rather terribly - still do - but it’s all a learning process & you eventually get used to it).

It’s also important where you post it, AO3 would be best of jarchie and beronica, as well as tumblr. Fanfic.net usually does better with gen fics. They’re the only ones I use, although I have accounts on some other sites I still gotta go on.

So I’ll go through things you should remember if you’re nervous about putting up fics (and things I have to remind/tell myself constantly)::

1. I’ll start with the fact you’ll definitely get reviews/comments/critique like I said previously. But most people are REALLY REALLY nice, so don’t freak out (I tell myself, as I’m trying to rationalise), and I haven’t had anything terrible since making my ImperialRemnant account on AO3 or fanfic.net. And there are always times your fics won’t get any comments at all– and that’s fine too! I’ve had that happen to me, and in the long run, it doesn’t feel like a huge biggy??Also, sometimes people aren’t gonna like what you do and they’ll say that, but that takes me to a second point–

2. It’s not your problem if somebody doesn’t like something. This is really important to know. You wrote the fic because it’s a concept you wanted to write, and something you really wanted to share and that’s amazing. You put tags on everything in your fic, so the person will go in and know what to expect, so if somebody does say something, then it’s like… “it was in the tags/summary? Why did you read this then? Wtf?” then 0% your fault. (Tagging’s important guys! I do find it hard so if you do too then try! You’ll usually be fine).

3. In regards to quality of fic, there’s definitely is a lot of amazing stuff out there, and that’s overwhelming. But you gotta know, there’s a lot of bad stuff too. I hate to say it, because it’s the nice thing to say all fic is good, but the reality is that’s not true. Your fic may not be the best (hey it may be damn amazing I haven’t seen it xD), but there’s a damn good chance it’s not going to be the worst either. Say to yourself this fic isn’t terrible, it’s fine. Your quality will improve over time anyway when you grow as a writer (Lord forbid there’s stuff from a year ago I published and I’m like… why did I do that…but that brings me to the next point).

4. SOMEBODY WILL LOVE YOUR FIC, I GUARANTEE THIS. I didn’t know this at first but learnt it quickly and have to remind myself EVERY TIME. Even if, later, you’re going “oh god that fic was a dumb idea”, there will be someone, at some point, who will have loved it and enjoyed it and wished there was more. It may just be one or two people but goddammit your audience is always gonna start small, and if it stays that way it will always be worth it for someone (that someone can be yourself too!). The best feeling is when somebody gets excited from your updates (HUGE reason why people should leave comments if they love a fic, because there’s a lot of people who are passive readers even when they love love LOVE a fic & just leave a kudos, definite issue. But I hope as a fandom we can not be like that?).

5. Your writing is not going to be perfect to you, it’ll never be perfect, you’ll be sure there’s a way something could be written better, but maybe you don’t know how to make it better (especially if you don’t have a beta!). I never expect fics, when I go in to read them, to be perfect. No writer is perfect, even properly published writers. You’re going to have to tell yourself it’s the best you can do RIGHT NOW for THIS fic. Put it through an editing program maybe if it’ll make you feel better (I use prowritingaid sometimes?) or leave the fic and go through it later. It’s gonna be fine.

6. Don’t expect much at first. Sometimes first fics can be very successful for people, but there’s a shit-ton of people where this doesn’t happen and it takes a while. When I first put fics up on AO3 they only got less than 10 kudos or something? You will eventually write something that a lot of people may love, but it can take a while. I think… well I’ll give you an example with the Star Wars fandom– I first wrote TFA & Kylux on AO3 before The Force Awakens had even come out, so obviously I didn’t get a lot of attention. When the movie came out, there was few fanfics but I was already there so a lot of people would read my fics (dunno if they liked them, but since they were some of the ONLY ones that existed they didn’t have much choice ;P). If you’re writing fics in a growing fandom you might be more likely get more attention later on your fics, if only because there’s few choices. Some of my fics still have barely any kudos, but I have nearly 60 fics and they’re gonna be a hit or a miss (& they eventually gather more kudos overtime, so even the worst fics have at least a few). With Jarchie, I was actually surprised I got as many as I did, but this fandom’s in the process of growing and I assume a lot of people are reading all the new fics?? It’s probably good for you actually, to right now put a fic when people are reading it and into it.

