The Guild Deserved Better

Writing memes, tips, and occasionally a BSD fanfic ;) Usually rarepairs...

[leameya]

a little lovecraftian horror for my dear friend @bsd-cazh <3 <3

[thefloatingstone]

[naryrising]

You can read the post here for more info, but I wanted to just add a bit about what this entails from my POV, on the Support team.  Somewhere between ¼ to 1/3 of all our tickets last month were in Chinese (somewhere upwards of 300 out of 1200 or so), almost all from users just setting up their accounts or trying to find out how to get an invitation.  A lot of the tickets are what I’d characterize as “intro” tickets - they say hi, list favourite fandoms or pairings, or provide samples of fic they’ve written. Although this isn’t necessary on AO3, this is not uncommon in Chinese fandom sites that you have to prove your credentials to get in (in fact it wasn’t uncommon in English-language fandom sites 15-20 years ago).  We respond to all of these tickets, even the ones that just say hi.  We check whether the user has managed to receive their invite or get their account sent up, and if they haven’t, we help them do so.  This means taking every single ticket through our Chinese translation team twice, once so we make sure we understand the initial ticket, and then again to translate our reply. 

This is a challenging process, although we’ve found ways to streamline it and can normally get a reply out pretty quickly (like within a few days).  We do it because this is part of why AO3 exists in the first place - to provide a safe haven where users can post their works without worrying about censorship or sudden crackdowns on certain kinds of content.  We do it because this is important, and helping these users get their accounts and be able to share their works safely is why we’re here.  We hope that we’ll be able to help as many of them as possible.  

There have been a few (thankfully few, that I’ve seen) complaints about these new AO3 users not always knowing how things work - what language to tag with, or what fandom tags to use, for instance.  To this I would say:

1. Have patience and be considerate.  They are coming to a new site that they aren’t familiar with, and using it in a language they may not be expert in, and it might take a while to learn the ropes.  You can filter out works tagged in Chinese if you don’t want to see them.  Or just scroll past.  

2. You can report works tagged with the wrong language or the wrong fandom to our Policy and Abuse team using the link at the bottom of any page.  This will not cause the authors to “get in trouble” (a concern I’ve heard before, as people are reluctant to report for these reasons).  It means the Policy and Abuse team will contact them to ask them to change the language/fandom tag, and if the creator doesn’t, they can edit it directly. 

If you remember Strikethrough or the FF.net porn ban or similar purges, please keep them in mind and consider that these users are going through something similar or potentially worse.  This is why AO3 exists.  We are doing our best to try and help make the transition smooth.  

[eabevella]

I am a Taiwanese and I’d like to put some context behind the recent influx of China based AO3 users.

China is tightening their freedom of speech in recent years after Xi has became the chairman (he even canceled the 10 years long term of service of chairman, meaning he can stay as the leader of China as long as he lives–he has became a dictator).

They censor words that are deemed “sensitive”, you can’t type anything to criticize the chinise government. Big social media platform won’t even post the posts containing sensitive words. You don’t have the freedom of publish books without the books being approved by the government either.

To disguise this whole Ninety Eighty-Four nightmare, they started to pick on the easy target: the women and the minorities (China is getting more and more misogynistic as a result of the government trying to control their male population through encouraging them to control the female population through “chinese tradition family value” but that’s another story).

Last year, the chinese government arrested a woman who is a famous yaoi/BL novel writer named 天一 and sentenced her 10 years in jail for “selling obscene publications” and “illegal publication” (she’s not the only BL writer who got arrested. Meanwhile, multiple cases where men raped women only get about 2 years of jail time in China). It’s a warning to anyone who want to publish anything that’s “not approved” by the government that they can literally ruin you. 

Just recently the chinese government “contacted” website owners of one of their largest romance/yaoi/slash fiction sites 晉江 and announced that for now on, for the sake of a Clean Society, they can’t write anything that’s slightly “obscene”. No sex scene, no sexual interaction, they can’t even write any bodily interaction below neck (I’m not kidding here).

But that’s not their actual goal. They also listed other restriction such as: can’t write anything that’s about the government, the military, the police, “sensitive history”, “race problems”, which is… you basically can’t write anything that might be used as a tool to criticize the government (as many novels did).

