Superboy meets Danny

Ok. Let me explain my points here. First of all, Things these boys got in common:

Was cloned by a crazy billionaire (Match & Dani)

Has a father who doesn’t understand or is actively trying to stop/kill them

Trying their best to not be related to said crazy billionaire who cloned them

The crazy billionaire is also a villain

Rebellious teen

Has a trio friend group that (is partially) comprised of a tech geek and rich friend.

That’s all I can think of just at the moment! There’s so much more. These bitches would be a force to be reckoned with if they ever met.

Danny goes to Metropolis on a school trip. You know how some American schools will have a weekend trip to DC? Every year the Juniors in the school have the opportunity to go to Metropolis.

Danny’s parents happily give Danny the money and permission to go.

With the only drawback that you have to write a paper on the history of how superheroes changed america, Danny was ecstatic to go.

Danny, Dash, Sam, and Tucker are all put in a team to explore Metropolis and collect information for their paper. Their first stop: An impressive viewing deck on the top of a 30 story building that has a good view on the city's skyline that was streamlined so Superman could have easy access to rooftops and all building entrances.

The four are on the viewing deck and taking photos of the view and informational plaques when Intergang attacks the building they’re in with Apoklyptian tech.

One of their gizmos is like a flamethrower on steroids that’s able to shoot a stream of fire dozens of stories high. Within minutes the first 10 stories are completely engulfed in flame. Danny, not wanting to expose his secret identity to Dash, tells everyone to shout for Superman because he supposedly helped people in distress who shouted his name.

Superboy shows up a minute later. Not who they expected but they weren’t picky with who was saving them with over half the building engulfed in flame and no escape in sight.

Danny is super casually talking to Superboy and flirting back and forth as they’re flown down to the street. Dash is confused because Danny Fenton, the kid who he beats the shit out of on the daily and has no bitches, is chatting up Superboy like they’ve known each other for years, and Dash knows damn well that they’ve never met before. Danny can’t make friends with a superhero before him so Dash tries to do his cool guy act on Superboy.

Dash probably shouldn’t have tried to insult someone who was a superpowered teen and flying him hundreds of feet above solid ground because Superboy did NOT like that. He shot down Dash with insults so scathing that Dash is pretty sure the rest of his entire bloodline won’t be able to recover.

After that Dash knew to simply shut up as Superboy brought the rest of the crew to the ground. Just before he was about to leave, Superboy slipped Danny a piece of paper, winked, and mimed “call me” before flying off.

…Did Danny just score a date with THE Superboy?!

Well, not a date per se, but Danny DID get Superboy’s number. They met up as much as they could over the weekend that Danny was in Metropolis and quickly became fast friends.

These two are an incredibly tight duo who are some of the most mischievous motherfuckers ever when left to their own devices.

One of those times is when they convinced Tucker to hack into the Batcomputer. Superboy told him what he knew and Tucker went to work.

Twenty or so minutes later, Barbara and Tim are freaking the fuck out because they were both on monitor duty and someone hacked into the batcomputer. After panicking and tracing back the hack, they take over the hackers computer camera and see Superboy and another black haired teen triumphantly cheering while the boy who apparently infiltrated the batcaves computers, was holding his head in his hands mockingly at the two superpowered kids' actions.

Tim and Babs realize that this wasn’t a malicious attack and instead just a couple of insanely competent idiots having fun. If these guys can have fun why can’t they?

Babs infiltrates the computer that has shockingly insanely well crafted cyber security. She changes the lockscreen and every tab open to an image of Red Robin getting fucking beaned in the skull with a jug of juice. Tucker responds 15 minutes later on the batcomputer with a low angle photo of himself and Superboy flipping off the camera. At the far top of the image is Danny crawling upside down on the ceiling, feet and fingers embedded into the bumpy surface. His eyes glowing a bright green and looking like an eldritch abomination.

This starts one of the strangest friendships that Tucker has ever had. Actively hacking into eachothers computers to send back and forth increasingly elaborate shitposts and enhancing their firewalls with each breach of security. Danny actively repairs ghost nations, ghost politics, ghost relations, and completes a BUNCH of ghost king related activities he normally would have hated for the sole purpose of getting specific ghosts together to create the new shitpost of the week that they would send to Oracle and Red Robin.

Batman finds out only because Superboy let it slip. “Got through to your stupid batcomputer three times this week! You’re slacking Gordon.”

In all honesty, Batman thinks it’s fucking halarious. His kids managed to find the nerdiest possible way to make friends and they’re making massive improvements on the Batcomputer and Watchtower’s security. If these kids ever DO become a threat… Batman knows exactly where they lived and has an armed satellite at the ready.

Now that Batman knows, Superboy gets Red Robin and Impulse together to meet the Phantom trio. I need you guys to picture this: It’s a cozy family owned diner. Warm oranges, reds, and tans cover the inside of the building. A very sweet looking mid 40s lady with her hair in a bun and an apron around her waist, walks over to a corner booth and asks the customers what they would want to eat.

At this table: Danny, Sam, and Tucker all are wearing their casual everyday clothes sit at one side of the table while talking animatedly to the trio on the other side of the table: Red Robin, Impulse, and Superboy, all in their full superhero uniforms, are talking just as excitedly right back at the Phantom Gang on what to order.

So Sam. Sam would be amazing with Tim. Imagine the amount of eco-friendly ideas she could propose to Tim to better the public's view of WayneTech. With Sam’s help, Tim launches a campaign to fix infrastructure and do a HUGE plant based rehabilitation plan to help reduce smog and add greenery to Gotham. Tim hires Poison Ivy to help with the enhanced growth of trees and gardens around Gotham and it goes extremely well. Poison Ivy commits bioterrorism for the betterment of the environment after all, they remove the terrorism bit and just keep the bio, she isn’t that bad. It’s amazing because that means there’s one less villain on their asses all the times tearing up Gotham.

Sam also absolutely gives everyone makeup lessons and fashion tips to embrace their own personal aesthetic better.

Tucker is super good friends with Tim and Impulse. He somehow can keep up with Impulses talking and the pair will spend hours excitedly infodumping each other. Tucker chatting with Tim about tech and some improvements that they could send to the engineering division of WayneTech. The amount of chaotic bullshittery Tucker will do with the two is unparalleled.

Danny is extremely good friends with Impulse and Superboy. Superboy and him bond over their experiences and powers. They go on bi weekly night flights to brainstorm pranks and insults to throw at their respective villains. Danny is able to also keep up with Impulse's excited speech and they give each other tips on how to control powers granted to them by all powerful other dimensions.

idk this ends my rambling but I just… Danny would be such good friends with Superboy. If you want to go romantic, they would be an incredible couple. The flirting and nonstop jabs could absolutely be simply bros being bros but I genuinely think these two could have a very solid romantic connection with each other if you want to go in that direction. Their backgrounds are so very similar, their personalities would mesh together extremely well, they’re vigilantes so no worries about endangering a weak civilian, and you cannot tell me that Danny wouldn’t steal Connor’s jackets even if he wasn’t in a relationship with him.

