How it started vs how it’s going tag game for writers

I don’t know if anyone has done this, but I thought it would be fun for writers to share and compare their earliest fics with their latest, and tell us what has changed in between! Hopefully this game will give older fics some love too ❤️

Kicking off with mine:

It Would Be vs Seams

The biggest change in my writing style over the last year is the swing towards fluff and comedy. It Would Be is proper angst and conflict, whereas Seams is light and comedic. My fics definitely got (a lot) longer too!

Tagging: anyone who wants to share ❤️

Np tagging some mutuals to get started: @prolix-yuy @psychedelic-ink @mandoblowmybackout @the-scandalorian @jazzelsaur @radiowallet @iamskyereads @imaswellkid

I wish there were more of these, they’re all so true!

Synesthetes: I have discovered that creating a mature and usable plot tastes like amaretto and whiskey. The internet tells me that a cocktail known as the Godfather is comprised of equal parts amaretto and Scotch. Perhaps I will try it! Perhaps I will substitute Irish whiskey. Perhaps I will stop wasting time and go back to writing my things.

The goats were loose, and it wasn't my fault. This time. Maybe. Honestly I couldn't remember who had been there last. Was it me? Was it Holly? I can't be totally sure, but I was sure going to get hell for it anyway. Mr. Greks goats were his pride and joy. Kids left the gate open frequently and a goat or two escaped. But this time? This time they were all gone. Mr. Greks goats were also my responsibility. They were the summer job I needed, it was relatively easy. "Take a job caring for Greks goats," they said, "it'll be fun," they said. Now I was standing in the middle of the highway, baked out of my mind, wrapped in a sheet, in the middle of the night, trying to find seven goats before Grek gets back in three hours. Not fun.

This is not a post I wanted to write

But I don’t think sweeping this under the carpet is the right thing to do either.

Today, I came across a new fic on my dash that reminded me overwhelmingly of Palomino. I checked with several of my mutuals to make sure I’m not being oversensitive and imagining things, and the general consensus is there are more than a few similarities to give them pause.

I’ve been plagiarized before in a literal copy and paste manner. It nearly destroyed me as a writer and I stopped writing for years. To be clear, I’m not saying this is a case of plagiarism. But having to go anywhere near that memory is painful enough.

Disclaimer - I haven’t read the fic in full but my mutual has. The similarities are in the set up but not the story itself. So I want to believe in best intentions - as a recently new writer to the fandom, my biggest fear was (and still is) writing a fic idea that someone else already did without knowing. It might be purely coincidental, it might be the writer saw something about Palomino and the idea took root without them knowing. I don’t know.

I know I don’t own the idea of a reader going on a horse riding holiday they booked with their ex, or that the reader completely forgets she booked the trip but goes anyway because they already paid a deposit, or the idea of Jack as a dude ranch cowboy, or rider being paired with a palomino - but all these things put together made my stomach drop.

I’m not out to cause drama, but I’m not going to invalidate my own feelings either. I haven’t reached out to the writer because I don’t think I’m the one who has any explanation to give. I’m probably coming off as a sensitive, gatekeeping asshole, but just a reminder - if you’re ever inspired by something you read, I can guarantee you the writer would be thrilled if you reach out to them.

So I guess that’s that. Sorry for such a negative post so close to the holidays, but Palomino is so close to my heart, and it’s more than a little sore right now ❤️‍🩹

Me: Great, I have time to work on Palomino tonight -

My cat: Not so fast *sits on my hands*

Would you guys read a Javier Peña fic set on NYE that won’t actually be written by NYE this year 😭

I really wanted to finish it and post it ‘live’ by the end of the year but I just don’t think I have the time. I hate a wasted opportunity but this is the first Javier idea I've had that is actually sticking and I want to do right by it 😭

When an idea for a Frankie fic wakes you up at 4am and keeps whacking you in the face so you don’t get back to sleep at 6am on a school day 😒

Trying to edit Consent, but -

Jack just took his shirt off in Palomino part 2 👀👀👀 *distracted*

I was downloading all my fics from FF.net when I noticed that I started my last completed series (before I joined this fandom) almost exactly 16 years ago.

I was 18 when I started it and 24 when I finished it. Re-reading it now, there are definitely bits that I cringe at, but looking back at how far I’ve come - I’m so fucking proud of myself for picking up writing seriously again last year.

Never stop writing if it makes you happy ❤️

Screaming because all of your fics are so incredible, i keep going back and re-reading them since i can’t get enough of them. 🤍

Sweet anon, this is just the kindest message 🥹 I remember when I first started out in the fandom, and I only had It Would Be and Consent to my name, I thought to myself - I would love it if I could build up a solid collection of stories one day.

Looking at my masterlist today, I'm honestly so proud of the fics that I've been writing these past 16 months, and even more grateful for the support that you guys have shown me. If I stopped writing today, I'd be happy with what I leave behind.

Ok I got unexpectedly emotional answering this ask. Thank you for reading and for taking time out of your day to send me this lovely ask, anon, I appreciate you ❤️

Girl. You wrote 65k words this year. WTFFFFFFF HOW DID YOU DO THAT. HOWWWWWWWWWWW. I rarely ever complete one chapter because then I start hating it.