This recent development really hurt the chinese fanfic writers. They can’t write anything without the fear of being put on the guillotine by the government to show their control. Most of them don’t even think that deep politically, they just want to write slash fictions. But there are no platform safe in China, that’s why the sudden influx of chinese users to AO3.

I bet it won’t be long before AO3 got banned in China, but until then, be a little bit patient to them. As much as I hate the chinese government, I pity their people.

[zoooe14]

I’m crying so loud…As a Chinese, you don’t know how your kindness meant to us. When I’m young, I read 1984, and I thought this story is so unrealistic, but now, it’s getting tougher and tougher for fanfic and the writer in China. Thank you ao3. Thank you for the people who care about Chinese people. (hope I didn’t spell anything wrong)

[wrangletangle]

The OTW’s account on Weibo, the biggest Chinese social media site, is constantly fielding questions from Chinese users about how to get invitations, how to post, all of it. Chinese fans deeply want to learn how to use AO3. The difference between Lofter’s posting system and AO3′s is perhaps even wider than the gulf between Tumblr and AO3. But imagine if you had to navigate across that gap in a language you didn’t speak, using translation programs that don’t understand fan terminology.

This is exactly what the AO3 was built to deal with. We just didn’t get a chance to get the internationalization done first, so things may be bumpy for a while. We are all part of fandom, so let’s take care not to leave anyone out.

[wetwareproblem]

Just in case it isn’t clear to anyone? This. This right here is precisely why the AO3 doesn’t police content or remove things that are icky or obscene.

Because it’s not you who defines what’s obscene. It’s the authorities.

[hannahs-creations-deactivated20]

Anybody know of any really good posts or blogs that teach about writing fighting scenes? I want to try my hand at more Kyle/Belinda fights but I have to get better at writing about fights first. I’ve personally never been in a physical altercation before so… Idk anything about fighting.

[inexorableblob]

There’s several I’ve perused:

https://howtofightwrite.tumblr.com/post/162104997961/how-do-you-write-a-fight-scene-without-becoming

https://referenceforwriters.tumblr.com/post/38923518237/how-to-write-a-kick-ass-fight-scene-by-susan

https://brynwrites.tumblr.com/post/162531161729/all-about-writing-fight-scenes

And a big list:

https://psychictwinsrph.tumblr.com/post/141966853587/a-fight-scene-masterlist-im-quite-terrible-at

[bungou-positivity]

Poe: “If you feel very passionate about it, you shouldn’t limit yourself. Of course, you could always fit in smaller works in-between… But never try to inhibit your creativity, it’s an author’s greatest tool.“

[bsd-cazh]

Thanks Poe 🙏🏻 💕🤧

[cherribalm-deactivated20140609]

site that you can type in the definition of a word and get the word

site for when you can only remember part of a word/its definition 

site that gives you words that rhyme with a word

site that gives you synonyms and antonyms

[bumblebeebabie]

THAT FIRST SITE IS EVERY WRITER’S DREAM DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I’VE TRIED WRITING SOMETHING AND THOUGHT GOD DAMN IS THERE A SPECIFIC WORD FOR WHAT I’M USING TWO SENTENCES TO DESCRIBE AND JUST GETTING A BUNCH OF SHIT GOOGLE RESULTS

[sleep-deprivedtm]

For any writers who need this right now

[promptsforthestrugglingauthor]

the struggle of planning a kinda important part of your story around something you thought was canon but found out was actually from another fanfic so now you've gotta figure something else out cause otherwise you're stealing ideas 😔😓

Yikes! Good luck, my friend!

[thewriterswitch]

Reasons you should continue writing

Because you love it

Because you want to write

Because you want to get better

Because you want to create something

Because you love your characters

Because you love your world, society, or whatever it is you love

Because you want to write a book

Because it’s fun

Because it’s a skill

Because you want to be a writer

[raveneil-deactivated20220513]

fanfiction is so wild cause im like…..ugh im not in the mood to read a book…..i’ll just read an 82k word fic instead……

[brawltogethernow]

Look…. To start a book… You have to make room in yourself for new characters and worlds. Do I look like I have the emotional energy for that? Do I look like I can trust like that right now? Just show me the things I already know pay good returns on my investment, except I also want to read something new so I guess they can be in a coffee shop this time.

[justgot1]

This - this is it, you’ve put it into words

[valtsv]

where y’all sitting: ship dynamics edition

[mod2amaryllis]

to everyone who’s ever said something kind about my work: you help me get through the day. thank you.

