thefanficwriterscraft
The Fanfic Writers' Craft Podcast
We are @pebblysand and @copper_dust—two fanfic writers and readers who discuss the art and science of writing fanfiction in a monthly podcast.
120 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
felicia-morgens-blog
Нереальность. Сумасшествие.
achilles-philtatos
The song of Achilles
the-alaska-pingpong
제목 없음
Text
Use of Time in Narrative (Or, Defending the Artistic Merit of your Vampire Smut)
Hello! Our April episode is here!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) delve into the use of time in narrative, focusing on techniques such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, and non-linear storytelling. Lani discusses her approach to incorporating time in her fanfiction, emphasizing the importance of moments of emotional intensity. They explore the use of non-linear narrative structures, discussing how they can enhance character development and mirror immersive thinking. They also share our strategies for handling transitions and overcoming challenges when incorporating time-related elements into fanfiction.
This week, we mention:
Books: He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly
Fandoms: Harry Potter, Silk (BBC)
Fics: Maps to the Stars’ Homes by Lizbee, The Atoners by copper_dust, The Seam Between by copper_dust, Check the Spindle by copper_dust, castles by pebblysand, Children by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust, Seven Simple Machines by fluorescentgrey, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand, ce ne sont que des cailloux by pebblysand
Film: Memento, Inception
Previous episodes: [BONUS] Wattpad & Platforms with @MyLittleDuckies (Or, Please, Save Your Works!)
Your recommendations for this week are:
The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou (and the Bad Blood: The Final Chapter podcast)
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
#fanfiction#fanfic#writing#writing advice#podcast#fic#fanfiction podcast#fiction#creative writing#Spotify
6 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi! I'm a chronic late podcast listener so I just finished your last episode, but it made me think of a hot nitpick that I have which is also about worldbuilding and Bill & Fleur's wedding: it bothers me more than it should that her dress is white and that different wedding portrayals in fandom (fanfic and fanart) so frequently put the bride in white. And it bothers me because the origin of the association between brides and the colour white is Queen Victoria in the 19th century and there's no reason at all why wizards would follow on this tradition. I know it's a bit silly and obviously it's never a deal breaker for me (I get that a lot of people don't even know about Vitoria being the one who started this fashion), but I do wish more people would have fun colourful wedding dresses (I'm very into wizarding fashion, as you can tell). So I'm just sharing!! to maybe convince some fic writers out there... please... use other colours...
I think this definitely fits into the wider conversation around culture and worldbuilding in fanfiction. That said, as I've stated before, HP seems to have a 1930s aesthetic and technology that dates as late as the 1920s, indicating that they have absorbed Muggle culture from as late as the 1920s/30s, when white wedding dresses were already popular. Thanks for the ask, anon.
0 notes
Note
hi! I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for putting out such a great podcast. I just discovered it about a month ago, and i've been listening in the car and on dog walks for a few weeks now. I really enjoy listening to both of your perspectives (and that of your guests, too). Being a fanfic writer can be so isolating, and dealing with things alone can be tough, so it's wonderful to hear you talk about things that are often on my mind as a fic writer. I recently went through an extended low-point in terms of my own relationship to fic-writing, and listening to your podcast episodes helped me remember a lot of the things I love about writing and writing fic in particular. It's really cool of you guys to do this, and thank you again for putting in the time and effort. I really appreciate it! <3
Aw, this is so sweet! Thank you so much! There is something so special about the community aspect of writing fanfic, and I am so grateful that the podcast has allowed you to feel that too! It's incredible to hear from our listeners, and know that we may have helped/inspired people to write, so thank you so much for listening (and for your message). It makes all of those recording and editing hours worth it!
-@pebblysand
1 note
·
View note
Note
I found your podcast (via Tumblr!) a little while ago & I've been listening from the start of your catalogue to the most recent so I can't remember when you spoke about this, but regarding comments & how niche a fic is; I have a really weird crossover I one shot I wrote where one character (very tiny fandom, tv show set in the early 1700s) is a ghost mentoring another character (set in the late 1800s, video game) and every comment I get on that is such a crazy rush because I posted it to Ao3 maaainly to have my work catalogued accurately there rather than expecting a response, so it's just really lovely.
