Writing Thread

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alittledizzy
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internetakeover wrote:Also writing is kicking my butt at the moment, so well done to everyone who can/does write regularly, I've never figured it out! I made a New Year's Resolution to post a fic a month, and managed that for all of January. Stupid uni *grumbles*

also stupid brain constantly telling me that my writing is shit and no one cares about it so what's the point and anyway you should be doing something productive, but i'm trying to remind myself that that's not the point of fic, the point is that i do enjoy it and it should be a break from uni etc, and don't want to whine when i know that's the only answer, so have this in tiny writing where it doesn't count??
You are one of my favorite phan writers, please don't think that stuff that I didn't see bc it was tiny writing and doesn't count that there aren't people super eager to see what you come up with next. I don't like to pressure writers because it's a crappy feeling when you want to write and feel like people are mad because you don't have time, or whatever, but if you need some gentle reassurance that there are people whose whole day is brighter for seeing a new fic from you - I can totally provide that.
internetakeover
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alittledizzy wrote:
internetakeover wrote:Also writing is kicking my butt at the moment, so well done to everyone who can/does write regularly, I've never figured it out! I made a New Year's Resolution to post a fic a month, and managed that for all of January. Stupid uni *grumbles*

also stupid brain constantly telling me that my writing is shit and no one cares about it so what's the point and anyway you should be doing something productive, but i'm trying to remind myself that that's not the point of fic, the point is that i do enjoy it and it should be a break from uni etc, and don't want to whine when i know that's the only answer, so have this in tiny writing where it doesn't count??
You are one of my favorite phan writers, please don't think that stuff that I didn't see bc it was tiny writing and doesn't count that there aren't people super eager to see what you come up with next. I don't like to pressure writers because it's a crappy feeling when you want to write and feel like people are mad because you don't have time, or whatever, but if you need some gentle reassurance that there are people whose whole day is brighter for seeing a new fic from you - I can totally provide that.
ahhh, thank you so much!! That really means a lot, especially as you're one of my favourite phan writers too - probably my absolute favourite, now I actually think about it. Time's not really the issue - I'm only procrastinating on the revision I should be doing through other methods instead! - so that gentle reassurance is very welcome and means the world And the same back to you, 110%!!
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SquishPhan
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Camp NaNoWrimo just ended yesterday, and I only managed to write 10,254 words. Not great, but seeing as I haven’t written more than that in a long time, I will take it.
Hopefully I will be able to write more during the July session.
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mysterylovescompany
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Is anyone here participating in the Phandom Big Bang?
greatnessflicker
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SquishPhan wrote:Camp NaNoWrimo just ended yesterday, and I only managed to write 10,254 words. Not great, but seeing as I haven’t written more than that in a long time, I will take it.
Hopefully I will be able to write more during the July session.
that's so so much more than zero words! Congrats on taking the plunge!

I write press releases and social media posts for work, but I'm very anxious about my creative writing abilities. However, I've started a "professional" (lol) website, so I'm going to force myself to update it with a blog post here and there. Plus, I have a whole summer to actually work on the two or three short story ideas and nonfiction essay ideas I have kicking around.

My problem is, essentially, that thing where you are a perfectionist and you don't like to begin something until you feel fully prepared. When I think of just picking one short story idea I have, I start imagining weeks of researching (for verisimilitude and, like, literary precedence of the theme I want to explore), character developing, etc, and get so overwhelmed with how much work I think I have to do before I even begin writing. I don't know how to combat this, so for now I'm going to slightly indulge in this compulsion but give myself a set day where I put all this research aside and just write.

Also, looking into the pros and cons of sending your work to literary magazines. It is a real bummer that most ask your work not be published elsewhere, including on your tumblr, blog, or whatever. How are you supposed to get better if you don't share it with people?
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alittledizzy
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mysterylovescompany wrote:Is anyone here participating in the Phandom Big Bang?
No :( I'm really bummed I'm not. I was a day late signing up and they refused to let me.
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Winston
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I just found this thread.