In the far future I truly believe they would stay friends. When Danny reveals to Impulse and Robin that he’s actually a ghost and the photos they were sending to the batcave were honest to god images of another dimension, it certainly causes momentary panic and chaos but it quickly settles into acceptance. How on earth Robin or Impulse would react to the Ghost Zone I am completely unsure. If someone else wants to add onto this with that concept you can surely go for it. All I do know is that their awe and wonder of this brilliantly strange and odd dimension that their friend (who’s apparently the ruler of?! What?!?!) lives in. They all use the GZ as a sort of hideaway when things get complicated and too much in the mortal plane. They all have little rooms in Danny’s lair that they are free to crash in at any time.

This offer may spread to everyone else too. Connor invites Danny and the rest of Young Just Us over to the Kent’s farm to enjoy some incredible homemade meals and to take their mind off things to focus on chores around the farm. Tim invites the group over to Wayne Manor for their assistance on difficult cases (if the research session turns into a Mario Kart tournament or movie marathon, that’s between them and Alfred)

I am very much so unsure how to end this so I’ll just say this: Danny’s life changed for the better and no matter what he does, he can never escape “are you an angel?” jokes.

Hi, I wanted to say first that I love your blog, thank you for modding it!!

As for my question, it's this: I have written my fair amount of fanfiction, but it's always been one-shots, and normally quite short (my longest fic right now is 11K, and my mean length is probably 5K). But now I've decided to give a longfic a shot, because I have a plot idea that I really like and that I want to expand on.

But that means that for the first time I'm having to deal with a plot that has to make sense, and delayed gratification (normally it never takes more than a month between starting to write and posting). And I'm having issues with motivation and focus. The fact that it has been a month and I haven't finished the setup is eating away on my will to write.

Any advice??

First of all, congratulations on having such a big idea! That's very exciting indeed :)

When it comes to writing out a big idea, you have more than just one option in front of you. If you want to write it all out as one long story, you can definitely do that. But you also have the option of writing it out as a series of shorter stories. This might be useful if your current way of writing works best with shorter works.

Another thing to consider is not writing all of it. What I mean by that is, how much of the set up is necessary from the reader's perspective and how much of it is you solidifying your own ideas for yourself ahead of digging into the plot? If writing the set up is something that you enjoy, then by all means go right ahead. But if you're just doing it because you think you have to, then skip it. A lot of the heavy lifting can be done with your summary and tags and even an author's note if you want to go that route and a lot can be left unsaid or revealed as you write the out your plot.

If you want to write one big story, then staying motivated will definitely be a factor and something that will depend on where you get your motivation from. If you need support from your community, then I recommend posting snippets (for example, on Six Sentence Sunday or WIP Wednesday).

If you get energy from discussing your story with others, then get a cheer reader or two from amongst your friends - people who can read it when it's still a draft and have those conversations with you.

If you're more motivated by metrics, then give yourself celebrations for completing chapters, hitting specific word count goals, or getting in a solid chunk of writing time during the week.

And no matter what, I really recommend celebrating when you write a line or a scene that gets an emotional reaction out of you. If you manage to make yourself laugh or cry or experience heartache or rage, then enjoy that moment and record it in some way. Possibly with a journal entry (if you're a journalling type) or by selecting a quote and creating a graphic for it. Or even just by writing it out by hand on nice paper or recording it in a voice note. Treasure that moment and it can really help to keep you going.

This is getting long despite me generally being a short writer myself lol, so I'll pass it off to others. How do you stay motivated and keep writing when you're in the midst of a long fic and haven't started posting yet? What tips can you share?

Fic Writer Tag Game

My first AO3 fic was posted back in June, of this year, so some of these answers are going to be embarrassing. Most of my AO3 catalogue is oneshots and drabbles, but let’s do this! Thank you @asirensrage for the tag!!

How many works do you have on AO3?

12

What’s your total AO3 word count?

78,540

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

6 – Bandom (My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold, Falling In Reverse, Taylor Swift) / Buffy The Vampire Slayer / Fast & Furious / DC Extended Universe (Batman V Superman, Justice League) / (The) Suicide Squad / Marvel (The Avengers)

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Keeping Us Down Is Impossible – The Suicide Squad (2021) / Rick Flag x Reader / Oneshot / Summary: You’re on a mission with a new team, thinking about your original team, only to find out part of that team is here. One thing is clear: You are going to survive this mission, and so is Rick Flag. / Kudos: 42

Things Are Getting A Little Hazy – Buffy The Vampire Slayer / OFC x OMC / WIP / Summary: Grace Blackburn’s great destiny was to give Angel a choice, and his decision sets the future for Sunnydale. With visions of the end and the formation of strange friendships, Grace navigates the new direction her life has taken while trying to convince her new brooding vampire bestie that he can be happy. AU after BTVS Season 3 & ATS doesn’t exist. / Kudos: 5

One Step At A Time – Fast and Furious / Jakob Toretto x OFC / Oneshot / Summary: Everything around them is being destroyed, and all they have is a moment. Just this one moment. / Kudos: 3

Memento Mori – DCEU (Post Justice League) / Bruce Wayne x OFC / WIP / Summary: Ryan Lopez should be six feet under, or at least be reduced to ash along with her former life. Instead she was trapped in the corporate world of Gotham, with nothing but cryptic messages from a grandfather she never knew and a soldier who acted like her butler. Not to mention that there was something very wrong with that Bruce Wayne guy. / Kudos: 2

Mistakes – Suicide Squad / Rick Flag x OFC / Oneshot / Summary: Rev waits at Belle Reve for Rick to return from a meeting, and not just because she wants to see him in his too-tight suit. (But also so she can see the way he looks in his too-tight suit.) / Kudos: 2

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, because I like letting readers know that I read their comments and appreciate that they took the time to leave a comment.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

That would be a oneshot, Washing Away Reality, in the DC (Batman) fandom.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really? Two of my fics crossover, but they’re both in the same DC Universe so I don’t think that counts.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don’t have any posted, yet, but I do write it. The kind depends on the fic and the character perspective I’m writing in. Sometimes it’s more vague, some scenes focus more on the emotion of the moment, and others are more graphic.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I’m not even sure how to answer that. Out of all the fandoms? I definitely can’t choose. Out of my current fics? My all-time favorite ship is probably Grace Blackburn (OFC) and Eliot Greenwood (OMC), from my BTVS fic Things Are Getting A Little Hazy. Their relationship is practically destined.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

My band fic, Soundtrack Of The Revolution. It’s planned out, all 400 chapters of it, but I’ve been working on it for a decade. I’m not giving up, but we’ll see if it ever gets completed.

What are your writing strengths? What are your writing weaknesses?

Someone who’s read my stories would have to tell me my strengths, because I have no clue. I just ramble sentences onto a word document and hope that it makes sense. My weaknesses would probably be my descriptions. I overly describe things and occasionally go off on tangents, which causes my chapters to be ridiculously long. I consider that to be a weakness.

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

I try not to do it, because I’m only fluent in English, but I will write dialogue in another language with the help of Google Translate. If I get it too wrong, hopefully someone will correct me. When I can though, I prefer to just mention that the character is speaking in another language without having to actually write the other language because I don’t want to butcher it.

What was the first fandom you’ve written for?

This question hurts my soul. The very first fandom? It would have to be a band fic, probably Avenged Sevenfold, way back in about 2006. Thankfully, all of those fics have been lost to time and will never be read by anyone ever again. Knowing that helps me sleep at night.

