May. 9th, 2023 05:12 pm
fic writing ask meme
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averytreeI saw 4xaroundthesun respond to this fic writing asks meme from tumblr so I also decided to answer the questions that I found most interesting!
Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic?
A typical fic from me is plot-centric, with a story that moves from scene to scene with a clear sence of direction (and perhaps sacrificing some opportunities for vibes or emotions along the way). It probably has a very developed setting, whether that is a real city on Earth or a sci-fi space. It likely has a large ensemble cast surrounding the main character, who has friendships, co-workers and many acquaintances in addition to a potential romantic interest. It is probably written in the past tense, chronologically, and from not more than 2 POVs. About half the time, it's probably about an established relationship. The characters are more likely to demonstrate their affection or frustration through actions than words.
Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?
A sports AU, with probably either baseball or Tae Kwon Do.
Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?
This isn't a trope, but it's unlikely that I will ever write het fic. (Watch me break this immediately). Okay, it's extremely unlikely I will ever write explicit het fic!
How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?
Just one mainly! My big, very long running BTS sci-fi WIP, The Same Sky. I've been working on it with ShinySherlock since mid-2020. We've posted over 140K, and are heading into the big climactic ending at last, which I'm extremely excited about. The best way to way to describe the story is slow-burn found family-- it takes nearly 100K just to get all seven members of BTS in one place, with a lot of danger, adventures, magic, heists and romance along the way ;D
Share one of your strengths.
I'm good at describing action scenes, and I enjoy writing them. I like moving characters around in space. I also like settings, I like coming up with them and describing them. I picture things extremely visually in my head and feel like I can often capture that on the page.
Share one of your weaknesses.
I can be less good at accurately describing character's internal worlds and feelings. I'm sure it has something to do with how I process my own feelings, which I sometimes can't name until the feeling has already passed. But I feel like the big area of growth over the past two years was me struggling to get better at including character's feelings and makings sure each character voice was unique.
Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written.
But then last night. All of them had been at the dinner table, very loud, drinking, cheering at each new dish Jin set down on the table. And Yoongi had sat on Namjoon's lap even though there were other chairs available. Namjoon had felt an instant shot of adrenaline that seemed to clear all the alcohol out of his brain. He'd been so surprised he'd hardly known how to react. He kind of wanted to put his hands on Yoongi's hips, but given his usual reaction to PDA, thought it better to keep still and act casual. A few minutes later Yoongi had stood up again to argue with Jin over seasonings in the kitchen. Jimin had caught Namjoon's eye and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. But Namjoon was pretty sure that Yoongi was just drunk enough that he'd forgotten that touching Namjoon was something he generally only did behind closed doors. Not that it was a secret, but it was private.
from No Sudden Moves
Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written.
“Okay, but listen to this,” Jisung said, trying to keep the mood light. “In Sweden, there’s a tradition of building goats out of straw to guard the Christmas tree. This one city, Gävle, goes really hard– every year since 1966 they’ve built a 13 meter high straw goat in the town center. And almost every single year, some prankster burns it down. It’s only lasted through New Years a handful of times!”
“That’s the spirit of the season,” Minho said approvingly. “Arson.”
from The Spirit of the Season
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?
Trust your reader to get the point; don't say anything twice that only needs to be said once, or even just implied. And always know who's POV you are in, and why.
What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?
Oh, all those direct rules telling people not to use adverbs or never write in the first person or whatever. Just write what you want to write!
If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?
Oh, probably Bright Enough to Light Up Any Dark, my Seventeen re-write of the Scholomance series. It's got a very cool setting, a dystopian boarding school in space, monster fights, magic, crushes, kisses, polyamory... plus Mingyu getting stabbed and then nursed by to health by two hyungs... just everything I'd like to see on the big screen :P
If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be? UGH don't make me chose! I rarely even write one pairing twice in a row, let alone lots of times.
Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? Depends on the story, and the length. It's under 10K, I usually write it fairly start to finish. The longer it is, the more likely I am to write it out of order.
Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?
Usually just bullet point list outlines either on paper or in the doc.
Describe your perfect writing conditions.
In my bed, on my laptop, with my co-author online and in the doc at the same time :3
How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?
Almost every story I've ever posted has been read over by at least one beta reader. I often also read it out loud to myself, or out loud to someone on the phone, which helps me caught awkward phrasing I might otherwise miss.
Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?
I've deleted podfics, but I don't think I've ever deleted a written fic.
What do you look for in a beta?
Someone familiar with the canon material. Someone who's writing I like. Someone I trust will understand what I am trying to do with the story.
How do you feel about collaborations?
Huge fan!
Talk about a review that made your day.
Someone left this as a bookmark note on my SVT Verkwan fic Promises Broken and Made and it touched me so much and I think about it all the time:
I need to start preparing for a birthday lunch but I took my sweet time reading this fic instead hehe. I just, I really love fanfiction you know. Sometimes I forget why I love it, but this fic made me remember why. Knowing this writing came from someone who loves the same thing as I do, really just blows my mind. This is very beautiful.