Speaking of really lovely, so is your podcast! I love hearing your insights and thoughts & additionally as someone who doesn't write quite so much as she would like anymore, it's very inspiring too. Thank you!
Thank you sooo much for this kind message (and our apologies for answering so late!). This podcast is a labour of love and getting such amazing feedback on it is incredible! We're so happy that our little project has found you!
I (@pebblysand) think you're possibly referring to our episode on developing an audience from last January. And, yes, I totally agree. As I said on the episode, I have a very tiny fic in a very tiny fandom of my own I absolutely love and getting comments/kudos on it is such a rush. I love everyone who comments on my HP work, but when you find your audience in a very tiny niche, it just hits different ❤️.
Thanks again for your kind words, really appreciate it!
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
S3E3. Outlining (Or, Is This Just An Ad For Miro?)
Hello, hello! Our latest episode is out!!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) come back to the topic of outlining, which they briefly touched upon in our first season. Outlining is defined as the process of creating a structured plan before drafting a story, and is seen as crucial for both original fiction and fan fiction writers. They discuss their individual approaches to outlining, including the various tools they use, from quick notes they leave in notes apps to full visual boards. They delve into benefits they feel they gain from outlining in terms of maintaining coherence, aiding in pacing, and ensuring consistency in the narrative. Finally, they also note how outlining can serve as a tool for overcoming writer’s block and facilitating brainstorming sessions.
This week, we mention:
Fics: The Arcane Thief by Snollygoster, Check the Spindle by copper_dust, The Seam Between by copper_dust, Merry Men by copper_dust, Lilac Falls by copper_dust, slipped (and said something sort of like your name) by pebblysand, castles by pebblysand, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand
Podcast: S1E2. How To Plot? (Or, Vibes - It’s 90% Vibes)?
Screenshots: for those of you who are curious, including here some links to the outline “board” for castles. Overall view ; Excerpt from the timeline ; More timeline notes ; Chapter outlines: example #1, chapter 18 ; example #2, chapter 19
Other: Webnovel contracts article, Miro, The Sorting Hat Chats test, pebblysand’s tumblr posts on outlining #1 & #2
Your recommendations for this week are:
God is alive, magic is afoot by Buffy Sainte Marie
Rome by Solann
Taking a break from writing!
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
#fanfiction#fanfic#writing#writing advice#podcast#fic#fanfiction podcast#fiction#creative writing#writers of tumblr#writers on tumblr#writeblr#ao3 writer#writers#outlining#writing tips#writing help#Spotify
18 notes
·
View notes
Note
Loved this week’s new episode! I’m definitely guilty of putting short fics (<1k words) into a singular story instead of a series (though it’s all the same ship/universe). I’ve actually been struggling with the idea of continuing to do this or not but get caught up with 2 things:
1. The thought of having them ALL as individual stories on my page stresses me out from an organizational standpoint. And
2. I wish AO3 had a way to split a work, because I don’t want to lose the comments attached to each chapter/fic by deleting and reposting since I didn’t have the foresight to originally post them as separate entities. (Though with this option then you also run the risk of spamming everyone who’s subscribed to you on ao3).
And I guess also adding on to this and the ao3 improvements mentioned, I’d love if there was a way for an author to highlight their favorite works, because otherwise if you have an author who writes a lot of short works, they add up and things get buried 150 fics deep.
Sorry for the massive drop in the inbox 😅 This has been something on my mind for awhile and the episode just brought it all back. Thanks for all the work you put into the podcast!
Thank you so much, and our apologies for the delayed response as I (pebblysand) was on holidays. So glad you enjoyed the discussion!
Regarding your first point, I can't help/relate, because I think honestly, the opposite would stress me out haha! Having all of my one-shots bundled as one instead of individual stories would drive me nuts! I would feel that is disorganised 😅.