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

This is such an unfair question, because how do I pick just one? My favorite fic, that I have personally written, isn’t posted under this name so it’ll have to remain a mystery. My favorite fic that I’ve written under this name, has to be Soundtrack Of The Revolution. Yes, it’s a band fic even though those stopped being popular over a decade ago. I also realize the irony of my favorite fic being the fic that I'm not sure if it'll ever be completed. It’s the most self-indulgent fic that I have ever written, and I’ve been working on it off-and-on since 2009. Seeing how it’s changed and what has remained the same over the years is mind-blowing, and I truly love the story and the characters. So, yeah, it’s my favorite.

Tagging: @wordspin-shares @thecharmedburrowspn-files @lokitrasho @reggiemantleholdmyhand-tle @darknightfrombeyond @stanshollaand @captainrcgers @jinxsflame @jewelswrites-ish @hiddenqveendom

20 Questions, Writer’s Edition

Thanks for the tag @totchipanda !!

How many works do you have on AO3?

Um, I have two accounts. 1 is SFW, one is NSFW. 2 on the NSFW, 3 on the SFW, and I think 3 on FF.Net but I can’t get back into the account :( Not sure if I’m willing to link the NSFW account to this username yet...

What’s your total AO3 word count? 

Adding the two accounts together, just under 20k.

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

Some are posted, some are not yet, most may never see the light of day.

Published: Star Trek: TNG, Spirited Away, Jupiter Ascending, Grishaverse (specifically Six of Crows)

Unpublished and might never be, as I’m not currently active in the fandoms and/or they were terrible tweenager OC fics: Lord of the Rings, Magi: Labyrinth of Magic, Moribito: Guardian of the Sacred Spirit, Asklepios (whee, obscure manga!), Attack on Titan, Kotoura-San, One Piece (for like a hot second), Hunter x Hunter, Escaflowne, Trigun

I have like, so MANY other fandoms I’ll also read for. Which might mean I’ll also write for them at some point. <_<

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I actually only have 5 fics total between two accounts so I’m just going with the top on each. (I promise I’ll finish the 7ish WIPs once my life settles back down a bit more (I hope) by next month.)

Um, currently one of the E-rated ones. >_> (Over 125!! Squee!)

On the SFW account:  Collar (Jupiter Ascending)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? 

Almost always, unless I have some reason I don’t want to engage--e.g. spoilers or the commenter totally missed the point and I’m trying to be cordial.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? 

Um, probably Collar? My fics tend to not be angsty. More FEELS than anything, but the angst usually has a tidy wrap-up before the real ending.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written? 

Yes, though it was just outlines. I think it was Escaflowne/Hunter x Hunter?

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thank heavens no! But I fully expect to with a future one as one primary OC is an abortionist. 

Do you write smut? If so what kind? 

eheheheh. um. yes. F/M, might consider specific M/M ships in the future but not totally sure. I seem to enjoy putting my characters in funny-but-also-emotionally-resonant sexy situations.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

AFAIK, no, and I better not find any.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

No but I’ve had a beta save my sorry ass.

What’s your all time favourite ship? 

Honestly, I think Kanej might be it. Like, possibly forever. Even if I move on at some point they will hold a special place in my shipper heart. I’ve had SO many OTPs though. Royai, EdWin, Janeway/Chakotay, and Vash/Meryl are up there as well.

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

Seven Monsters, Seven Gods. It was supposed to be a sprawling continuation fic for Jupiter Ascending that involved Stargate-like universe-bending shenanigans, and also professors who are not what they seem. I would have had to write it in college but the moment’s past.

What are your writing strengths? 

Eerie little personal details about characters that make them relatable and all too human. (I hope.)

What are your writing weaknesses? 

Finishing shit. Also, complex plots are something I need to develop. Not abusing commas and em-dashes. Run-on sentences (fuck you, Cicero, you ruined me).

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

If you can get a native speaker to help you, then hell yes. Otherwise, you damn well better be pulling it from a well-vetted source to be respectful. Specific words and phrases are find for extra color in a story, as long as you’re being mindful. (e.g. I usually use names of specific dishes for a culture)

What was the first fandom you wrote for? 

TNG, but I never published it. I had SUCH a crush on Wesley Crusher at 12 and it was a terribly indulgent Mary-Sue fic.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? 

Of the published ones? The erotica that currently has the most kudos. Even if one of my writer buddies still roasts me over specific historical details (we are writing equivalent periods 20 YEARS APART, my dear).

Of the unpublished, I’m loving writing one with a plot device OC who started off as mirror-universe me and got worse from there.

Tagging @voidfishersong, @bigwidogastenergy, @adhdchaosgremlin, @xandrei, @sloppywetbread, @loudsilence99

17! 18! 30! 32! 38! <3 <3 <3

Thank you for these! 🥰 17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback? I don’t. Well, not immediately. I try to distract myself for at least half an hour to an hour after posting because by the time I post I’ve already gone mental from finaFinalreRerereadFiNaldefDEFDEF.def x34 and I need to calm down. But after that I compulsively refresh AO3 (for the Beth/Rio tag) and depending on the time of day I start replying to comments or wait for it until morning. I don’t re-read my own fic until at least the day after (and inevitably fix some v obvs spelling mistakes I got blind for during edits). 18. Do you have a WIP that you keep telling yourself you’ll eventually get back to, but deep down you know that’s probably a lie? A little while ago I would have maybe said Wild at Heart, but I recently started editing the new chapter and now I’m feeling that story again (I got a bit lost with it over season 3, and it’s a long fic I’m not really used to writing – I had no oversight in my notes and outline and ugh). I think when I do publish it might have a bit of a different tone, especially because I think I progressed a lot over the past six months as a writer. But I have by now accepted that I will never re-write those earlier chapters, so I’m just going to move on and continue the story. BTW. If someone can recommend a/their Word Processor to get a better oversight in longer WIPs, please do! There’s no published WIP I won’t get back to from what I see now. I have a few in my WIP-folder that are a lost cause, main reasons are either because I either forgot I wrote it to begin with, or because I don’t like my style or plot anymore. 30. Post a snippet from you’re a current WIP without context - no more than 300 words. From a WIP I definitely won’t abandon, but one that’s also taking me crazy long to write (because world-building):

