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I have so many ideas but so little time T.T so I’ll be dumping them here until I can write and publish them on my Ao3. I also reblog lots of writing related posts, talk about my original characters and post about my world building. The fandoms are varied, ships are all over and the AUs run wild, so I hope you can find some joy in my ramblings. Thank you and enjoy!
The Fic Idea Vault is where all my future stories live, if an idea is yet to be written/published it’ll be #Stored in the Vault. Once ready, you can #Find it on Ao3!
If an idea/prompt is #Up for Grabs, it means I don't plan to write it and are just releasing it for anyone to get some inspiration or to take as is. And if you do get inspired by any idea/prompt of mine, be sure to tag me so I can add it to #Promos!
Masterposts
📌Vault - All my stories are briefly summarized and sorted by fandom in the Vault Masterpost.
📌Original Characters
📌Art
Last updated on 3 July 2025
My Writing Tags
Stored in the Vault 🖋️ Find it on Ao3! 🖋️ Up for Grabs 🖋️ Promos
General Tags
Writing tips 🏷️ Writing resources 🏷️ Writing meme 🏷️ Relatable 🏷️ Art 🏷️ Ask games 🏷️ Fan events 🏷️ Important
Fandoms (the ones I have stories for)
The Hobbit 🧭 Star Wars 🧭 Hellaverse (Hazbin Hotel + Helluva Boss) 🧭 STH (Sonic the Hedgehog) 🧭 IT Chapter 2 🧭 Carmen Sandiego Netflix 🧭 TOA (Tales of Arcadia) 🧭 WWDITS (What We Do in the Shadows)
Rules of Fandom
📜 Always Comment!
Tell your artists/writers you appreciate their work! But...
📜 If You Have Nothing Nice to Say, Don't Say Anything
Unless the writer/artist specifically asks, do not give unsolicited advice or criticism. And if you...
📜 Don't Like? Don't Read
You can go back, or not click on a fic if you don't want to read it. Block and move on to stuff you do enjoy! Just remember to...
📜 Ship and Let Ship
PROSHIP DOES NOT MEAN PROBLEMATIC SHIP!! Proship means you are against censorship of any ship (yes, even those you find gross), because "Antis" exist who want to police others on FICTIONAL ships/topics. Don't question why people write/like something because...
📜 No One Owes You an Explanation
A person’s reasons for liking anything in fiction is not your business and anyway...
📜 Fiction is not Reality
The claim that media consumption influences real-life behavior is intellectually dishonest and serves only to excuse the behavior of real offenders. Words you write or read about fictional characters will never make you a bad person. Your real life actions against others (harassing, "cancelling" people, stalking, digital witch hunts) DO make you a bad person. Finally...
📜 Be Nice or Get Blocked!
If you seek a fight or to cause discourse, I will not engage and block you. Have the life you deserve and may you find some comfort in my works to forget your troubles!
FAQ
📬 "Inspired by" fics, translations, podfics, and art are 100% ok! (NO AI)
I will kiss you if you make anything for any of my stories, or develop your own based on an idea! Please don't hesitate to tag me and spam my notifications if you share it! Just no use of AI, that is not something I agree with!
📬 DO NOT repost anywhere and/or claim anything of mine as your own
You can take an idea and write it yourself, I just ask that you do not post my own writing anywhere else or claim as your own original idea.
📬 When will you update/publish X fic?
We will get there when we get there! I am always plagued by the plot bunnies, and have more ideas than time or spoons to write, but I will not abandon any of my stories, just please have some patience!
📬 Disclaimer
None of these trademarked characters are mine, they all belong to their respective owners. I do not nor will I ever profit from my fanfiction. Please ask before using any of my original characters!
How come ao3 allows donations for itself, but not for anything else e.g stuff about Palestine?
because even as a non-profit organization, ao3 still needs money in order for it to function. a non-profit organization does need money in order for it to run and operate.
being a non-profit organization does not mean "we don't need money to run it yay". it does not mean "we pay everything out of our own pockets, so we don't need any donation" — that's not how it works.
as for palestine, the site doesn't "forbid things that are related to palestine only". it forbids "anything and everything that 1. is not fanwork 2. involves money" — which happens to include palestine-related stuff.
ao3 is a site for fanfiction (and original works, which according to them, counts as fanworks). the only things ao3 allows are fanfiction and original works — aka FANWORKS ONLY. NOTHING ELSE. (edit: fanworks also include fanart and video edits of characters, even if they’re not written text, they still count as fanworks)
palestine-related posts are not fanworks, therefore they are not allowed.
political statement is not fanwork, therefore it is not allowed.
anything that is not fanwork (fanfiction or original work) is not allowed.
as for your question about donation — a non-profit organization can (and they do) ask for donation, because a non-profit organization cannot function without the donation money keeping it going.