Having said that, I want to be clear that I do think it is legit to do this in some circumstances. For example, from 2015 to 2018, I wrote a bunch of three sentence stories in different fandoms, ships, etc. as a writing exercise. I mostly posted them on their own on tumblr, but ended up bundling them when I uploaded them to AO3 years later. I bundled up together in one fic all the ones that were for the same fandom (so there was one big fic for TGW, and one for silk), then created a series to link them together. The TGW "fic" had multiple ships so I created one chapter for each ship, which I tried to indicate as clearly as I could in the summary.
I think the same thing applies if you're writing multiple short-ish (less than 3k) one-shots in the same pairing/ship/universe. Like: if, say, you're writing post-war Dramione, you have a vision for that universe and all of your one-shots are coherent with that universe and with each other. But again, I do think it's important to consider the fact that it may cause people to rec your work less. Because they might like one story but not the others, and so instead of reccing one chapter, they might just rec nothing at all.
I think it depends on your comfort level for this. For me regarding my own series what comes in threes, I didn't care because a) I published these on AO3 years after I published them on tumblr, and it was more about archiving them than promoting the work, as these stories were very old and I wasn't writing in these fandoms anymore, and b) both of these were in fandoms where reccing isn't the main way people find fanfic. I've mentioned this on the pod before but there is a massive difference in the way people find fics in big fandoms that are too massive to search (tags, rec lists, bookmarks, etc.) and small fandoms where you can just refresh the front page each day and find stuff. TGW and silk are small enough that I knew anyone reading fanfiction for these would be trolling the front page, and thus see the fic as it was published and be able to decide for themselves if they wanted to take a look or not.
Regarding your second point though, I feel you! I haven't talked about it on the podcast but I've been going through a similar struggle of my own with my long work. Castles has three very clear "acts" that are around 100k each. I didn't anticipate this early on and posted all three acts in one fic, and am now very stressed/nervous that it's making this fic too long for people to read. I would love to be able to retroactively split it, but I also, like you, don't want to lose the comments. I really wish there was a way to do this! 😫
And to your third point, I very much agree. I don't have that problem as I mostly write longer pieces but yeah, I get you!
Thanks again for your kind words and for taking the time to write to us! It's amazing to know our little podcast isn't just going out and falling into the ether, and that people are listening!
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing well! I just wanted to let you know that Lani and I will be recording our March episode tomorrow. The topic will be outlining! So, if you have any questions for us on that, feel free to send them our way!
-pebblysand
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
S3E2. Hot Takes & Nitpicks (Or, Pause This Podcast Right Now And Delete The Phrase 'Thin Cotton T-Shirt' From Your Fic With No Further Penalties)
We're a day late (my apologies!) but we're back!!! Here is our latest episode!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) discuss their fanfiction hot takes and nit picks. Jo talks about engaging with comments, improving AO3, caring about statistics, and the misinformation that exists online about the monetisation of fanfiction. Lani expresses her desire for more creative additions to fanfiction, such as multimedia elements, and urges accuracy in portraying certain settings. Their nitpicks include issues like organizing one-shots within fics, clunky exposition, lack of extended worldbuilding in fantasy and sci-fi, redundant comparisons, and unnecessary material descriptions.
This week, we mention:
Books: Harry Potter by JK Rowling ; The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
Films: The Truman Show ;
Fics: Manacled by senlinyu ;
Past episodes: S1E10. Multimedia in Fanfiction [Part 1] with @crazybutgood & @newsom (Or, Fooling the Security Cameras by Reading Fanfic At Work) ; S3E1. Audience (Or, Chances Are: You’re Not Going to Win the Nobel Prize for Fanfiction)
TV: The Good Wife
Other: @crazybutgood ’s origami work, @getawayfox’s pie illustration work
Your recommendations for this week are:
The Terror (novel & TV series) by Dan Simmons
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Occupied (TV series) (Netflix)
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
#fanfiction#fanfic#writing#writing advice#fic#podcast#fanfiction podcast#fiction#creative writing#Spotify
14 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi Lani and Jo! Just wanted to pop in and say I really love the podcast, and I particularly enjoyed the most recent episode about audience and everything you mentioned in regards to building community.
It's one of the reasons I love participating in fests. I think Tumblr is such a great platform to build community, but after awhile can get very insular, so having the opportunity to potentially find writers outside of your orbit via fandom-wide fests is always so welcome.