I became a creative writing major in college (a double major for anthropology) to satisfy me creatively I guess. I used to write a lot, and even started publishing "anthologies" while in college, which included work from other students and professors alike. I produced public readings and became fairly outspoken in my college community of writers. I then had a breakdown of sorts (trauma induced), and stopped basically being me for a couple years, and in those years I stopped writing and lost all creative interests. As of recently (another life trauma/change happened) creativity has returned. I have started writing poetry again, and I have started writing fiction again, even phanfiction. I am very rusty, but I find it is something I missed. I am the daughter of a librarian and so literature, reading, and writing are very important to me. I am sad that I let that part of me die out for a while. So this thread may help me in the future if I start really writing again. I have to fine tune my abilities again though it has been a long time since college.
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kay
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I haven't wandered into this thread before. Would love to see your work, Winston! Have you posted anything anywhere we could read?
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Winston
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I have an AO3 account with one (embarassing) fic, I posted in the "Stalk a phan on social media" thread about it. That is a good thread to wonder into as well. :)
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karlitatvphan
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I can't say I'm a writer but I write a lot. I mostly write fanfiction (Green Day and One Direction ones if I'm getting specific) but I have an awesome idea for a fantasy book but I'm so uncreative that I don't even know where to start.

I have written during my life, stories, poems, comic books, fanfiction, songs, but nothing particularly good.

The things I still working on is a Green Day fanfiction called Basket Case/Know Your Enemy (my most sucessfull "work" right now, it has 7k views, 303 votes and 31 comments on Wattpad) that I started 4 years ago and I'm 3 chapters away from finishing it but I still don't do it, a Liam Payne fanfiction that's supposed to be 3 parts long, but I wanna fix it because it's a mess and a 1D fanfiction with very long 6 parts I want to write so yeah, one day I'll have a book that's not based on a fanfiction, but I'll do it, it's my dream to get something good finished and published someday.

And I also write in my mother language, spanish. One day I'll write some phan fictions I'm sure, I have great ideas but yeah, the procastination, lack of creativity and laziness don't let me do it.
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TamaraStreeter
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Cool :)
CallMeAyana
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Ohmygods. I just found it thread, and I'm already lovin' it!

I started writing a few years ago, and since then, I'm trying to find ways on how to improve my writing (but lately, I'm procrastinating, so.. :sideeye: ). Most of the time, I have my friends to read my work, and I think that they're just being kind on giving criticisms.
I've actually written a few Phan Headcanons that I would like to share to the world, but unfortunately.. Writer's Block is an ass, and I'm stuck on traffic on a highway that leads to the Land of Creativity. I blame it on my procrastination, and the fact that I really want to discontinue that (relatively short) one-shot just sounds so appealing. I've been going on at it for a few weeks, but it stays unfinished despite every word that I've tried to put in there (and change it after a few hours). I think that my perspective on Dan has changed for the past few weeks, and that's why I can't continue writing it anymore.
With an unfinished work, the other ideas on queue are grumbling and wants to be in front of the line, but.. procrastination, as always.

P.S. I actually also wanted to do a 30-Day Writing Challenge, but.. I have IDB priorities to do, and real-life stuff to take care of, so.. And, yeah, that also applies to any NaNoWriMo for that matter.
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DryCereal
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Two problems I have that just ruin my writing, such as it is...
1; I get ideas when I first wake up, but by the time I'm fully awake and done all my morning essential stuff and can write, it's poof! gone forever.
2; characters that won't behave and stick to whatever plan I have for a fic. :roll:
IckleMissMayhem's evil fic writing alter ego. :twisted:
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alittledizzy
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I struggle so much with writing fic that I've tried to plan out. Generally most of what I write is very spur of the moment, or I have a vague idea of what the fic will be but as soon as I try to overplan I lose it. I have so much envy for writers who can plot out a long fic and then have the motivation to actually write and finish it!