"so why don't they allow users to earn money through their site too? why don't they allow users to raise money for palestine too?"
the answer is because:
be it the money you earn and keep for yourself or donation money meant for other organizations, to a non-profit organization like ao3, that is the same thing. it's still "users earning money through their site" or "users using their site to promote ways for other organizations (someone else) to earn money". intention or who gets the money doesn't actually matter here. anybody or any other organizations earning money through ao3 is NOT allowed.
"people donating to ao3 to keep the site going" and "fanfic writers monetizing works about other people's copyrighted characters" are NOT the same thing.
"people donating to ao3 to keep the site going" and "fanfic writers using ao3 to promote ways for other organizations to earn money" are NOT the same thing.
but "fanfic writers monetizing works about other people's copyrighted character" and "fanfic writers using ao3 to promote ways for other organizations to earn money" ARE the same thing.
"people donating to ao3 to keep the site going" is allowed because... without the donation money, ao3 would not have existed in the first place, it would not have existed today, it would not have been able to continue functioning.
"fanfic writers monetizing works about other people's copyrighted character" and/or "fanfic writers using ao3 to promote way for other organizations to earn money" are NOT allowed because fanfiction is already in a legally grey area. the only reason ao3 and fanfic writers are not being sued by companies like disney or netflix is because "no one is monetizing fanfiction, and ao3 is not used as a tool for users — or any other organizations — to earn money in any way, shape or form".
that's the only reason ao3 isn't being forced to shut down by companies like disney or netflix, the only reasons it's not being bombarded by lawsuits. "no money is involved because the characters belong to their respective studios". fanfic writers just have fun with them. but they are NOT being monetized. NOTHING that is posted on the site can be used to earn anybody — be it the writers or any other organizations — any money.
so no "please donate to xyz". no "commission is open". no "here's my patreon".
be it directly or indirectly, if it involves money, it's against ao3's terms of service.
"but what about original works? they are the writers' original characters. can we monetize our own original works on ao3 or can we promote ways for people to donate to xyz under our original works on ao3?"
no, you still cannot mention or even imply donation or commission on ao3, even if it's your own original works. why? because ao3 doesn't differentiate original works from fanfiction — since it's impossible for them to do that. now I know it's super easy to distinguish between fanfics and original works. but the real issue is that ao3 is KNOWN AS A SITE FOR FANFICTION. it allows original works, yes. but its main purpose is still fanfiction. it hosts millions of fanfiction about other people's copyrighted characters. so basically the entire site is "fanfiction site" — therefore, for legal reasons, anything that involves money cannot be allowed.
the measure ao3 takes to ensure nobody can sue them and force them to shut down is to forbid any mention or implication of money on their platform. it's like them telling companies like disney and netflix "hey, I'm cool here. no one monetizes anything on our site / our site isn't being used as a tool for anybody or organization to earn money." which is the main reason it's not being sued left and right by these companies.
their rules are very simple:
they're a non-profit organization. they're run by people's donation.
they do not allow any monetization or any mention/implication of money on their site, this is how they avoid lawsuits.
anything that isn't fanwork is not allowed on their site, as their site was made only for fanworks.
respectfully, ao3 is NOT a social media platform. it is an archive meant to host fanworks.
if you want to talk about palestine or any other issues that are important to you, you can absolutely do that on your own social media platforms. but a fanfiction site is NOT a place for social justice, human rights or real-world issues.
people talk about their writer friends stealing their weird habits or borrowing backstories but what you don't know is that we will steal your house. layout location garden colour scheme décor the whole lot. i have childhood friends with entire abodes immortalised in my stories. i have people i met once who would be able to recognise ancient six-month lease domiciles from a decade and a half ago. i'm in your house i'm in your blueprints and i am taking the lot.
weird question but I want to post more about my ocs on Tumblr, but I also want to turn their story into a proper comic one day once I'm skilled enough. Because of this I don't want to post too much information, since I want there to be some twists and surprises in the comic proper. How do you handle not revealing too much information for Idwtbamg, stuff that would be revealed in the hypothetical final show?