Sweet anon, this ask is taking me ✨places✨ so please bear with me.

First, the how - I wrote 65k this year because I love writing (and there goes my comparing brain again - I'm sure my word count isn't even that impressive compared to others). There's nothing like the high of an idea striking you out of the blue like lightning, that compels you to chase the storyline in your head until you have a whole fic written out in your mind, even if it's 4am in the morning. Every single fic I've written has come from a moment like that, and it can be addictive.

Now, I kind of get you on the hate part - ok, maybe hate is a strong word, but there are definitely parts of writing that I don't love. And a lot of it comes from my own personality because I can't do anything by halves. When I started writing again last year, I would obsess over every single word and spend a whole week editing, moving the needle one word or one turn of phrase at a time. In the early days, I think I'd re-read a fic 10-15 times for edits before I would even think about posting.

I've mellowed a bit since, but I still have an incredibly long and rigorous editing process that honestly isn't much fun. But that's the way I'm built - deep down, I know a certain word or structure of a sentence wouldn't make much of a difference to the reader, but I owe it to the story to make sure it's as perfect as I can get it, especially when it's a fic as important to me as Palomino. The last edit for the finale alone took me 2 hours as I read every single word out loud during final revisions.

Writing just takes so much out of me every single time. I know we're meant to have fun, that this is a hobby, but for me, it's also way more than that? Like, yes, it's a hobby, but it's important to me that I give it everything I got. So yes, the stress is self-inflicted, but it's just who I am, and I don't know how to write any other way. And at the end of the day, that’s why I’m proud of everything I write, and why I’ll stand by my stories no matter what. Because I know I gave it everything.

Ok I don't know where all of that came from, excuse the word vomit, but I guess what I want to say is that I'm sure many, if not most, writers have a complicated relationship with writing. Sweet anon, I hope you find a way to write without hating it, know that deep down, we all have some sort of an antagonistic relationship with writing that ultimately comes from a place of love.

Help please

How does one describe this gesture? I’m coming up completely blank 😩

Its strange how theres not even a courtesy to ask you like, "hey youre story inspired one similar of my own but still with my own ideas added to it, would you be okay with me writing it as long as i fully credit you and your fic that inspired it?"

Like its clear when someone has inspiration from another source for their own retelling of those ideas and thats fine thats how story telling evolves

But you personally are still owed the courtesy of being given credit for being that inspiration, and them having enough foresight to make enough elements their own creation to make it unique.

Just, people, if you want to write your own work inspired by or somewhat based on another writers work? There is a baseline respect you need to be directly and openingly giving and communicating with your audience and the orignal creator, so that you aren't just going behind peoples backs and making a beat for beat copy of another work and passing it off as your own idea entierly.

Its easy not to blatantly copy someone elses work, fellow writer. And at least have the common decency to check in with the person who creared the work you are heavily basing your own off of.

I hope that author at least has the courage to properly speak to you and understand why this upsests you.

I’m taking this ask as an opportunity to draw this matter to a close.

I have spoken to the writer in private, and they have told me that they have not read Palomino and the similarities in the set-up are purely coincidental.

I choose to take their word for it, but it doesn’t invalidate my feelings and I stand by my post.

While I have your attention, I want to suggest something that could hopefully be useful to some people. Personally, I always do due diligence before I start a new fic. If you’ve been following me, you know that I do votes for fic ideas from time to time. They are not only really fun, but it’s also an opportunity for me to vet the ideas and give people the opportunity to alert me if something very similar has been done before. If it has been, I could then reach out to the writer to ask if they’re ok with me writing something similar and to credit them properly.

Another thing I do is searching the tags to get a feel for stories already out there. Rae’s legendary Pedro Library is another amazing resource. A quick search for keywords takes minutes.

That’s just what I do to put my mind at ease, and thought I’d share ❤️

I know I'm supposed to be on my holiday break, but I missed cowboy Jack and I just wrote 500 words for the next chapter of Palomino and now I'm all warm and fuzzy inside 🥹

This is why I think it’s important to take breaks when writing a WIP (at least it is to me) - giving yourself the chance to miss your characters is a powerful motivator to keep going.

Cee! For your fic asks, LIK 😉

LJ YOU NAUGHTY (and I love you for it) 😉

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Oh god, TOO MANY TIMES. I used to be much worse, I could spend literally 12 hours editing a fic because I'd become so obsessed over every single detail. I've made myself spend less time on edits nowadays (because I don't have time lol), I would say I read over 4-5 times making edits before posting.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Jealousy is a huge guilty pleasure. I love writing jealousy, I love reading jealousy - I was quite a jealous person IRL when it comes to relationships (I've definitely mellowed out over the years) so no surprises where that guilty pleasure comes from!

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

For fics that I have written, It Would Be is the angstiest. Though we've also gotten quite angsty in Palomino recently.

For what's coming - Summer House is going to be. Angsty. As. Fuck. 😭 I was just thinking about it last night and I swear my heart was literally aching. I'm so sorry Frankie 😭

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