Annie swallows everything down, but keeps the bowl of candies protectively close to her chest. “I can’t believe they reached out to you twenty years later,” she says, plopping down next to Beth. “I can’t believe they subpoenaed me.” Annie sits up. “Technically they summoned you—” Beth gives her a look that immediately shuts her up. “You know, it’s good they did. They probably got a notification that you got rid of your Dean-shaped baggage and thought: Presto Matcho, and let’s go!” “Maybe I don’t want to be matched up.” “Relax, sis. Just go out on a date, get those cobwebs cleaned out if he’s a seven or up, and move on with your life!” “Annie!” “You’re right, maybe don’t be that picky, make it a six.” Beth’s all fired up to blow a gasket when a man with a bird tattoo sprawled on his neck enters the waiting room, accompanied by a dark-haired woman in a suit. They’re in a heated discussion, going through a pile of papers that’s full of marked segments and bookmarks. Beth’s getting a bit lost in thought, looking at him when she feels Annie leaning her head on her shoulder. “I served him too,” she whispers in Beth’s ear, pulling her back into reality again. “You!” she hears the guy say, pointing at Annie, who immediately throws her hands up in defense, totally forgetting she was holding the candy bowl which immediately tumbles onto the ground, scattering its contents over the floor. “Hey, I’m just here for my sister, don’t come at me bro!” she tries to laugh it nervously away. He doesn’t think it’s funny. But his gaze lingers on Beth a longer time than might be appropriate before turning his attention back to the woman beside him. 32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from? I can have different favorites varying on the week / day. It usually changes when I post a new fic. Sometimes I’m not even super in love with a line when I post it, but it grows on me when I re-read later. So just three random ones: Regardless of his repeat observation of ‘you’re so tight, baby’, she’s definitely not going to indulge him with the Snoozefest Saga of her sex life of the past decade.  – from Stuck in the Middle It’s a decision he almost immediately regrets. Apparently, Elizabeth is very convinced of her (faulty) navigation skills. And mind you, he has an essentially AI-worthy navigation system build into his (“Is this what you drive? Don’t you think it’s a little… out there? Like, surely you don’t really need something so preposterous to arrive in?” she had laughed cutely after that, but he felt slapped in the face – and not the kind he might be paying her for) G-wagon. – from The Girlfriend Experience “Yeah,” he smiles. “We real good friends too, aren’t we?” he says suggestively. (It’s just, he can’t help it, knows it’s dumb and petty but ugh. He’s suffered through Mick’s eye-rolls enough after returning from a No Elizabeth Murder Night again. The other guy casually looking up from polishing his custom ninja throwing stars - don’t start about it, it’s a whole thing, and Rio’s convinced the man can’t even get them into a wall a three feet away if he wears that one jacket - waiting for Rio to cock his head and ask: “What?” “Nothing,” he had replied, dipping a cloth into the jar of polish. “’Nothing’?” Rio had repeated – a little more petulant than he intended. “What are you, my wife?” Ever so slowly, the corners of Mick’s mouth had turned upwards. “Heard spot’s taken.” Rio may have keyed Mick’s car that night.) Beth smiles back stiffly. - from I See Your True Technicolors I don’t know, I really like doing these kinda scene-in-scene (or sentence) things, I don’t know if this has a name. 38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)? Hmm that kind of depends what part of the process we’re talking about. Let’s roughly break that up in three parts: 1. Working out the idea (8/10): Really, really chaotic. This is just days or weeks of just flashes of ideas and plotpoints and lines of dialogue shooting through my brain. Haphazardly writing those down in various docs, on paper in between my work notes, or in the notes on my phone. When I finally know the rough outline of the story I go into; 2. Writing the fic (4/10): I’m a super chronological writer, I really move from scene A to B to C until I finally arrive at Z. But when I start writing I often only really know A, D, E, J, O, Q, Z – the rest will just grow or appear organically as I write. Sometimes it does mean I won’t write for a few days because I circle back to step 1 for a certain scene. A good example is the Artic Hunter Fairytale Beth tells Jane in Chapter 2 of  I See Your True Technicolors. I knew up front I was going to write a scene where we would see how this seemingly unweighted moment for Beth – she’s just telling a nighttime story – had a massive impact on Jane. There were some themes and motives I felt like needed to make an appearance: the more tangible reason of Jane’s quest, how young kids often hold their parents’ word as truth, and I needed it to be a true heartfelt moment between Beth and Jane. But before I wrote the first line of that scene I had no idea that would be the scene that it became.  So I do outline a bit, but I need to create enough room for myself for moments like that to happen. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about writing. It’s a bit of an organized mess within a tighter frame/outline. 3. Editing (7/10): I’ve really been perfecting my Editing skills over the past 6/7 months  – it’s not perfect, but you live and you learn. I spend more time working on the fic after I ‘finished’ it, really ramped up the spelling and grammar checks (I love you Word editor, but I also hate you), and take more and more care to make sure that all my dialogue feels IC ánd distinctive enough per character (especially the latter I feel like lacks in earlier WAH chapters). So, work in progress, but I feel pretty confident in this one.   Again, thanks for sending these! <3

Saw the tweet you just posted. You don't have to answer all of them if you don't want to, because I'm submitting a lot... "40 questions - meme for fic writers": 4 - 7 - 8 - 11 - 13 - 17 - 18 - 37 - 38

Thanks Anon! I’ll put the answers here and on twitter (I’m bunysliper there, too) if you’d like: 4. How many fic ideas I’m nurturing right now: So I have a document where I’ve written down ideas/prompts that I think I might write at some point in time. Right now it has.... 24 on it. Around 8 of those are 2x24-based, haha. One that I’m excited to get to, though, is a cute post-Last Call oneshot where Caskett spends some time together exploring the tunnels under The Old Haunt.

7. A snippet of my favorite piece of prose: I put a little explanation on twitter, but this is from echoed on your skin: “He's about to turn twenty-six the day she asks what he thinks of being matched, both in general and to her. It's the first time they have acknowledged their situation to one another, and the short conversation that follows bolsters his spirit; having a Soul Match is odd for them both, but they will make it through.

Just weeks later, he finds himself giving her a hard time about the compass rose tattoo that appears on his hip. It is small, not what he would have chosen for himself, and at first he is a little perturbed to know it will be on his body forever. As time goes on, he likes the idea behind it more and more; the shared compass orients them toward one another.

He finds that comforting, grounding. Even as his professional life takes off, his popularity grows, and he becomes something of a golden boy in some literary circles, the marking on his hip is a reminder that there is more to him than that. He has a Soul Match he will one day meet.

Still, he can't help but push the envelope a bit. He doesn't just sign books, he scrawls his name against skin, hoping to one day see that signature echoed on his own body.

A year passes, and it never does.” 8. A snippet of my favorite piece of dialogue and why: So I went with the first piece of dialogue that popped into my head, from Just the Essentials:

“"What the hell is that?"

Heads have been turning ever since he stepped foot into the precinct with his cargo, but this time the looks – along with Esposito's question – stop him mid-stride.

He's been preparing what he's going to say for the last eight blocks, he's got this.

"What do you mean?" he asks, feigning innocence. Always start with innocence. Never admit guilt until necessary. "Beckett said make a run for food. I'm supplying nourishment to keep us going as we work this case. I got beef lo mein, I got moo shu pork, I got sesame chicke–"

"And a dog," his wife supplies, crossing her arms over her chest, one eyebrow jumping high enough on her forehead to blend in with her hairline. "I'm sorry, two dogs."

"I also got your favorite," Castle deflects, bouncing on his toes. "The spare ribs."

"Castle, the dogs?" Kate prompts, not to be deterred by his sidestep.

"You did say the essentials, didn't you?"“

I like it because it just feels so quick and snappy and I could picture it happening.

11. Is writing my passion or just a fun hobby? It’s a combination of both. For now, it’s a very passionate hobby. That said, maybe sometime in the future it’ll be my passionate career.

13. Best piece of writing advice and why: Just write. Get it all out. The rest - the editing, the fixing stuff, all of that, will happen later.

17. Do I write a story from start to finish or do I write the scenes out of order: I’m a really linear writer, so 99% of the time, I go from start to finish. There are some times when I’ll get inspiration for a scene that goes later and I’ll write that down, but that’s not typical for me.

18. Do I use any tools like worksheets or outlines? For most of my multichapters, I outline so that I won’t forget where I want the story to go in the time it takes me to get there. For oneshots, I just go with it (though if I want to keep an idea, I’ll write one or two sentences about it so I won’t forget it).