I also really loved the quote y'all brought up from [Title of Show] about "would you rather be 9 people's favorite thing or 100 people's 9th favorite thing". One of my most self-indulgent fics (fittingly, also inspired by a musical—Newsies) and something I was so excited to write is actually one of my least popular fics, but the readers that get it, get it, and I've had a lot of fun discussing the intricacies of plot and lines and weaving lyrics in with those handful of people.
Can't wait to see what else you have in store for this year! Thanks for all your work on the podcast!
Thanks for the ask, @kay-elle-cee . Glad to see that someone other than me remembers the fever dream that was [title of show]. It's great to share a story with only 3 people but those 3 people are your craziest fans.
youtube
1 note
·
View note
Text
S3E1. AUDIENCE (OR, CHANCES ARE: YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR FANFICTION)
Hello, hello! Happy New Year! Our new episode is here!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) embark on an exploration of the intricate relationship between fanfic writers and their audience. They talk about navigating strategies for audience growth, emphasizing niche awareness, participation in fests, and the leveraging of social media. They delve into the importance of engagement, sharing tips on responding to comments and maintaining authenticity. They discuss their perspectives on the "write for yourself" advice, acknowledging the motivational impact of audience feedback and touch on the evolving culture of fandom over the past decade. Lastly, they explore the delicate topic of responding adequately to criticism and hate.
This week, we mention:
Fandoms: Harry Potter, Peaky Blinders, Spooks
Fics: Sunset In Your Veins by baejax, Sleeper by orphan-account, All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean69, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust
Other: Alexandre Astier Interview (French), Title of Show (Musical)
Your recommendations for this week are:
Girl A by Abigail Dean
Fool Me Once (TV series)
Bodies (TV Series)
Society of the Snow (Film)
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
S3E1. AUDIENCE (OR, CHANCES ARE: YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR FANFICTION)
Hello, hello! Happy New Year! Our new episode is here!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) embark on an exploration of the intricate relationship between fanfic writers and their audience. They talk about navigating strategies for audience growth, emphasizing niche awareness, participation in fests, and the leveraging of social media. They delve into the importance of engagement, sharing tips on responding to comments and maintaining authenticity. They discuss their perspectives on the "write for yourself" advice, acknowledging the motivational impact of audience feedback and touch on the evolving culture of fandom over the past decade. Lastly, they explore the delicate topic of responding adequately to criticism and hate.
This week, we mention:
Fandoms: Harry Potter, Peaky Blinders, Spooks
Fics: Sunset In Your Veins by baejax, Sleeper by orphan-account, All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean69, the fault in faulty manufacturing by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust
Other: Alexandre Astier Interview (French), Title of Show (Musical)
Your recommendations for this week are:
Girl A by Abigail Dean
Fool Me Once (TV series)
Bodies (TV Series)
Society of the Snow (Film)
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
#fanfiction#fanfic#writing#writing advice#fic#podcast#fanfiction podcast#fiction#creative writing#writeblr#Spotify
13 notes
·
View notes
Note
I write for a very small fandom (TV Show called Make it or Break it). I want to write a fic that changes a couple key things that happened pre series. I want to start there and explore the way that affects the events of the series, and the relationship between two characters. Is this something that is ok to take on or is it frowned upon to do rewrites like that?
It took me an outrageous amount of time to answer this, and for that I apologise! Thank you for your message! That sounds like an AU to me, and plenty of people write those! Not frowned upon at all!
The only advise I would give is that when writing pieces that retell the story of canon (either from a different perspective, or changing a couple of details, etc.) it can be hard to distance yourself from canon enough to feel like you have something "to say." Plenty of people fall into the trap of mechanically rewriting canon (following the same beats, the same events, etc.) without actually adding anything new of value to the source material. That can end up being a bit dry/boring. So, do ask yourself: what am I saying that is new and original and mine here, that wasn't in the source material?
But keeping the above in mind, write your fic and have fun! Very exciting project!
-pebblysand
0 notes
Text
[Got any questions? We have answers!]
Hi everyone and Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely end of December and are looking forward to 2024!