A good beta reader/hand holder can make a huge difference too though. Someone who will encourage you and help you through any rough spots and generally just push you to do more and better. I am a big fan of someone who will give me gentle concrit; I want to know which parts suck before I post it, so I can do rewrites. That gives me a lot of confidence that I think otherwise I'd lack.
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alittledizzy wrote:Nice idea for a thread. :) I write a ton but mostly fanfic. Right now I'm doing one big bang and pondering ideas for the phandom big bang. I'm pretty sure they're gonna end up running at least partially at the same time, so that'll be fun.
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star55
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hajime wrote:I'm absolutely in the depths of a writer's block. For over, what, eight/nine months I haven't been able to get out a single word. Sucks, because I really, really want to start working on a new novel, but I just can't write a single thing! I'm so scared of producing something that isn't good (by my own personal standards), so I opt to not write anything. Can't even write fanfiction anymore. I don't even know what to do to help this situation.
Anonymousse wrote:I have become very un-creative.
This totally sums up my thoughts
This post speaks straight to my soul. I haven't been able to write all year. I cry every time I think about it. I cry a lot.
nyehhehowell
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hello! i love to suffer, this is a great thread for me.
i like to pretend i'm a huge phanfic writer but it's an actual miracle if i update more than once a month, if that at all. probably because i'm a huge perfectionist and want to rewrite every time i get anywhere...
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pastelspectre
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Hello I also write! I actually wrote a fan fic just recently, a simple short oneshot of..Dan x myself because I am utter absolute . Other than that before that everything i wrote was for school, and before that i hadn't written anything for myself in like 3 years. I have some old phanfics from a few years ago i could dredge up but they're not the best and they're both about mental illness. ;w;

i do love to write, it's just i'm not the best at taking criticism and i'm also quite rusty at it. also i tend to only do good with prompts bleh
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CallMeAyana
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I cri ever time I hab a phanfic idea but never rite it
I'm not the best writer, and certainly not the most motivated person to do a fic, so...
I have ideas for really long one-shots (one in which I have a vague idea on how to write it) and some chaptered ones (however, most of those only have like the beginning and the ending planned out, so...) I cri :sobs:
That's why I only post drabbles on my ao3 account because they're so easy to write :sobs:
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lefthandedism
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CallMeAyana wrote:I cri ever time I hab a phanfic idea but never rite it
I'm not the best writer, and certainly not the most motivated person to do a fic, so...
I have ideas for really long one-shots (one in which I have a vague idea on how to write it) and some chaptered ones (however, most of those only have like the beginning and the ending planned out, so...) I cri :sobs:
That's why I only post drabbles on my ao3 account because they're so easy to write :sobs:
Can you write the drabbles and then put them together into one or more oneshots? Conversely, carve out a little bit of a longer piece and make it a drabble; repeat a few times and you've gotten most of the oneshot written!

I have a terrible time writing anything long--it was sometimes torture in school to hit the minimum page/word count. I am a person of few (hopefully well-chosen) words. For many of the phanfics I have written, I am surprised when the count of those few words surpasses 1000!
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CallMeAyana
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LeftHandedism wrote:
CallMeAyana wrote:I cri ever time I hab a phanfic idea but never rite it
I'm not the best writer, and certainly not the most motivated person to do a fic, so...
I have ideas for really long one-shots (one in which I have a vague idea on how to write it) and some chaptered ones (however, most of those only have like the beginning and the ending planned out, so...) I cri :sobs:
That's why I only post drabbles on my ao3 account because they're so easy to write :sobs:
Can you write the drabbles and then put them together into one or more oneshots? Conversely, carve out a little bit of a longer piece and make it a drabble; repeat a few times and you've gotten most of the oneshot written!