honestly i wouldn't worry about it much! i've talked about this a little bit before
💬 8 🔁 660 ❤️ 3056 · ive always had this hang up that i have to keep everything i want to turn into a commercial project super secret and p
i feel like people worry about this a lot which is fair but also when stuff like the manga -> anime pipeline exists, i think it's safe to assume that even though people might know a spoiler or what's going to happen, they'll still be excited just to see the product in a different way and care more about the execution.
but on my end, whenever i post art focusing on the cast, i keep it more to character interactions and small worldbuilding things that i think are interesting and fun for people to know without giving away the larger story. i've found solace in the fact that my audience on twitter/tumblr is a fraction of the people that go and watch the show! i've been super up front about Zira being Aika's love interest and that this is a yuri series (which could be considered a spoiler) but most users on youtube have absolutely no idea that that's the case hahaha
so truly, don't be afraid to spoil but if that's something you wanna keep close to your chest, just drawing the characters interacting in small vignettes is always a fun way to show the tone of your comic on top of familiarizing your audience with the characters.
Developing fictional relationships that feel authentic takes more than dialogue and grand gestures. Every detail below can be used to show platonic, familial, agape, or romantic love depending on context.
cooking a meal for someone, bringing them food, or spontaneously sharing a snack
sharing body heat/warming someone with outerwear like jackets and scarves
fanning them with something if overheated
getting a cold/hot drink for them
offering to carry something, whether it's heavy or just a jacket, to lighten someone's load or free up their hands
more below the click!
changing the subject of a group conversation that will be personally discomforting to someone in the group
making sure to include someone in a group conversation, especially if it's a topic they have special knowledge of
waiting for someone to catch up when the rest of the group has walked ahead
remembering preferences/allergies ahead of time when preparing/ordering food
planning trips, whether in a pair or as a group, that provide something positive for every individual to enjoy
procuring personal healthcare items like sunscreen, moisturizer, lip balm, pain relievers, or a snack and keeping them on hand for that friend who frequently needs them
making room for someone in a crowded vehicle or on public transit
making room for someone under an awning or in another limited space to help them avoid bad weather
warning or wordlessly covering for someone with a wardrobe/cosmetic malfunction
remembering a small luxury someone mentioned they enjoy, and getting it for them the next time it's convenient
running an errand for someone to make their day easier ('importance of errand : depth of relationship' ratio should be explored)
escorting someone to safety in a sudden unsettling event
escorting someone who is drunk, sick, infirm, injured, or emotionally compromised
asking if light, noise, or other sensory factors are bothering someone and taking steps to make them more comfortable
getting gag gifts for someone to show you reciprocate their sense of humor or quirky self-expression (not everyone does this, not everyone appreciates it, and some people predominantly express love through humor and gag gifts; works well with some characters more than others)
holding someone's hand or arm as reassurance, especially when they are afraid*
using their body to block someone from wind, rain, or heat
picking up a dropped item, or carrying a train or other dragging garment for someone else
returning a recognizable possession to someone who may have lost it
This is an inexhaustible list as humans have many ways of showing love for each other. If you are writing spec fic with non-human characters, you can play with variations on these by remembering three core values the "lover" has to consider:
physical comfort of others
emotional comfort of others
social reputation of others
I'd add "sensory comfort" though I think it's tied to physical and emotional comfort.
Please do not try and force any of these into the mold of the misogyny-based "Love Language" trend. Human emotions and expressions of love are diverse and endless.
*While hand holding can be construed as romantic, in reality it varies. Some cultures do not see this as romantic, and some individuals only mean it as a sign of support or compassion. Same goes for long embraces and kissing, both can be done platonically and of course naturally between close family members or friends.
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Press author and editor Shea Sullivan is looking to begin podficcing, so she asked the Duck Prints Press server for advice from those with experience. Several members of DPP have done podficcing in the past, so we were able to provide some guidance – and we thought, if Shea was interested, others might be interested too! Hence, we turned our chat into a roundtable blog post, with permission from everyone involved of course.
(Side note, we’re working with some press-involved folks who have experience in narration and podficcing to record audiobooks of some of our stores – we’re hoping to unroll the first couple to our Patreon backers soon – so be on the lookout!)
boneturtle: I’ll always recommend Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/) for recording and editing because it’s free, dead simple, and produces high-level results
Shannon: Audacity is very straightforward so seconding that! I made some podfics on there. I’ve used GarageBand (https://garagebandonpc.com/download) too and I liked it a little better for multiple layered tracks, but that’s personal preference more than anything else.