37. Talk about my current WIPs: Of the stories/ideas I’m actively working on, I have the multichapter that I teased a couple of times - it’s a continuation of a oneshot that I posted a little bit ago. I outlined it to 18 chapters and I’m working on chapter 3 now so I’ll hopefully start posting that soon. I also have a season 3 fic that I started around Christmas time, so it’s a more Christmas-focused story. And I’m also trying my hand at writing a drabble/double drabble/vingette style thing for every episode. I’m up to 2x03 now, so once I get a few more, I’ll start posting that one. Oh! I have a fic I teased a long time ago but keep stalling on that’s a pre-series AU based on Castle and Beckett meeting online. I also have The Perfect Pairing, another meeting/job AU based on Beckett and Castle bonding over wine and movies. And I have a few other oneshots/prompt responses/continuations that I’ve got a few hundred words on respectively.

38. A review that made my day: All reviews make my day, but the ones that I really love are ones that tell me I changed someone’s mind (about a character, an idea, an ep, etc).

ten questions tag | i was tagged by: @mshelleys, @emdrabbles, @pe-ersona, @evergrcen and @septemberliterature. thank you so much, and i’m so sorry i’m getting to this so late!

everything is under the cut!

@mshelleys

i. if you could change the genre of one of your wips, what would you change it to and how would the story/characters change?

So, trahison already features a ghost and a brief stay at a manor. have i considered turning it into a full fledged horror because of that? perhaps.

ii. do you think of your characters as actors playing a part in a movie or as people in history actually doing things that effect the future?

i think of them as actors playing in one long, crazy, unpredictable play. 

iii. role swap your protagonist and antagonist but keep their personalities the same; how different would your story be?

honestly, not different at all, because when it comes to it, the subject of trahison’s antagonist (s) is pretty complex. 

iv. are any of your characters based on you, family, friends, or someone else you know?

oh, absolutely. my characters range between self inserts, to characters i wish i was more like, to characters that are essentially walking, talking, breathing love letters to the people i care about.  

v. how long have you had your main protagonist(s) of your wip(s)?

I’ve been working with marin, nate and ruby for years, long before they were even called that and were a part of a dystopian crime novel (don’t ask). antoine joined them soon after, followed a while later by beth and isadora, and miles was invented during the plotting stage. 

vi. do you prefer to write chronologically or just make a bunch of scenes and order them after they’re written?

it depends on what i’m working on and how serious i am about it, but if we’re only talking about trahison, then chronologically!

vii. imagine the problem in your wip is sorted out, how would the protagonist recount the story to their children if they asked?

with a far away look in his eyes and an uncharacteristic fondness in his voice, marin would turn to his children, and tell them how extraordinary his friends were during his university years—their zeal, their inquisitiveness, and conveniently leaving out the uncomfortable loyalty they all had towards each other, until time and life’s commands separated them. 

viii. favorite (non-spoilery) line(s) of your current wip(s)?

This small bit of description, albeit a little purple prose-y, is one that i’m very, very proud of.

“ The morning rain had made its grave in the dirt, the bittersweet smell—like exotic black tea—rising into the air. It was the night pluviophiles came to dance. If I think hard, I can still taste the ghost of the raindrops on my tongue and sense Beth’s radiating warmth beside me; its own ghost ” - trahison, chapter three

ix. if your wip was a movie, could you see it be done in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, or 2010s? why that decade in particular?

so, fun fact, i hadn’t decided when to set trahison (see: the big question mark in my plotting notebook) but i have recently made up my mind and decided to set it in the seventies! if it was a film, then i could see it being made in seventies france! very a la the dreamers.

x. are you able to just make up a story on the spot, or do you need help (plot generators or other outside influences)?

sometimes i’ll take the help of prompts or media, but otherwise i just come up with things on my own!

@emdrabbles

i. what do the names of your main characters mean? did you pick them for the meaning or another reason?

i picked the trahison characters’ names based on two things: how much it related to the character’s backstory or personality, and how pleasing it sounded out loud. here are the meanings of their names:

marin — of the sea

ruby — deep red; precious stone; behold a son

elizabeth — god is my oath

nathaniel — gift from god

antoine — priceless one; beyond praise

isadora — gift of Isis

ii. what book are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading the time machine by h.g wells!

iii. last sentence written?

“ When the end of the world comes — I’ll film it ” — copycat, or the one where i predict the future. 

iv. who are some of your faceclaims?

i usually don’t use faceclaims, but if i had to choose:

marin van doren (trahison) — timor simakov

eloi hill (psychophantia) — maxence danet fauvel

cass parker (penny lane) — monica tomas

v. gimme some worldbuilding facts!!

alright, here’s one: in the world of psychophantia, not only is the magic system and your powers controlled by your morals, but so is your social ranking, your education, and any future you may have—to an extent. 

vi. do you outline? if so, do you have a specific method?

i’m a plotter and only really work well with a solid outline, however, my outlines range from a series of messy, incoherent bullet points to meticulous scene-by-scene planning based around the three act structure. this post is my go to for plotting assistance! 

vii. favourite author?

Like every tumblr user ever, i love donna tartt and maggie stiefvater, but i’m also a huge fan of f.scott fitzgerald, agatha christie and vera caspary!

viii. what is your oldest wip?

trahison! It went through many, many changes — from changes in genre to changes in character names, and there’s still a possibility that it could change even further. 

ix. what is your favourite wip?

every wip i reblog under my #others. tag! You all are so damn talented!

x. where do you get your inspiration from?

everywhere around me! from conversations i have with people, from films and books i consume, from the music on the radio — i like that anything and everything can inspire me to create.

@pe-ersona

i. in one sentence, explain your current wip!

a group of secretive students attempt to become immortal, only to uncover the worst parts of themselves — and each other — as they do. 

ii. was writing your main interest or did you have other interests?

although writing is my main interest (see: my social media bio on every platform ever), i also like to journal, sew, cook and make videos! my interests usually do have to do with the intention of creation. 

iii. what’s your favorite genre to write? to read?

I love writing horror and mysteries. those are my favourite genres, but i also love reading a good contemporary romance!

iv. what is one goal you have for your wip this year? how’s that goal going?

to finish the first draft! so far, not so bad, though i do wish i could write more, but unfortunately, time constraints plus school restrict me from doing so. 

v. how old is your wip? or when did you start writing your wip?

trahison is nearly three years old, but i only started writing the current version of it a year ago. 

vii. what scene made you cry or laugh or both?

these lines made me laugh out loud the first time i wrote them:

“ Up the stairs stumbled Miles, my slovenly genius roommate. He grinned at the giggles and winked at the exasperated stares. 

The gall of him! 

I wanted to be him. 

He managed to find his balance enough to reach our dorm. I immediately stepped back to let him in, and to make sure I was in no association with his uncomposed state. Nate gave a disapproving look at his back as he staggered in. 