I have a terrible time writing anything long--it was sometimes torture in school to hit the minimum page/word count. I am a person of few (hopefully well-chosen) words. For many of the phanfics I have written, I am surprised when the count of those few words surpasses 1000!
Thanks for the advice! I sometimes write drabbles that ended up being a one-shot, like... the most words that I have written is 1,068 or something... :sideeye: And... yeah, I can relate. I literally had a drabble on ao3 which is only 5 sentences long...
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RiriPandaHeart2
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I was a fanfic writer in a Kpop fandom, though admittedly not one of the best ones. That fandom was thirsty for fanfics so even my mediocre writing skills had at least a 100 subscribers.

I've only written one phanfic so far and I wasn't really satisfied with it (hence not much promo-ing). It was just a personal fic I wrote because I was undergoing law school blues and imagined Dan undergoing the same thing. I plan to write a lot more phanfics in the future. I do have an idea/prompt list but since I had no time, I do anonymously send prompts to my fave authors. However, I'm a very slow writer and law school is depriving me of any spare time to write that I've only produced 5k words for a fic that was just meant to incorporate the lyrics of Dodie's Sick of Losing Soulmate into Deppy's conversation, and I've been writing it for 2 months already; I haven't reached the chorus of the song yet.

Just wanted to drop by to say that I do love the fanfics written by the members here. The advice you give here does help a lot. Hopefully someday I'll participate more in this wonderful community. In the meantime, I'll continue looking on in awe of all your writing skills.
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tooqueerforyou
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writing is hard, y'all. I recently was talking to dizzy about how I often write only when I have specific inspiration, which does not lead to very much writing. But I am currently working on a phan college theatre kid au(because I am a college theatre kid. and my girlfriend and I like to say we're the american nb deppy. She's Dan and I'm Phil. We even have the same age difference except she's the one that's older. basically I'm adapting how we got together to become how they get together in college) and I could really really really use a beta reader(it would be amazing if it were someone familiar with Buffy because that's part of my fic but I've never seen it but it's okay if not! I can research!) to hand hold and tell me if something doesn't make sense/dialogue is confusing, etc.
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tooqueerforyou wrote:writing is hard, y'all. I recently was talking to dizzy about how I often write only when I have specific inspiration, which does not lead to very much writing. But I am currently working on a phan college theatre kid au(because I am a college theatre kid. and my girlfriend and I like to say we're the american nb deppy. She's Dan and I'm Phil. We even have the same age difference except she's the one that's older. basically I'm adapting how we got together to become how they get together in college) and I could really really really use a beta reader(it would be amazing if it were someone familiar with Buffy because that's part of my fic but I've never seen it but it's okay if not! I can research!) to hand hold and tell me if something doesn't make sense/dialogue is confusing, etc.
(i'm currently wearing a Buffy t-shirt I feel like you summoned me)

It's my favourite tv show but I'm only on Series 3 Episode 14 after 3 years of watching it - as long as it doesn't contain relationship spoilers for any of the scooby gang (I know literally every other major spoiler but somehow relationships are the only ones I really care about ) I could give it a go :D
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lefthandedism
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tooqueerforyou wrote:writing is hard, y'all. I recently was talking to dizzy about how I often write only when I have specific inspiration, which does not lead to very much writing. But I am currently working on a phan college theatre kid au(because I am a college theatre kid. and my girlfriend and I like to say we're the american nb deppy. She's Dan and I'm Phil. We even have the same age difference except she's the one that's older. basically I'm adapting how we got together to become how they get together in college) and I could really really really use a beta reader(it would be amazing if it were someone familiar with Buffy because that's part of my fic but I've never seen it but it's okay if not! I can research!) to hand hold and tell me if something doesn't make sense/dialogue is confusing, etc.
I've got the Buffy dvd set under my table, and I've been working my way through it with my daughter (3rd? time for me; 1st for her). I believe I also started a Buffy thread around here somewhere.

I love beta'ing, and I wouldn't mind getting more beta'ing myself (I'm here on ao3).
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