Nina Waters: I used Audacity for mine, too
boneturtle: When I was recording podfics, I went into my closet and then pulled the heavy down blanket from my bed over the clothing rack and went under that like a tent to muffle any outside noise – you may not need to do that if you’re not recording in a big city but it definitely saved me so much heartache in editing.
Another thing that you probably already know is to record several seconds of silence before you start talking so you can use that as the baseline for the noise-reduction filter. And if you mess up and have to repeat something, give yourself an awkwardly long pause before you repeat the line so it’s easy to find the spot you have to cut and paste when editing.
Nina Waters: !hen I made a mistake, I’d tap the microphone, which meant when I looked at the audio there’d be a big spike wherever there was a mistake, also made it really easy to spot and cut.
Hermit: We turned the closet in the smallest room into a “cloffice” for my BF, and part of that was installing a lot of sound proofing. Doesn’t stop outside soumds, but kills the reverb and the panels we installed were cheap on amazon (we installed them using Command strips so we can take them down later if needed).
The long record before you start is super useful if you want to add “silence” too. Like “oh, I should have let this pregnant pause be longer.” You can copy from that baseline and add it where needed.
boneturtle: The main thing the silence helps with is giving you room around the mistake to trim and insert the audio you actually want, so even with a signal noise, I’d still do a few seconds of silence before restarting
Hermit: Good headphones will let you properly hear interference and random noises
Obviously, this roundtable alone won’t be enough to get you started making your own podfic, as we don’t get into the nuts-and-bolts of every aspect of the process. If you want to learn more about podficcing, here are some resources:
AO3 bookmark collection of 23 guides to podficcing by Dr_Fumbles_McStupid
Extensive podfic resource index by Ravin
A Beginner’s Guide to Making Podfic by EmilianaDarling (Tumblr)
More tips, tricks, and guides can be found on Tumblr, LiveJournal, and YouTube.
Hello! I'm very interested in making podfics but I can't seem to find anywhere that explains how to put the audio file into ao3. I'm not the most tech savvy person so I'm hoping you or your followers know. Thank you in advance, I love your account!
There are two ideas you need to understand when you're trying to post media on AO3. Those two ideas are hosting and embedding.
hosting means (basically) storing and sharing. You upload a file to a host and that host then serves your file to the people or websites that try to access it.
embedding is (basically) displaying or presenting.
The host holds the file and shares it with AO3 when you embed it in your work. It then gets displayed when you post.
Both archive.org and soundcloud.com are hosts that can embed directly into AO3. Other hosts might not work but I know that those both do.
Since you're new to podficcing, I'm also going to recommend Azdaema's Newbie's Guide to Podficcing and GodofLaundryBaskets' Keep it Simple: A Highly Biased Podfic Guide for Absolute Beginners.
Podficcers - please add in any other resources you think might be helpful!
(shoutout to @hullomoon for reccing those two guides to me when I was looking for info before)
A great guide for different hosting options is @godoflaundrybaskets ' amazing Podfic Hosting Guide! I highly recommend it.
I also want to extend an offer to anyone interested in maybe dipping their toe into podfic waters (or who is already a podficcer) to join the Podfic community on Tumblr and also the Podfichat discord server. Lots of super knowledgeable and super friendly podficcers would love to welcome you and help you out with any questions you have!
"Stop saying 15 year olds with weird interests are cringe, they're 15" this is true however you should also stop saying adults with weird interests are cringe because who gives a shit
I want to share some wisdom from my high school art teacher.
In my AP Art class, there was a girl who was just starting to experiment with mixed media. At this point she was still playing around, trying to decide what direction she wanted to go with her portfolio. So one critique day, she brought in an abstract canvas with some rhinestone highlights and painted and real peacock feathers. She loved sparkles and peacock feathers so she thought she’d try introducing them a *little*. And after everyone had given some input, the teacher gave her his advice, VERY roughly paraphrased here:
“So here’s the thing… I do not like this style. These are just elements that do not speak to me personally, but I see that you like them, and you’re doing interesting things with them.
“My biggest critique is, I only merely *dislike* this piece. I want you to make me HATE it. Go crazy with the things that you like. Don’t hold back trying to make it palatable to people like me. Because I am NEVER going to like it. And if the audience does not like it, it should drive them crazy seeing how much YOU love it.”