[seasons-gredence]

fanfic writers on tumblr

[fleetofshippyships-archive]

their writing: the dawn breaks and you are anew. the person you once were vanished. the rising sun offers a fire to burn her to ashes.

me: hey there- i just wanted to you to know your work is amazing. i love reading your writing. please continue! it is so eloquent. your wording and command of the english language are just incredible. you show such a deep emotional intelligence.

them: lol ya i do a write sometimes thnx bb [gif of the rock]

[nnintendoe-deactivated20210629]

Reblog if you have read fan fiction better than some published books

Help me prove a point

[desert-neon]

I have never reblogged anything faster.

[iheartmalec]

y’all really are so talented

[team-mello]

I

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

Rejection letter I got from a literary agent today:

Just because your manuscript wasn’t what I was looking for at the moment doesn’t mean it’s not what other literary agents want. Don’t give up!

Me, through tears: Thank

[riftwitch-deactivated20200531]

Hot take: “I’m sure this work of fiction has artistic merit, but it does something that I’m sick to death of seeing, and I don’t want to consume it” is an entirely reasonable, valid position to have, and people don’t have to justify it beyond that.

[somanyjax-deactivated20210805]

Alternate: “I’m sure this work of fiction has artistic merit, but it does something that I’m sick to death of seeing, and I don’t want to consume it” is also valid

[ierosylia]

a word of advice for my writer buddies that took me way too long to realize – your story doesn’t have grand to be great. Your dystopia doesn’t have to end with your protagonists changing the world, making it a great place. Your fantasy doesn’t have to end with your protagonist overthrowing the malevolent ruler. You don’t have to worry and fret over your plot not being too complicated, too large, too exciting. Sometimes less is more! If your character doesn’t end up saving the day for the rest of the world, that’s okay. They don’t need to. Succeeding in their own goal is just as good. You don’t need long, overarching plots that effect your entire universe in order to make a great story. You just need your passion and motivation- you just need to write

[crispy-ghee]

Guys, if you want to be a good artist and storyteller you need to absorb other media and influences beyond popular comics and movies and video games. Hell, even beyond visual art. Read novels, science articles, history books. Listen to podcasts, watch documentaries. Dip into different disciplines. Explore stuff outside your everyday. What you create and the pool of ideas you can pull out of is expanded by the knowledge you gain. Don’t do yourself a disservice by limiting your library. You never know when some weird shit you read about mushrooms could end up inspiring you or helping you solve a design/story problem.

[joeys-piano]

Survive Said The Prophet | WIP INTRO

“There are as many who’d kill for information as there are those who’d commit murder for revenge.”

It was 1989 when a mysterious research facility closed its doors to the public; it was 1996 when those doors were blown, sky-high.

Looming from the edge of Yokohama’s doorstep, an explosion and a series of catastrophic events nearly wiped the city before suddenly, it all drew to an end. Although the military had written the incident off as “an error in protocol”; at the height of the Great War, such devastation could only be viewed as a terrorist attack. Following the aftermath and now wandering the streets were not only the ghosts of the survivors, but the brick and mortar of murmurs and conspiracies. Salvaged from the ruins became the bricks for Suribachi City, those that knew the truth soon lost their lives in neither grace nor glory, and the sole survivor from the research facility knew nothing about the unfortunate line of dominoes that had led to the event.

However, after the publication of a certain book and a series of disappearances nearly twenty years later, perhaps there was more to the story than one could overlook. For the tale to unfold, there were two survivors. One was a vessel for a minor god; the other needed no other credential than the ability coursing through his blood.

GENRE: Supernatural Mystery + Sci-Fi elements

RATING: Explicit/Adult Fiction

FANDOM: Bungou Stray Dogs

STATUS: Outline (ongoing), elaborate preview

FEATURES: Origins & Nature of Supernatural Abilities, Battle of Wits & Ideology, Established Relationships, Canon Divergence

MAJOR THEMES: Facing Reality & Overcoming The Past, Human Nature vs. Individuality, Desires & Self-Sacrifice 

CONTENT WARNINGS: Dubious Ethics & Morality, Implicit/Explicit Descriptions of Violence, Character Deaths

Disclaimer: Ain’t nothing wrong about making a wip introduction for your fanfic. Especially when the story expands all the things that intrigued you from canon.