So...did U Get Deja Vu?

I thought this was math.

and what if I told you nine was less afraid of love than ten. what then.

Were you ever nervous to write/post your stuff? If so, how did you get over it?

I was nervous to post the first few chapters of How to Cat Burglar a Family, because it was my first fic, then nervous to post Special Delivery because it was my first non cat related fic, but after that not overly. I know a lot of writers talk about having unfinished WIP they don't post, but I don't have anything unposted except for the next part of Gravity Falls 2012 cat shorts because I'm still deciding what I want to do about Bill.

That's because after I wrote and posted everything I got nervous about I remember that I can do whatever I want, and that if no one else likes it that's OK, because I write all of this for me. Plus the likelihood of me getting attacked or facing consequences for a bad chapter are like. Nothing. So far all that's happened is people talk to me about my own aus more, which is great, as I have no one irl to do so. The relief of finally seeing each chapter off is greater then the nerves of if people will like it.

I guess the best way to say how I got over it was that I took my nerves and crushed them to the ground. Life is what you make of it and putting yourself out there can be fun. This isn't something I recommend for everyone, as it's a skill I hardened over years of severe social anxiety and emotional control over my very bad temper. At one point I just learned how to bundle my feelings and crush them (which, again, don't recommend for everyone. It's a process learning when and where to do this)

If you outline your fics, how do you go about it? Or do you just write it out without a specific plan?

God I wish I could just START writing my fics, but no I am nothing if not a well planned bitch

First, I write stuff out on paper. This makes it’s easier to go back and look at my own writing, but also paper has? Less high stakes for me? If I type something it feels like I HAVE to go in that direction, but when I write on paper I can just scribble it out or turn to the next page. This step is where I’ll write whatever comes to mind that I might want to add, usually out of order. I guess you could call this brainstorming? But I don’t usually cause to me brainstorming is JUST in my head, and this is on paper. That’s another thing, GET THE IDEA OUT ON PAPER because youll be super excited about a certain dialogue line or plot line, and if you don’t write it out you will forget. So step one is filling pages and pages of my favorite, designated ‘Brain Dump’ notebook (mine has mushrooms on it :) )

Then, actual outline. This is also on paper for me, where I’ll write out any big plot lines or bits I’ve come up with in the first step, and try to fit them in an order that makes sense. This is simultaneously the easiest part and the hardest, because I’m someone who wants smoothness in my writing in terms of how stuff flows together, so I’m ver particular about what stuff goes where. If I’m doing an outline for a WHOLE fic, each little line is most likely a chapter, or important chapter moments however, and this is important, I make up an outline for every chapter I write. That way I can go into detail with what dialogue goes where, the blocking of how the characters are, etc

Then it’s first draft time!! This parts fun. This is where I write BADLY. I basically just throw everything at my poor google docs until it sticks, and I try not to stop, so there’s no going back and spell checking, or finding a better word. If I write “says” or “he shivered” eight times in the same paragraph it DOES NOT MATTER. I’ll be back later. This draft is the shittiest possible version of what I want to write.

Step two of first draft is when I’m DONE, I have the bare bones of my draft, and this is where I go back and ask myself if I really deserve to know how to type. I’ll sew up any glaring plot holes, spell checking, rewrite verbs and whatnot to not repeat, stuff like that. If I read the whole thing and decide I don’t like this particular part, I’ll delete it and rewrite it.

Then it’s onto my favorite part, draft two. This is REWRITE TIME. not edit, rewrite. Thats the best writing advice I’ve ever gotten and I can ever give. I pull up two screens, slap my draft 1 on the the first screen and open a new doc, and rewrite the entire thing. Why? Because as im retyping this is when I add prose, and fix the flow, and add more angst in or better word choice or whatever. This is where the LENGTH of whatever I’m writing comes in, I’ll usually double whatever I have for the first draft, on sheer added prose and grace notes alone. This part is immensely satisfying, and it takes the longest by far. I do this for every single chapter of things I post on Ao3

Draft three is usually my final draft. I copy and paste draft 2 in another document, and I’ll read through again for any typos and mistakes and fix those. This is PROOFREADING, plain and simple, and it’s so important. I usually don’t fix much in this stage, but I do read it outloud (quietly to myself or maybe my dog) to see if it sounds right.

And thats it! Usually, at least with Abandon My Eulogy each chapter takes about two weeks, and by two week I mean I spend a week thinking about it not actually writing and then outline, first draft and correct that in three days. Draft two takes. So long, but it’s worth it

‘Sorry I went off on a ramble there

told you a hug would help !

usopp embriodered the crown on luffys hat while they were on the run from the marines 22 minutes after finding the one piece

I've already said that my number one piece of writing advice is to read.