Her portfolio was chock full of neon colors and glitter and rhinestones and splashes of peacock feathers and it was a delight. Our teacher despised every piece lol, but she got great marks and I think even won some awards. And more importantly, she was happy and proud of the results. Because she didn’t limit herself by trying to appeal to people who were never going to enjoy what she enjoyed.
Takeaway here: be as cringe as you want. Don’t limit yourself based on other ppl’s tastes. They’re not you, and you are incredible 💕
Favorite Friends to Lovers trope is Person Who Just Discovered Their Crush And Is Freaking Out Full Force x Person Who Has Been Deeply In Love And Dealing With It For Years And Therefore Not Showing Any Signs Of Having A Crush Whatsoever. The person who's Just Realized is looking for any signs that their crush is reciprocated and they're getting NOTHING. The other person is sooo nonchalant. But really it's because being in love with this person is like breathing at that point. It just goes so hard
Here's some of the notes, starting with the things multiple people brought up:
SHRIMP COCKTAIL:
banahbanah: #flashback to that one fic where Peter Parker frets about drinking shrimp cocktail because of the alcohol
generaldeliciousness: adding: what a prawn/shrimp cocktail is
#why is your character turning it down because they're under 21 #do you think prawn cocktail is a cocktail #this lives in my brain rent-free constantly #the rest of the fic was so normal #and good enough that i'll still re-read it #but bro
And then many, MANY, people wondering if this was actually authour mistake, since Peter really would do this!
POMEGRANATES:
zhajhassa: #haha where's that post that was like someone describing someone eating a pomegranate but they ate it like an apple
thornhands: #once someone wrote persephone biting into a whole Pomegranate #had to stop and stare at a wall for a minute
sungsingsanguine: I once saw someone very confidently write about a character eating slices of pomegranate.
FRUIT TREES:
zagreuses-toast: #given a very endearing glimpse into a writers blindspots by seeing them describe someone sitting under a ''pineapple tree''
salatrash: I remember something about picking watermelons... OF A FUCKING TREE
baander: #cranberry trees
DOUGH/BATTER:
maycelium: #I'm a chef so I'm really used to people not accurately describing how to cook food #But I was surprisingly flabbergasted when someone was writing making a cake and was kneading it. Which uh #Not necessary for cake. It was interesting for sure but just bizarre
livebloggingmydescentintomadness: #the one that drove me nuts was when a character set aside a batch of PASTA DOUGH 'to rise' #pasta doesn't have yeast!! #it does need to REST but it will never RISE #you do not want an airy crumb on your noodles
lovesodeepandwideandwell: #THE ONE WHERE THEY MADE COOKIES BY LADLING BATTER INTO A TRAY
Some other topics:
ANIMALS:
catenarwhal: #mandatory 'how cows produce milk' mention#i'll never recover from that one I fear
piromantic: #one time i saw someone fake their way through describing how spiders behave
pluto-lichen: horses
misskittypotter: #stardew valley faking its way through what fresh fish smell like
pa-pa-plasma: #saw someone faking their way through knowing what a seal is once #i still am fucked up over that one to this day. they just straight up did not know #& they were NOT good at guessing it either like it was clear they had never googled that animal ever #& was only just now realizing via answering questions from anons that seals are not!! what they assumed. initially
SEX:
dykevandyke: #what a prostate is #and where it is located #as in. external.
dreamyeyedrose: #I remember back in the ff.net days reading an Ichigo/Renji fic where the writer assumed the penises go inside each other #and I was like “I mean I don't know how it works for sure I don't have one but idk if that's how it works”
SOME OTHER FOOD STUFF:
thetrekkiehasthephonebox: #add another one to the list bloggers#this character is cooking a salad
shosta: #still baffled about the published work that didn't know food could freeze
sun-dari: #once i read a fic where the author didn't understand cinnamon
alto-tenure: #read something recently where the author was just. blatantly wrong about spices
dramatic-dolphin: #i saw someone try to fake their way through what ramen is once. like 14 years ago.#but i remember.#i was very confused about ramen for a few months. they were writing it so authoritatively.