6. It gets easier. Man, I ain’t even kidding, the first time I was putting up a fic I was freaking out like mad, going back and forth between the tag, mouse hovering over the publish button, re-reading a billion and ten times. It was ~kinda~ easier in a fandom where nobody was reading the fics because you definitely don’t expect much, but there were a couple of people who definitely enjoyed the series I was writing once I’d put some stuff up. And as time went on, it got much more easier. There’s a huge gap of time I didn’t put any fics up and it was hard to update again, but now that I did it, it’s once again easier to do it. I still have internal battles with myself over it, but it’s quicker to get over it and much easier to win.

7. I forgot a note so I’m just gonna add it quickly. But if you’re really weird about it, you can first send it to a friend to look over, or a mutual or something. Or, since I myself never could do that, just tell someone about the idea– and I suggest telling someone you know won’t make a negative comment about it. Sometimes a “that sounds interesting” or “that sounds cool” can be even a little helpful. If you’re lucky, might even go a long way.

Honestly, my mind goes through a whole lot of panic, and sometimes it just takes a good mental day, and some excitement about the concept of my fic, to be able to be brave enough to finally put something up. I usually have low expectations when I share it (being a pessimistic person by nature, so as not to disappoint myself), but I’m like… somebody’s gonna like it at some point, it’s not the worst fic I’ve ever seen, it’ll be okay. And if a fic doesn’t do well, then you just need to put it behind and move on (repress memories haha). Leave it up, don’t take it down, somebody may eventually come across it and love it, but there’s no harm done having fics that don’t do well. It might just be that it’s not gonna appeal to most people, and that’s okay.

At the end of the day your fic’s gonna be okay. There’s a bunch of amazing, unique, horrendously weird, terrible, awful fics out there and the last thing you need to feel is awkward. I know this ended up being a monster of an essay but I hope it’s helped, even a little.

tl;dr? No need to feel awkward, sit yo ass down and just fuckin’ do it. Shit’s crazy.

#Anonymous #writing help #feel free to add things #or tell me if it's helped #or just ask me some more questions im willing to answer!#about any writing stuff. Like. I double majored in also writing/literature and have been writing fanfics a while #and seriously guys I love to help i won't bite #I mean this post itself i was freaking over but im having an okay mental day #and the fact somebody's asked me a question I'm just like !!!!#ask

3 notes · View notes

psychic-refugee · 5 years

Text

Fanfiction Pet Peeves

These are just my opinions. I don’t name any specific author or story.

It seems like for the most part it is considered rude to post criticisms on fanfiction. I think as a community we’re trying to be more inclusive of all writing “styles.” I am a big believer in writing the story I want to tell, so I have to recognize that my style won’t be for everyone. I do think this is a positive direction, but I think it also cuts down on the responses/reviews people would get. I’m not opposed to it, but if this is what is considered the proper etiquette then we have to accept that we will not get as much feedback.

Now I know there is a difference between a criticism and a flame. I’m not saying we should allow flames.

I keep seeing all these posts about leaving a review, but I feel like we’re not giving them leeway to review. And sometimes, not leaving a review is a review. I always assume that if my hit count is higher than my review counts, then the difference are the people who didn’t like the story enough to review. Whether or not because they found it boring or hated it, that’s left a mystery.

I think with the advent of the “not beta read, all typos are my own” tag or warning, it’s basically telling the reader that they did some proof reading but for various reasons, they don’t have an editor basically. I think because fanfiction is a hobby for most of us, then it’s fair not to go that extra effort. Probably because I do it. lol. I try to get everything I can, but a few things always manage to slip by. So, most don’t take note or bother to mention typos unless it’s particularly egregious. The only exception I would make would be to writers whose first language isn’t English. I have come across stories where it’s clear there is something lost in translation and having a beta would be necessary.

E.g. a GOT fic where they called Gregor Clegane the “Enormity that Rides.” His nickname is the Mountain that Rides. I get that they maybe thought they were using a synonym, but in this instance, it doesn’t fit because Mountain that Rides is what he is known as, not necessarily a description.

I think it’s a fine line between something that is written well or poorly and personal taste.