I took another step back, raised a pointed eyebrow, and closed the door ” — trahison, chapter three

vii. how many ocs does your wip have? who’s your favourite?

my main wip, trahison, has six main characters. out of the main six, my favourite has to be nathaniel. he is very much the epitome of pure, and sometimes i wonder how he ended up in the middle of such a dark plot. 

vii. you have a brand new idea for a wip, what do you do? 

brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. scribble down whatever the hell pops up in my brain, attempt to link it together by a thin string of yarn, cross my fingers and hope for the best.

ix. you are having your first book-signing, where are you?

i’m in a small bookstore, nestled in a corner near the storage room. almost no one knows about this town, so the line is small but chatty, fans exchanging theories and analysing certain paragraphs. the sight of them makes me feel warm inside. 

x. you have the ability to live in any book, publishing or not, what would it be?

would it be too cliche to say the harry potter universe? other than that, other worlds i would love to be a part of is the world in my novel penny lane, or in midst of a detective story.

@evergrcen / @septemberliterature

i. how did you come up with your wip’s title? what does it mean in relation to the story?

okay, so i discovered the word ‘trahison’ after hearing my french teacher say it, and immediately knew i had to use it for something. ‘trahison’ means betrayal or treason in french, which is one of the main themes in the novel. 

ii. do you title your chapters? if so, what’s your favourite?

I don’t, but I would love to!!

iii. what’s a recent line you really like?

Not a very dramatic or noteworthy line, but here’s one from a poem i’m writing:

“ So the two of you get in the car, proceeding to have an argument with the radio ” — examples of easy solutions, or the one where the internet has no answers. 

iv. are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

“i think a lot of art is trying to make someone love you” — keaton henson

v. do you have an idea for a cover design for your story?

A black background with serif text, that’s it. It’s simple. It’s mysterious. It’s the type of vibe I want to exude. 

vi. what sort of au can you imagine your story being?

...dark academia au anyone?

just kidding. in all seriousness, though, i can see a royalty/political au for trahison, or a medieval fantasy au!

vii. which oc would be the most angry with you as the writer?

eloi. i really need to give that poor boy a break. 

viii. if you had to tell the story from a different pov, which character would you choose?

ruby! she’s the token enigma of trahison, so i think her point of view would be very interesting to see. 

ix. what would be your oc’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

OKAY let’s see:

marin — classic rock, so the who, queen, def leppard.etc

ruby — that one person who you’re pretty sure only listens to classical music, but is actually very attuned to modern day music. she would mostly listen to female singer-songwriters, so take lorde, marina, lana del rey, and other such artists. 

beth — take one look at her playlist, and you’ll see that ninety five percent of it is mitski, while the other five percent is bedroom pop. she would like very tender, calm, cry to in bed music. 

Antoine — same as marin, but add other modern day music artists with eclectic sounds, such as twenty one pilots, arctic monkeys, that sort of thing.

nathaniel — classical music, instrumentals, and film soundtracks make up his playlist. if it has sung words, he won’t listen to it. has little to no understanding of modern day music and is too scared to find out more about it.

isadora — 2000’s diva pop plays in the background of her life. rihanna is her go to whenever she gets to control the party. Don’t be surprised if ‘rich girl’ by gwen stefani starts playing in your head at the sight of her. 

x. what’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

finishing it with pride!

Gwenspiration: The Wacky Version Vol. 1 - The Fanfics

As threatened/promised, I am tooting the horn in a number of posts, following the most kind call of @jaimebrienneonline.

I decided to begin with fanfic as JB fanfiction was my way into the fandom when a kind voice, long time ago, lured me over to the wonderful world which is JBO. And ever since that day I found both my home and my people. 

I am not going in a particular order because like my non-existent children, I kind of love and love to hate all of my fics equally.

But, for matters of scrolling convenience, I will put this list below a cut:

Childhood Friends has a special place in my heart because it is one of the two fics that got me into the fandom, and it is of the rare species of completed Wacky WIPs. The story marked my first tender steps in the canon as I was still catching up on show and book knowledge but got instantly hooked on the JB dynamic and just *had* to write fanfiction about them, albeit not yet knowing just what the frack Westeros even looked like on a map. I simply was intrigued by the idea of how the lives of our OTP may have played out differently if only they had met at a younger age, only to run into one another time and time again over the years, until at last, the circumstances seem to be in their favor. Writing that fic was a challenge because, for one, it got finished, which is incredibly hard for me to to do, and it is a coming of age story of sorts, which is not necessarily what I am used to writing. Nonetheless, it was a project that got me firmly into the fandom, which is why I am always remembering the process (and the writer’s panic) somewhat fondly, and always smile like an idiot when someone finds that old fic of mine and leaves a kudo or even a comment, reminding me of those early beginnings of my JB shipping career.

Choices likely has to be mentioned in the same vein, despite its crucial difference being that it went on a very, very, veeeeeery long hiatus and yet has to awaken (some prince wanting to give it a smooch to maybe bring it back to life? Would be much appreciated!). It was born out of the wish of exploring the infamous what if of Jaime and Brienne already getting intimate while on the road back to King’s Landing - as a matter of necessity/convenience, only for the misfortunate/very fortunate circumstance that Brienne winds up pregnant after their one time together. I enjoyed/would very much to enjoy again to write the character studies on how they deal not just with the issue of parenthood but also with their insecurities regarding their feelings for one another, which inspires more than one ill-made choice (*roll credits*) for either one of them as neither one dares to call love what actually is just that, hiding instead behind missions and honor, parenthood and duty, and fractured pasts that leave them wondering just who they became thanks to each other.

Colour Verses is a series that was born out of my first ever (I believe) JB Appreciation Week. OMG, it’s been so long. The theme of colors really had me inspired, which is why those pieces, which can be read in succession and independently, have a soft spot in my Wacky heart.

The Shredding Project, I believe, deserves an honorary mention despite its utter lack of completion for some of its parts and a happy ending for some of the tales shredded in this part of the fandom. I have a great passion for fairytales and deconstructing them, which inspired this undertaking of twisting and turning aka shredding all those stories into new models to fit Jaime and Brienne into. In fact, the Shredding Project is much larger than it currently is on AO3, as most of the shredded stories still reside in a large, very large Word file on my computer (42 shreddings up to date with a total of 414k words *whispers* 414k mkaaaay, yes I *am* obsessed), and can be found in the respective thread on JBO, where one can read perhaps not an eloquently put-together retelling of favorite fairytales (and some Disney movies) but at least find a conclusion to every story and thus a happy ending, as befits a fairytale.

Bow Down is another story I would mean to include in this list. It came to mean a lot to me personally because I worked my way through it at a time when I was not really having the time of my life for a number of reasons. Thus, finishing that fic did a lot of things for me - and hopefully also with my oh so patient readers. The basic premise is how things would have developed, had Brienne failed to find Sansa and thus fully dedicate herself to the cause of the Blackfish during the Riverrun Siege whose bitterness is clouding his judgment, leaving Jaime in a tough position to choose between his family and the mannish woman he can’t help but care about as much as he does.

A Tale of Spring is one of those fics I wish to include in that already way too long tooting because a) it is a finished story, which is always a rarity in my Wacky world, and b) it is still a kind of headcanon I would have loved to come about in some capacity, as it leaves room for not just happy endings while at the same time giving space for futures to grow for JB as they are cautious to dream of their future past the Long Night, edging on a Dream of Spring.