the-celery-stalks-at-midnight: #i will never ever forget someone putting leftover fries in the microwave to reheat them and setting the timer for five minutes
typeghost: #this sparked a memory of a hannibal fic where the author had to fake their way through writing about gravy
draculin: #the one fanfic where the author knows about coffee only as a concept wrote a character as a coffee drinker#was very interesting#I don't remember the fandom or the plot but I was mesmerized by the coffee actions and choices
11235811235811: #there's a lot of faking their way thru congee in the svsss fandom i'll also note
fishali3n: #read one where the person clearly didnt know what tofu is
emmy-everafter: #in the aftermath of shadow and bone s2 i saw a lot of people pretending to know what stroopwafels are #babes they are more like cookies than breakfast waffles #like yes there is a waffle pattern but you're not gonna cut into a stack of them with syrup and sugar#🤣🤣🤣
NON-FOOD STUFF:
red-umbrella-811: Shoutout to Dame Agatha Christie for faking her way through what a wrench is in a very popular published work.
bluebeetle: #once saw someone have a character put an entire phone book in their pocket
nonametis: #- sex talk in languages other than english #<- or just the petnames in a different language other than English
sadisticpony: #the fanfiction i saw this week where op DIDNT KNOW HOW AUTOMATIC DOORS WORKED #and that they arent in peoples homes!!! of course. also opening the automatic door for someone is unironically very funny but its not #its not like. grabbing the door handle to let someone in. helpppp
danmeichael: #reminds me of the fic with the figure drawing class where the character started with the feet. #i love you feet first figure drawing author
meowmix1100blr: #me watching this one fic absolutely obliterate what the board of directors does
vexedhexes: #one time i read an architect character making a doorway bigger by building a bigger door #what a beautiful world. #OH. also gravity falls fic where they go 'oh piedmont is in california so its warm all year round'
leveragehunters: #characters going to a beer garden #And it's literally a garden outside the pub#It was a very cute mistake
fitofpique: #yes! #grown men do not get blind drunk off two beers #but i am possibly guilty of the hypothermia one #assuming it does not make you very horny?
dadvans-likes: #always thinking abt the soup kitchen fic #the entire setting of the fic was 'soup kitchen' #and i very quickly realized #the author did not know what a soup kitchen was #and they thought that soup kitchens only served soup #fic
msmargaretmurry: #i love fanfiction #once read a fic where the characters played 20 questions #but the author seemed to not know how to play 20 questions and was just kind of winging it........ #immaculate
shakespeareaddict: #Look I know not all of us are hockey experts #But it takes about ten seconds of research or any attention paid to the show to realize #That the Stanley cup playoffs are not in fucking September
baejax-the-great: #the funniest one i saw #was someone faking what church is like #like 1. they really didn't have to write an entire church experience for their fic #and 2. they had clearly never even watched a show where people went to church #it was bonkers weird
twosunson: #things ive seen authors faking #knowing how to unclog a drain #knowing. literally any history #knowing what ketamine looks like (apparently- oregano) #(you know who you are)
waterhorseyblues-ao3: #beltane being celebrated in winter #wales being portrayed as a completely separated land from england (i wish) #characters getting up after weeks of bedrest like that dosnt completely fuck you up
violetfairydust: #i once read a fic where the flight time from london to seattle was 3 hours
purekesseltrash: One time, in a fic set specifically in Des Moines, IA, two of the characters casually drove 20 minutes to the ocean. The memory continues to delight me. I want to know where that author thought that Iowa was.
one of the most difficult things about deciding you want to write a fictional doctor (of the non-who variety) is writing actual medical scenes. we all know that medical dramas are notoriously cliched, and i for one fully understand how unimportant factual accuracy can be to the emotional importance of a scene. sometimes you don’t have to get it write for your story to work. i have a disclaimer on my blog that i myself am just a layman, but i like to at least know what i’m writing about! in the interest of being as accurate as i can, i would like to spread that love around. here’s a list of medical fiction/fantasy writing resources i’ve found!
surgeonsblog
article i found this from^ (w/even more resources)
redwoods medical edge
^article where i found that
this article is short/basic/doesn’t link anywhere else, but i found it very helpful anyway
supposed to be good but to me, seemed difficult to navigate. (dp lyle)
this on the otherhand, is the jackpot (novelmalpractice)
tumblr blog centered around this topic
this is more about the common pitfalls/anachronisms of medical fiction but still helpful
writing medical scenes: useful links by paul anthony shortt
the last one im going to include is an article by a doctor about common mistakes in popular medical shows, i liked this one
tagging who liked the interest check on this @hesjustcarter @prodigiumamare @frankengeeks
In writing groups I'm in it's grammar and spell check is for newbies and those wanting a crutch or a cheat code.