But my number two piece of advice is this: be deliberate.

Honestly this would fix so many pieces of bad writing advice. Don't forbid people from doing something, tell them to be conscious and deliberate about it. This could help stop people from falling into common mistakes without limiting their creativity. Black and white imperatives may stop a few annoying beginner habits, but ultimately they will restrict artistic expression.

Instead of "don't use epithets": "Know the effect epithets have and be deliberate about using them." Because yes, beginners often misuse them, but they can be useful when a character's name isn't known or when you want to reduce them to a particular trait they have.

Instead of "don't use 'said'" or "just use 'said'": "Be deliberate about your use of dialogue tags." Because sometimes you'll want "said" which fades into the background nicely, but sometimes you will need a more descriptive alternative to convey what a character is doing.

Instead of "don't use passive voice": "Be deliberate about when you use passive voice." Because using it when it's not needed can detract from your writing, but sometimes it can be useful to change the emphasis of a sentence or to portray a particular state of mind.

Instead of blindly following or ignorantly neglecting the rules of writing, familiarize yourself with them and their consequences so you can choose when and if breaking them would serve what you're trying to get across.

Your writing is yours. Take control of it.

It probably sounds like I'm preaching to the choir here because most of my mutuals are already great writers. But I'm hoping this will make it to the right people.

btw guys, you can do spoiler text on AO3! here's the html:

<details><summary>the text you want people to see</summary>The text you want to spoiler or hide</details>

it turns it into a little toggleable drop down that shows things and then hides them. it's great for content warnings in ao3 notes if you're worried about spoiling your fic--people who feel like they can proceed without any specific warnings can do so but people who want to see a warning or spoiler can choose to.

i tried it on firewatch au chapter three, it works:

if that html doesn't work, then here's the reddit comment i got it from by an r/ao3 moderator and former ao3 staff memeber. I copied it from here and it worked perfectly, but it didn't paste into tumblr so I manually typed it.

I have a fic idea that I'd really like to write, and I hope people would like to read it, but I'm too nervous to do so. I'm afraid people won't like my writing or that I won't get the characters right, etc.

As someone who's become really popular over their fics, at least on Tumblr, I'm curious about how you got over those fears if you had them at all.

I would not say that I'm really popular, I would say I am LOUD at best

And secondly, Anon. I'm squeezing your hands as I say this, literally every person to ever create something to gift to the world has been nervous.

Everyone. Every single goddamn person, you know why? Because we are but finite beings with brains BUILT to stress about things

I can't promise that people will like your writing. I can't say that you'll get the characters right, or any other placating thing.

The most important thing is that YOU like it. And you need to accept the fact that sometimes that's all it's gonna be.

It's fucking OUTSTANDING when people like your stuff. When people leave long comments, and those little numbers tick up, and you feel like you're making things that people ENJOY, and you're having FUN. It's so good.

But its not guaranteed. There's no formula for that, you could read every Good Writing book ever, take a Harvard class on Writing, do all the things

But your stuff will never truly be GOOD until YOU like it.

Because when YOU like your stuff, what does it matter if other people, who you've NEVER MET, who you might never meet, care? It hurts when your stuff isn't as big as you want it to be, there's no denying that, but it'll hurt LESS if you're not reaching for it.

Enjoy your work. Enjoy the process, enjoy writing, because I'll tell you a secret. If you like your work, it shines through. If YOU like what you're making, then chances are, people will see you enjoying that, and join in too.

I make stuff for ME, and I make things I'm proud of or excited by or insane about, and somewhere along the way people who liked it jumped on

My first fics? Not popular. Not at all. I got hate comments back on fanfiction . Net, I was LEARNING, and I'll always be learning, THATS THE JOY OF IT

You'll only get better. You'll only get more confident as you go, as you create, and you'll only create if you START.

I had those fears. I think everyone does. But it takes a special kind of courage to decide "fuck it. I'm doing this for me, and I'm afraid, but I'm doing it anyway."

And I'm so proud of you. For creating. For doing the thing. And I hope you do it. Please, creating is all we have sometimes, and while I can't promise whatever you make will be good, or that other people will like it, I can promise you one thing.

The world is better when you help fill it

“The “Best Related Work” award recognizes works in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom that do not fit into the other Hugo categories. AO3’s continual evolution makes it eligible for this annual award. “

Like on one hand I totally get it, but on the other hand I think of some of the fics I’ve read (and posted) being "Hugo nominees” and I laugh so hard my spirit leaves my body.

via @rfarrowster on Twitter.