Paths is one of those stories I am, yet again, very desperate to get back on track with (I mean, it is supposed to lead somewhere, title has it). This story means a lot to me because I just have so much in my head for how this is meant to conclude and just have to get over that one edge to finally ebb into the narrative direction I need this to go (aka follow the path *badum tssssss*). I suppose the story was very much fuelled by my love for G.I. Jane and the dynamic between Jordan O'Neil and John James Urgayle (and Viggo in those short shorts... way too short shorts... damn). At the same time, my aim with this fic is to show not just how tough JB can be and how much ass they can kick together but also how insecure they are beneath the tough surface and how they actually long for something way outside the line of fire.

Train Acquaintances, by contrast, is a rather self-indulgent fic I started to write and was surprised to have found an audience rather fast. I just really liked the theme of trains as a way for two people to meet while at the same time playing with the overly romanticized notion of trains and deconstructing it somewhat. They are a curious means of transportation, to put it mildly. And to then throw in Jaime trying to act smoothly when he is just acting like a dork most of his time was just too delicious to resist. While it’s been a long time (because my computer ate part of a chapter I found really important and that has frustrated me so much, I can’t even tell you), I remain intrigued writing this story because it has a rather distinct mood from what I normally tend to write. And awkward Jaime is just so much fun to write.

Washed Away is one of those fics I am so desperate to get back to that you woudln’t even believe - because it is the one fic most closely tied to the book canon. Its premise is the Lady Stoneheart situation yet to be resolved, wherein Brienne makes a dangerous gamble to save the man she knows is not guilty of the crimes Lady Stoneheart accuses him of, leaving them both to wrestle not just with the dilemmas of this overall situation but also their conflicting vows and feelings for one another.

In the Eyes of the Seven is one of those fics I am yet again very desperate to get back to (yes, I realize I type this sentence far too often, but it is the truth!) but have not yet found a way to bridge between two important plot points, currently creating a gap that keeps me from moving on to the next chapters. It is one of those narrative places where I nerd around freely and explore some mad medley of historical fiction inserted into the history of Westeros, taking up on the runaway nuns of the Reformation period and re-applying it to the Westerosi context by making it about septons and septas instead. While perhaps not a particularly popular story of mine, it is a story I very much enjoy writing as it gives opportunity for lots of introspection, insecurities, and the wish of both characters to break out of the boundaries of the norms set by a static system leaving no room for the likes of the Kingslayer and a woman fancying herself a sword as much as a book or a dress. In general, there are just so many ideas for it inside my head that I really hope to get back on track with that story because there is just so much more I want to tell the readers about in this strange tale.

May the Norns Bind Their Fate strikes a similar tune for me, as I get to gush about my mediocre-at-best knowledge of Norse mythology (albeit a great interest) and yet again change Westeros to my liking to insert the political system of the Viking era into this society (or rather my wacky interpretation thereof). For me, it is both an experiment in terms of perhaps (big perhaps) turning things a bit more heated than I am used to (for Wacky writes no smut, unless it is a literal accident, which only happened, like, once) and diving deep into aspects such as trauma and grief as well as fate and determinacy, since the idea of seers knowing your future has a very distinct appeal in my view, and how knowing one’s “fate” may affect the outcomes of the events. Thus, taking up on the challenge to deal with that in this fic still has me hooked - and I hope I am not the only one.

Last but not least...

An Honorable Man and a Just Woman is a story I am happy to have found an audience because it really gives me something personally to write it. Considering how sadly things played out in the show, I was in dire need of my own little fix-it and have since taken up on the challenge to entertain those questions of what would have changed had Jaime survived, what would be if he were declared King of the Six Kingdoms. Not only does that leave a humbled Jaime trying to find his place in a world he never thought he would see, having seen his ending long before he rode away from Winterfell, but it also leaves him and Brienne with the reality of what it is like to survive when so many died, and how to cope with how they parted and why. And while there are still so many things left unsaid and feelings left unexpressed, one can only hope that those two honorable and just people will eventually find their way around in the new world they are meant to build.

So yeah, I tooted a lot, and I still left out a whole bunch of my weird fanfic children, but those are the ones I feel a great deal of dedication to, even if, admittedly, a lot of them haven’t seen an update in ages. But rest assured, anyone reading this who dared to jump the Wacky train and read along, knowing very well that this strange woman struggles finishing a WIP most of her days, that I am still dedicated to each of those stories (as I am to any story I write). There are simply technicalities and real life not letting me dedicate as much of my time to it as I would need to finally get that final push ahead on a lot of them.

Be it as it may, in the spirit of Glorious Gwendoline Christie, here’s to my shameless self-promotion!

Stay tuned for the next post about the wackiest of Wacky’s wacky creations.

Until then...

Much love! ♥♥♥

15, 20, 36? 🧡

Writer’s Ask Game – Answer #1

Thank you so SO much for the ask! I know you put this in on like Monday, like practically straight after I put up the post, and I’m like super behind in answering it! So really, thank you so much! I’m super sorry it’s taken me so long to pull together my answer for you, but hopefully that will be okay. Once again thanks for asking, I had so much fun answering these ones. Anyone else who wants to ask anything, feel free! 🧡

So, let’s get going;

15.  How do you deal with writer’s block? This is a good question! So I have a couple of ways which I use – sometimes I’ll work my way through them all, or some of them I’ll use if I’m on my own at home, or likewise won’t use if I’m out in a coffee shop say. This is my current list of go-to things though;

1. Re-read. This is the first thing I’ll do, because usually, somewhere along the line I’ll find something I’ve missed or a plot which I can further explore, or just something which gives me inspiration to pick up. At the very least, I can find any errors I’ve previously missed. Sometimes though, I’ll end up reading the same section over and over to no avail, and that’s when I usually decide I need to move on and try something else unless I’m willing to go crazy!

2. ‘What-If’s’. I play a little bit of a (sometimes) pointless game with myself and words. So from the place where I’ve become stuck, I’ll start throwing out suggestions of ‘what if… this thing is said/done’ – any kind of thing which might give a route for the plot to go. Sometimes I just end up with a collection of stupid ideas, but occasionally one of them will lead to inspiration. I did say occasionally though, this doesn’t seem to work for some topics.

3. Something New. I’d usually only do this with shorter works or chaptered works – and basically I just leave it for a while, and start on something else (which is usually one of my writing pet-hates, but sometimes I just reach that point where I can’t be fussed to keep sitting, staring and trying, and getting nothing). Usually, the moment I try and move onto something else my brain kicks back in. If not, I sometimes manage to just get something new going, or I sit there for a while trying to do something new, before my brain finds the way to finish the old one.

4. Print. Sometimes this won’t apply if I’ve already started the work on paper, but as with most things in this day and age, our lives are made easier by technology in many ways. I have long preferred to write with an actual pen/pencil in hand, but sometimes this isn’t doable, or my hands get tired (much quicker than if I type) and it’s easier and less time-consuming to turn towards typing everything up in the first place and removing the re-typing phase. However, sometimes I still like to be able to read things on paper; I think sometimes being dyslexic plays a part in this as I can amend things in many, many colours. Occasionally putting the paper back in my hand and working my way through it all will help me to find a little spark.

5. Re-read feedback. I get a lot of inspiration from my followers and I really value reviews and comments on my work! Often when I’m struggling with writer’s block, I will bring myself back to those wonderful pieces of feedback. There’s always something else to mine from all the constructive and lovely praise you give to me, and sometimes that little thing is all I need to be able to find.