I'm going to be frank with you, anon. Those writing groups sound toxic as fuck and I'd recommend finding a better place to spend your time.
Grammar check and spell check are embedded in most word processing software and have been since the 1990s. People don't have to use them if they don't want to, of course, but there's nothing wrong with using them.
English spelling is famously a bastardization of French multiplied by German divided by Latin with fifty other languages thrown in for fun. And don't even get me started on the Great Vowel Shift.
All that to say, being bad at spelling is not a moral failing nor is it a sign of weak character. It's a fact of life for an overwhelming majority of people writing in English.
Or, to put it another way, would you tell a near-sighted person such as myself that wearing glasses is a cheat code and that I should just "see better"? I really hope not.
Spell check - yes, literally every time. Spell checking was, like, the third thing people wanted personal computers to do, after calculating mortgage payments and balancing their checkbook. (Maybe fourth, playing blackjack is on that list somewhere.) If you were a serious writer, your typewriter had a rudimentary spell checker in it by the late 1970s!
People who refuse to use a spell checker are the same kind of pretentious assholes that think you shouldn't use a calculator ever. Absolutely there are steps you can take to improve your spelling, and being able to spell most words easily will make the writing process easier and more fluent. (Although you'll get a lot more mileage out of improving your touch typing.) But use the spell checker. Also use a calculator when you want to know the answer to a long division problem.
Grammar check - iffy, and it depends on the software. I don't use it because I think a lot of what it calls "grammar" is actually a point of style that I disagree with. However, if you find that when you're typing quickly you often omit or double words, grammar check is a really efficient way to type that.
Stuff like Grammarly's "reword this"? This is questionable. Now you're getting into something that is no longer your writing. If you're trying to build your voice, don't do it, because the voice you'll build is someone else's.
Asking ChatGPT to reword something for you? Now that is a crutch for people who don't want to learn to write.
Spelling and grammar checkers are no substitute for proofreading, but they are useful tools to help you conform to the conventions of standard English. Don't take their word as gospel, make sure to look up words if you're not 100% sure which option from the spell checker you want, and take every recommendation of the grammar checker with a grain of salt. And find better writers groups.
Submission: I’m currently an admin on a fandom fic rec blog. We plan to maintain a list of betas for authors who feel they need one. We’ve just asked our followers for volunteers as betas, and the response has been overwhelming. Many of them have never beta’d before. Can you or your followers provide me with links to resources for betas? I’m thinking about what should be agreed up front, the mechanics, and other useful information. Thank you. I love your blog!
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Response: A year or so ago, I created this checklist for writers and betas to use to help guide their conversation. It’s just a list of some of the more common things that betas can check fics for. It’s not exhaustive by any means, but it’s a great place to get the conversation started - and it’s a conversation that doesn’t always happen.
One of the biggest issues that crops up between authors and betas is a mismatch in expectations. If an author just wants someone to check their spelling and punctuation and the beta comes in and starts pointing out plot holes or timeline issues, the writer is going to feel like the beta is overstepping. If the beta doesn’t feel comfortable checking grammar but knows canon backwards and forwards, they might feel anxious being asked to keep track of verb tenses.
I strongly recommend that before a document ever changes hands, the writer and the beta have a conversation about what the writer wants to get and what the beta is willing and able to give. Other things that should be discussed in this conversation are:
how will the beta receive the document? (shared doc? email? other?)
how should the beta provide feedback? (suggested edits? hard edits? comments?)
how do the author and beta want to communicate outside of the document?
what deadlines (if any) is the author trying to meet?
what should the beta do if they notice something outside of the agreed upon parameters? (if they notice a sensitivity issue when they’re only checking spelling)
what should the author do if the beta is late getting a chapter back?
does the beta want to be acknowledged when the author posts the fic?
does the author want “squee” comments when the beta is enjoying the story and reacting to it, or do they want the beta to stay on task with their assignment and save the squee for when the fic is posted?
is there an expectation that the beta should comment on the posted fic?
In order to get all of the feedback that they want, an author might need to find more than one beta. This says nothing bad about either author or beta. Sometimes more than one person’s input is needed to make sure all of the bases are covered.
She got the idea for the study while walking with her advisor at Stanford to discuss her thesis topic, and the paper she eventually published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2014 is sharp enough that it should have ended the seated meeting on the day it came out.
She ran 4 experiments on 176 people. Same person tested twice. Once sitting, once walking. The creativity tasks were the standard ones psychologists have used for decades to measure how good a brain is at generating novel useful ideas.