There is just so much fanfiction out there, it’s hard to review them all. There have been many cases where I don’t even make it past the first chapter, the story just doesn’t interest me or there is something about it that is off putting.

Here are a few things that make me not want to read the story at all.

“I suck at summaries” and variations thereof: basically the author is bashing their own writing and they still want you to read. I don’t have time for that. If the author doesn’t have the confidence in writing a few sentences, I can’t imagine their actual writing being worthwhile. This is especially true for AO3 with its tagging system that can actually help give us an idea of what the story is about. There are thousands of fics written daily, I can’t read them all and this is part of the triage of me deciding to read something. The only time I may ignore this is if the OTP is exceptionally rare or the fandom is small. In those instances, I’m not as picky because I don’t have much to pick from.

I also wonder if it’s not some form of compliment fishing. Like they want you to feel bad for them for being insecure, and they want you to say “no, it’s great!” I have no patience for those type of people.

Overtagging: If a fic has a million tags, my eyes just skip over it. This usually isn’t a problem for normal stories, this usually happens because it’s part of an anthology. It just looks super obnoxious to me. I would rather they just start a new fic each time and tag accordingly. There are some who overtag, listing literally every character that may show up despite their actual contribution to the story. If a character is just kind of mentioned or seen in passing or is talked about as part of exposition, then I don’t think they need to be tagged. Character tagging is really for the main characters. If I’m looking for X and your story shows up, but X is just seen in one chapter and it’s not about them, then I’d be irritated. The same goes for any “Warning” tags. Over tagging just clutters everything up, and I personally can’t stand it.

I’m also not a fan of doing whole sentences as tags. “I wrote this when I should have been…” and variations of things that would do better in notes rather than tags. Like I’m never going to filter for whatever your inane excuse is for the writing the story in the first place. It’s just dumb, obnoxious, and unnecessary to me.

No proof reading: This is different than not beta read. There are some that outright admit that they haven’t proof read. Sometimes, they’ll say “I’ll get to it later,” which I don’t understand at all. It’s fanfiction, we do it for free. There are no actual deadlines, I don’t understand why they don’t proof read before they publish. Then there are those that say “not proof read” and leave it at that. I’d like to think I’m a decent writer, and my first couple of drafts are always pretty rough. Even with several rounds of proof reading, I still manage to miss things. Not even trying seems so lazy and arrogant. I feel like they’re giving me advanced warning to not bother.

What makes me stop reading after the first couple of chapters.

Format: If the format is off or makes it hard to read, I just can’t bother. There are writers who somehow are able to write on their mobile device. I don’t know if they just don’t have access to a computer, or perhaps don’t want to leave evidence of writing fanfiction. Either way, I respect that they have limited means, but I don’t want to read it. The worst is when they don’t put in hard returns, either for separate paragraphs or when writing dialog. Basically, they don’t include enough white space. Trying to keep track of where you are reading with a never-ending paragraph creates eye fatigue, and it takes away from enjoying the story.

Then there are writers who don’t use punctuation. There was one author that refused to use capital letters, ever. They cited E.E. Cummings as justification. Not only did I have a problem with this readability wise, the justification didn’t make sense to me. Like nothing about the story really spoke to me about using this particular syntax as a way of any meaningful expression. But that’s just my personal opinion.

Wiki Storytelling/Choppy writing: This happens when there are too many simple sentences, or the narrative feels like it’s just a summary. Like there’s little to no description of what the character was feeling or where they are. I’m not saying we all need to be G.R.R.M. or Tolkien, but I want more “meat” in my story than:

Mal was told to get the wand. Her three best friends went with her. They got into the limo, it was scary. They tried to steal the wand but set off the alarm.

This type of story telling is boring to me. I think we find this mostly with very young writers.

AUs of movies with no unique features: where the fandom characters replace the characters in movies and the writers basically rewrite more or less line by line what happened in the movie (e.g. Descendant’s characters in Legally Blonde). I feel like I could save time if they just told me “X movie but with Y actors.” Not only do I feel it’s a waste of time to read it, I would think it was a waste of time to write it. Like assuming we’ve seen the movie, we know what happens. If the replacement characters do nothing to add or alter the movie, then I don’t see a point of the story.

Anyone have any fanfiction pet peeves?

#fanfiction #pet peeves #opinion

0 notes