4xaroundthesun respond to this fic writing asks meme from tumblr so I also decided to answer the questions that I found most interesting! Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic?
A typical fic from me is plot-centric, with a story that moves from scene to scene with a clear sence of direction (and perhaps sacrificing some opportunities for vibes or emotions along the way). It probably has a very developed setting, whether that is a real city on Earth or a sci-fi space. It likely has a large ensemble cast surrounding the main character, who has friendships, co-workers and many acquaintances in addition to a potential romantic interest. It is probably written in the past tense, chronologically, and from not more than 2 POVs. About half the time, it's probably about an established relationship. The characters are more likely to demonstrate their affection or frustration through actions than words.
Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?
A sports AU, with probably either baseball or Tae Kwon Do.
Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?
This isn't a trope, but it's unlikely that I will ever write het fic. (Watch me break this immediately). Okay, it's extremely unlikely I will ever write explicit het fic!
How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?
Just one mainly! My big, very long running BTS sci-fi WIP, The Same Sky. I've been working on it with ShinySherlock since mid-2020. We've posted over 140K, and are heading into the big climactic ending at last, which I'm extremely excited about. The best way to way to describe the story is slow-burn found family-- it takes nearly 100K just to get all seven members of BTS in one place, with a lot of danger, adventures, magic, heists and romance along the way ;D
Share one of your strengths.
I'm good at describing action scenes, and I enjoy writing them. I like moving characters around in space. I also like settings, I like coming up with them and describing them. I picture things extremely visually in my head and feel like I can often capture that on the page.
Share one of your weaknesses.
I can be less good at accurately describing character's internal worlds and feelings. I'm sure it has something to do with how I process my own feelings, which I sometimes can't name until the feeling has already passed. But I feel like the big area of growth over the past two years was me struggling to get better at including character's feelings and makings sure each character voice was unique.
Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written.
But then last night. All of them had been at the dinner table, very loud, drinking, cheering at each new dish Jin set down on the table. And Yoongi had sat on Namjoon's lap even though there were other chairs available. Namjoon had felt an instant shot of adrenaline that seemed to clear all the alcohol out of his brain. He'd been so surprised he'd hardly known how to react. He kind of wanted to put his hands on Yoongi's hips, but given his usual reaction to PDA, thought it better to keep still and act casual. A few minutes later Yoongi had stood up again to argue with Jin over seasonings in the kitchen. Jimin had caught Namjoon's eye and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. But Namjoon was pretty sure that Yoongi was just drunk enough that he'd forgotten that touching Namjoon was something he generally only did behind closed doors. Not that it was a secret, but it was private.
from No Sudden Moves
Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written.
“Okay, but listen to this,” Jisung said, trying to keep the mood light. “In Sweden, there’s a tradition of building goats out of straw to guard the Christmas tree. This one city, Gävle, goes really hard– every year since 1966 they’ve built a 13 meter high straw goat in the town center. And almost every single year, some prankster burns it down. It’s only lasted through New Years a handful of times!”
“That’s the spirit of the season,” Minho said approvingly. “Arson.”
from The Spirit of the Season
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?
Trust your reader to get the point; don't say anything twice that only needs to be said once, or even just implied. And always know who's POV you are in, and why.
What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?
Oh, all those direct rules telling people not to use adverbs or never write in the first person or whatever. Just write what you want to write!
If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?
Oh, probably Bright Enough to Light Up Any Dark, my Seventeen re-write of the Scholomance series. It's got a very cool setting, a dystopian boarding school in space, monster fights, magic, crushes, kisses, polyamory... plus Mingyu getting stabbed and then nursed by to health by two hyungs... just everything I'd like to see on the big screen :P
If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be? UGH don't make me chose! I rarely even write one pairing twice in a row, let alone lots of times.
Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? Depends on the story, and the length. It's under 10K, I usually write it fairly start to finish. The longer it is, the more likely I am to write it out of order.
Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?
Usually just bullet point list outlines either on paper or in the doc.
Describe your perfect writing conditions.
In my bed, on my laptop, with my co-author online and in the doc at the same time :3
How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?
Almost every story I've ever posted has been read over by at least one beta reader. I often also read it out loud to myself, or out loud to someone on the phone, which helps me caught awkward phrasing I might otherwise miss.
Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?
I've deleted podfics, but I don't think I've ever deleted a written fic.
What do you look for in a beta?
Someone familiar with the canon material. Someone who's writing I like. Someone I trust will understand what I am trying to do with the story.
How do you feel about collaborations?
Huge fan!
Talk about a review that made your day.
Someone left this as a bookmark note on my SVT Verkwan fic Promises Broken and Made and it touched me so much and I think about it all the time:
I need to start preparing for a birthday lunch but I took my sweet time reading this fic instead hehe. I just, I really love fanfiction you know. Sometimes I forget why I love it, but this fic made me remember why. Knowing this writing came from someone who loves the same thing as I do, really just blows my mind. This is very beautiful.
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