81% of participants in the first experiment produced more creative ideas while walking than while sitting. In the second experiment, 88%. In the third, 100%. Every single person walked into a more creative version of themselves. On average, people generated 60% more novel useful ideas the moment their legs started moving.
The skeptical question is the obvious one. Maybe it was the fresh air. Maybe it was the scenery passing by. Maybe it was the change of environment doing the work, not the walking itself.
Oppezzo killed every one of those explanations with one experimental decision. She put people on a treadmill facing a blank wall. No scenery. No fresh air. No environmental change. Just legs moving in place while staring at white drywall. The 60% boost held.
Then she ran the experiment that closed the case completely. She took participants outside in two conditions. Half of them walked through a Stanford courtyard. The other half were pushed through the exact same courtyard in a wheelchair. Same outdoor stimulation. Same scenery passing at the same speed. The only difference was whether the legs were moving.
The walkers produced dramatically more novel high-quality ideas than the wheelchair group. The outdoors did almost nothing on its own. The walking did everything.
She also tested the opposite kind of thinking. Convergent thinking. The kind where there is one right answer and you have to narrow down to it. Word puzzles where 3 words share a hidden fourth word that connects them. The seated participants did slightly better on these. Walkers got slightly worse.
Walking is not a general intelligence enhancer. It does one specific thing. It opens up the divergent search inside your brain. The part that generates options. The part that produces unexpected connections. The part that takes a problem and finds five ways into it instead of one.
When you need to converge on the single right answer, sit down. When you need to find the answer in the first place, get up.
The mechanism is now well understood. Walking selectively activates what neuroscientists call the default mode network, the system inside your brain that runs when you are not consciously focused on anything. The DMN is where mind-wandering happens. Where memories cross-reference each other. Where ideas that have been sitting in separate folders inside your head finally bump into each other.
When you sit at a desk and force yourself to concentrate, you suppress the DMN. When you walk at a natural pace, the executive part of your brain gets just busy enough handling the walking that the DMN comes online and starts doing the work that focus was blocking.
The most useful finding in the entire paper is the one almost nobody quotes. The boost did not turn off the moment people stopped walking. Participants who walked first and then sat back down stayed elevated. Their next round of seated creativity work was still significantly better than people who had been sitting the whole time. The rest lingered for at least several minutes after the legs stopped moving.
You do not need to do creative work while walking. You need to walk before the creative work. The brain holds the state.
On the subject of AI, I have a confession to make: I use it. Not to write for me, but to help me check for inconsistencies, to brainstorm ideas, to write outlines, to give me a couple of lines when I've been stuck for hours, to be my beta reader, if you will. Generative AI is bad? Yes, but it also a useful tool if one isn't lazy. I don't ask: write me a story. I go with my story and ask: help me with continuity. Look, this paragraph is clunky, how do I make it better? The demonization of generative AI is fair, but to be honest, I also understand people who use it. Maybe they're afraid of writing themselves, maybe they're insecure and don't trust their prose. Maybe they have brilliannt ideas but they need help to make them become fics.
To me, this is very much connected to my last ask where I was talking about how we don't have enough mentors in fandom to support the influx of people entering it.
All of the things that you're asking AI to do used to be done by a beta reader (or more than one!). A fandom friend (or even a random stranger who volunteered) would read through your work and help you with those issues.
Betas are amazing. They can help with grammar and spelling. They can regionalize language. They can provide sensitivity reading if they're from a marginalized community that you're writing about and aren't a member of. They can track canon, help with research, even just be a sounding board to discuss ideas with.
And sometimes, they're just a cheer reader - someone reading your story and telling you how awesome it is because they love it just as much as you do.
I understand turning to AI if you 1) don't know beta readers exist or 2) don't know how to obtain one. The need for that kind of support doesn't go away just because you can't access it.
But for anyone out there who needs this kind of help and wants to avoid Gen AI, you can write a post on your blog, add it to an author's note, check out resources like @needabeta or - if the time of year is right and you have the funds - place a bid on beta reading services during @fandomtrumpshate
Beta readers are often involved in fandom events like big bangs and exchanges, and if anyone is looking to host such an event, it's a great way to get people involved who aren't writers or artists but would love to help out.
I get it, anon. We use the tools that are available to us. But here's another potential tool if you're interested in branching out?
Creative Mess by Vesta Dragon @creativemessbyvd - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