We are currently working on preparing for our first couple episodes of the year which will be about 🥁....
Audience
Fanfiction Hot Takes & Nitpicks!
If you have any questions for us on either of these topics, please do not hesitate to hit our ask box and we will answer them on air! Also feel free to share your hot takes or nitpicks with us and we'll debate them in the episode 😅!
Thank you so much for all your responses on the poll (the other topics will be queued up later this year) and looking forward to another year of The Fanfic Writers' Craft!
-pebblysand
#fanfic#fanfiction#writing#writing advice#podcast#fanfiction podcast#spotify#fiction#fic#creative writing
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
[Got a favourite topic? It's time to VOTE!]
Hey everyone, I hope you are having a lovely end of the year!
We, at @thefanficwriterscraft are planning our upcoming 2024 schedule! Our first episode of the year will be about audience (how to build one, how to interact with one, etc.) but we'd also like to ask for your opinion on the topics you would like us to talk about. Please let us know your favourite!
You have a week to pick your favourite, and to those who celebrate, I wish you a very, merry Christmas!
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
S2E17. 2023 Wrap Up (Or We Don't Need to Talk about MH370 Right Now)
Our last episode of the year is here!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) and Lani (@copper-dust) engage in a year-end roundup exercise, reflecting on their fanfiction writing, favourite reads, and their podcasting wins of 2023. They discuss their word counts for the year and talk about the lines or scenes they enjoyed writing. They highlight some great comments and reviews they’ve received, and answer a listener’s question about what surprised them in 2023. Lastly, they also chat about their podcast statistics and discuss plans for the upcoming year.
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to you, our incredible listeners, for your unwavering support, messages, and downloads throughout the year. Your enthusiasm and engagement mean the world to us. Additionally, a special thank you goes out to our amazing guests who brought their unique perspectives and insights to the podcast in 2023: @celestemagnoliathewriter, @rosalui, @btelling, @johaerys-writes, @word-wytch, and @maycandrawtingz. Thank you!
This week, we mention:
Books: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Maurice by E.M. Forster, Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Fics: castles by pebblysand, The Wilderness by @batmansymbol, A Happier Year (Near About) by @peopleshooterhat, Harry Learns the Hard Way by copper_dust, a louisville slugger to both headlights by pebblysand, Merry Men by copper_dust, Orchards by @whinlatter, Undefined by orbythesea, Sunset in Your Veins by baejax
Podcast: S2E2. Outgrowing Fandoms (or The Harry Episode), S2E3. Multimedia in Fanfiction [Part 2] with @rosalui (Or, Snackleholt Bingsley LARPs Warrior Cats on the Amazon Kindle)
Your recommendations for this week are:
The Rougarou by @evesaintyves
This Word Lies at the Bottom of a Lake by berhanes
Rewatching, rereading something you love
You can find us online at:
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
#fanfiction#fanfic#writing#writing advice#podcast#fic#fanfiction podcast#fiction#creative writing#Spotify
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
Yearly Wrap-Up Soon!
Hello everyone, hope you're having a wonderful day! We just wanted to let you know that we will be recording our yearly wrap-up episode soon! If you have any questions for us about our year, our works, or our writing hot takes, please let us know and we'll be happy to answer them!
Thanks a mil!
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
S2E16. [BONUS] PLATFORMS & WATTPAD WITH @maycandrawtingz (OR, PLEASE, SAVE YOUR WORKS!)
Hello! We have a new bonus episode for you!
In this episode, Jo (@pebblysand) catches up with Baby Doll (a.k.a @maycandrawtingz) who has written a number of reader-insert fanfics in multiple anime fandoms. In this interview we talk about Baby Doll’s work, but also particularly about her use of Wattpad as the primary platform on which she used to post her work. Unfortunately, last summer, Baby Doll saw one of her very popular fics be deleted by Wattpad due to a breach of their terms and services, the ramifications of which we discuss in the episode.
This week, we mention:
Animes: Demon Slayer, My Hero, Jujutsu Kaisen
Your recommendations for this week are:
Writers, always save your work!
You can find us online at:
Baby Doll: tumblr ; AO3
The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi
Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3
Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3
8 notes
·
View notes