6. Outside World. I essentially ‘give up’, but without telling myself that. I resign myself to the fact that ‘maybe today isn’t a writing day’ and do other things; go for a walk, read a book, watch TV/Films, do some art work… Anything really which isn’t connected to a pen and paper or my keyboard. Sometimes, nothing comes to me and I end up spending my day doing lots of different things, but occasionally whilst doing one of these other things, the perfect solution presents itself and I can dive straight back to my writing.

7. Why? I take a moment to try and ask myself if there’s any reason why I’m getting writer’s block. One of the main causes for me, is clock-watching. If I know I’ve only got two hours before I go to work or something like that, those hours seem to become ‘lost time’ essentially. If I have a whole day free I’m much more likely to get something productive done, likewise for instance if I’m on a six hour flight or couple hours train journey – because there’s little else I can do in that time. Sometimes, lack of sleep means my brain is too tired to throw any words at me. Bad moods are another one, and sometimes I might not realise I’m in a bad mood until I take a moment to step back and ask myself why. I find it so much easier to know what I need to do to fix my writer’s block if I can pin-point some kind of reason for why I have it in the first place – especially if that leads me to working out whether the block is coming from me or the piece of work I’m trying to write. If it’s a certain piece of work, I’ll ask why that could be giving me writer’s block too, and if I ever can’t answer that, I’ll usually try methods 5, 6 & 8 and see if they make any difference.

8. Scream. This is possibly my favourite one – especially when I’ve exhausted all the others and nothing’s worked. And this one I would definitely only do at home. Basically, I just scream at a wall. It’s a great way to release tension, my anger at not being able to write anything and just whatever it is that is hanging over me. Usually after that, I feel better and I can write with a cleared state of mind.

 20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

Oh no, I have way too many! Usually I try and get the ideas I have written before I note down more, and I try not to leave too many works ‘open’ so to speak, as I find it easier to try and write with some kind of continuity and without too much cross-jumping. But, hey, right now I just have far too many of them floating around - I’ve even made myself a ‘to write’ list because I’ve found myself with more ideas than I can usually keep in my head! So I make it out as about;

17/18 (TAG based, probably more like 23/24 if you include my outside works).

And I’ve probably miscounted the odd one or two!

36.  Last sentence you wrote

Well, this is an interesting one! And I’m aware the answer is probably going to make very little sense. A point (actually no, a reward of your choice!) to the person who can guess what this sentence relates to! Humour me guys, go on and guess?

“Out there were hundreds of tiny golden stars that he could see clear as day; although he couldn’t remember exactly when night had fallen, nor when he had ended up lying by the pool, looking into the rippling blue depths which appeared strangely comforting as he hugged the glass of the old bottle in his patchy, colour-bled hands.”

I hope that gives you some answers!

Anyone else want to throw me some questions, here you go: https://darkestwolfx.tumblr.com/post/611517979081998336/a-writers-ask-game

for the meme for fic writers thing: 1,2,3,13,14,25,26,37

Bae, thanks for the questions *-*

for this meme

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

So apparently I love writing about Arranged Marriages. I don’t really know why but well. When it comes to reading, I love angst fics with a happy ending. Or crack tbh.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Well, there’s the ABO wincest and merthur fic I’ve been trying to write but I’m really insecure about. And the wincest one I’m so unhappy with it omg. But it’s honestly a trope I wish I could finish a fic for and actually be happy with the result.

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

I’ve read a couple of these, but it never really sat well with me, but homeless AUs where one of them are homeless always make me uncomfortable for some reason and I doubt I’d ever write something like that. I mean, I’m not going to say ‘never’ because I know better than to say this hahaha, but for now, it’s not something I’d be comfortable writing. But overall, I’m really open to many things and if it’s for a present or a prompt, I might try writing it, even if it’s just for the challenge of it. I like going out of my comfort zone little by little. I believe it makes me a better writer, so... :)

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I don’t know if it counts, but the ‘if there’s a fic with this trope/plotline’ out there, you can still write your own. And there was even a comparison about cakes. While you, as a writer/baker might feel intimidated by writing something similar to what others have already done, the readers/cake enthusiasts will be overjoyed to have more to read in that trope. So basically, just write what you feel like writing and don’t compare yourself to others.

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Damn, idk. I don’t think I’ve come across bad advice in general? I got bad feedback (”this fic is shit, sorry” and “you should probably get a beta to help with your grammar” aka your grammar sucks but instead of offering to help i’m just going to point it out to you), but not bad writing advice. At least I can’t think of any, right now.

25. What do you look for in a beta?

YOU. No, but really, I always like having your feedback. I think a beta is supposed to be more than just a ‘find the typos/suggest other words or sentences/find your mistakes’ person. No, I want the person to give me feedback, to tell me what they liked or if there’s something odd with the story. Therefore, I mostly trust friends, because I know I won’t be offended, since I know y’all just want my story to be better. I’m not very good at receiving criticism, which is awful I know, but for now I ‘look for’ betas who I’m comfortable with, like you. ♥

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

Like I said above, when I do it, I try to give more feedback than just the ‘finding mistakes’ thing that is required. In all honesty, I know I have this problem that I almost don’t point out the good things, but since I’m focused trying to help improve something, if I didn’t mention something, it’s probably because it’s good. I wholeheartedly love the stories I help beta (like the wincest and the wolfstar one you sent me for the challenge), but I want to genuinely help you write the best thing ever, y’know? And I know I’m being a bit of a hypocrite because I didn’t like it when the feedback I received when I was teaching was all bad, even though I was aware that ‘if it wasn’t mentioned, it was because it was good’. I need to hear at least one good thing, and I always try to point out a few of my favourite things, but I know I suck and I’m overly critical and serious when I try to help and beta a fic. (which is why I’m more comfortable betaing fics for friends, like you hahahah)

37. Talk about your current wips.

OH BOY, SIT THE HELL DOWN BECAUSE I HAVE 029380923123 WIPS

The first one worth mentioning is Heartlines. It’s a bagginshield, arranged marriage AU and I’m so fucking proud of it. It’s fluffy, it’s cute, and it really makes me happy to write it. You should totally read it if you haven’t yet.

Then, I have the J2, Jessica Jones!AU that was supposed to be written for the SPN & J2 Big Bang, but it grew too much and it’s too big and I won’t be able to finish in time to post it. However, I have three finished chapters and I was thinking in maybe start posting it now. Or I’ll only post it once I’m finished. Idk. Thoughts?

Speaking of Big Bang, I was writing a wincest, omegaverse AU for the Wincest Big Bang but ugh, I’m so unhappy with that fic that I don’t know if I’ll finish it for the BB or not. It starts around the beginning of season 2 and it’s supposed to finish around season six, so, yeah. There’s a lot to cover yet and I’m not even sure anymore if I’m going to follow through with it.

WIPs that I have but I’m not currently working at are: Drarry, arranged marriage AU, mpreg; Wincest, Harry Potter AU; Merthur, Omegaverse AU; House MD crossover with Dead Poets Society, Hilson; Wincest, separated when young and don’t know they are brothers AU, non-supernatural AU; Thorki, Odin didn’t take Loki, who’s taken by a random jotun and protected, but Laufey is trying to find him to kill him; Thorki, arranged marriage AU, mpreg AU; Cherik, Little Mermaid AU. 

Some of these have been in my folder for YEARS. The drarry one, the hilson one and the second wincest are at least 7 years old. It’s awful, I need to get my shit together, hahahaha.