Gwen's Fiction @gwens-fiction - Tumblr Blog

Intro Post

Hi! I’m Gwen. I’m 27, she/her, have a masters in wildlife biology and conservation management, bachelors in biology with minors of English and environmental studies. I have two younger siblings, and 8 pets (5 dogs, 1 rabbit, and 2 cats). I write a lot of fanfiction for the Penguins of Madagascar fandom, but I also write several original things, too.

Genres I write tend to fall under: fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, horror, weird science, action comedy (with animal characters), mystery, poetry.

Feel free to ask to be on any tag list! WIPs below the cut.

#intro post #writerblr intro

renthony

I see so many arguments over what is and isn't "good queer representation" that really just boil down to "y'all are actually arguing over matters of taste and genre preference, which is incredibly subjective and personal."

Worldbuilding where being queer is normalized and queerphobia has no impact on the plot? THAT'S FINE. Worldbuilding that includes queerphobia and tackles the effects of it as part of the story? THAT'S ALSO FINE.

Low-stakes queer romcom where the characters are fluffy and cute? THAT'S COOL. Messy queer drama with toxic people who fuck each other over and clash repeatedly? THAT'S ALSO COOL.

Stories that center the characters' queerness, show a trans character's transition, and are about the queerness as much as the rest of the plot? AWESOME. Stories where the characters' queerness isn't treated as a big deal, and have trans characters whose transition happened before the story entirely? ALSO AWESOME.

You may PREFER one thing or another, but it is actually good to have all these things. It's about variety. It's about queer characters being allowed to exist without censorship. It's about queer artists getting to make things without being told we're a "niche issue" or "adult content." It's about having as many goddamn cakes as the bakery can produce.

At the end of the day, I'd prefer a media landscape with fifty pieces of problematic queer representation over a media landscape with one single piece of queer representation that's trying (and usually failing) to be 100% perfect for everything and everyone.

renthony

For a specific example I have very strong opinions about: nonbinary shapeshifters. As a nonbinary person, I LOVE shapeshifters. I am also very aware of the fact that it can be a stereotype. Nonbinary people have a very wide range of opinions on this, because we aren't a monolith.

The solution is not to ban nonbinary shapeshifters from ever appearing in anything ever. The solution is to have MORE NONBINARY CHARACTERS ACROSS THE BOARD.

leebrontide

We are DONE arguing over who got the best crumbs! We are gonna cook ourselves a BANQUET so everybody gets fed!

Also, because everybody has been on my case about this lately I'll add that I wrote some very queer books that include an agender shapeshifter, written by an agender author, and the second book really kinda delves into that trope.

writers-solace

I don't think Tolkien is a good fantasy writer because he scored the highest at some objective Best Fantasy Book Test that every fantasy writer has to take, I think he's a good fantasy writer because he created a world based on things that he was interested in. I feel like a lot of fantasy writers think that they need to create a whole language for their world because Tolkien did and obviously his books are the best so they have to emulate him, but Tolkien did that because he was a linguistics nerd. I think the lesson to be learned from him is not that you have to include elves and deep history and new languages, but that you have to write endlessly about the things you are a huge nerd about and use those things to create your fantasy world

allthingswhumpyandangsty

also fanfic writers write whatever they want to read for themselves first and foremost. they didn’t write to please you, random stranger on the internet.

fanfic writers didn’t force you to read their works. they’re kind enough to let you in their house for free if you want to. if you don’t like how they decorate their own house, quietly leave instead of telling them things you want them to change about their own house to better suit your personal preferences and calling it “constructive criticism”.

if they specifically ask for one, then sure. give them that. but if they didn’t ask and if you don’t have anything nice to say, quietly leave.

this is our hobby. something we do for ourselves as a form of self care. we don’t get paid for it. and personally if I, as a fellow fanfic writer, want constructive criticism and if I want to “get better” at writing, I will ask for honest feedback from people I personally know, whose opinions I trust and value, not random strangers on the internet who, more often than not, just give me lists of things they want me to write for them and their personal likings instead of any actual constructive criticism.

byoldervine

Get yourself a document where you note down all the random story ideas you get but can’t start right now. Chances are your brain will be satisfied that you’ve acknowledged them rather than keeping them in your head, and you’ll have a better shot at returning your focus to your current project

leebrontide

Can I offer a reframe of the common "write the shitty first draft" advice? I like that advice a lot but I think the way it's often presented bounces off a lot of people and activates shit that does not help writing happen.

I think of the first draft as an armature.

If I was making a beautiful bronze statue, I would need to make a clay model first. And, depending on the shape, before I even got out my clay I would need to get some good thick wire and create a basic shape for the clay to adhere to, so it doesn't all fall down. Once I have this essential 3D wire frame, I can start building and subtracting and refining.

But if I try to refine on just clay, it won't have enough of a core to hold it up. I'll sculpt a beautiful hand only to have the whole arm fall off and go smush.

The armature isn't the sculpture. It is the frame you build the sculpture around.

The first draft isn't the novel, it's a sort-of-novel-shaped thing that will hold up everything you build and beautify later.

Write the armature draft. Try to make it a good armature, instead of trying to make it a good novel before it's ready.

aye-write

Top Tips for Clues, Red Herrings, and Breadcrumbs

One of the most important parts of writing MYSTERY is figuring out what to do with clues and red herrings - and how to use them effectively. Here’s some advice that’s never steered me wrong:

Hide the real clue before the false ones! Most people, so by extent your readers and your sleuth, tend to focus on the last piece of information presented to them. A good strategy is to mention/show your real clue and then quickly shift focus.

Do a clue cluster! Squeeze your real clue in among a whole pile of red herrings or other clues, effectively hiding it in plain sight. This works especially well with multiple suspect mysteries.

Struggling to think of what a clue could be? Try this list:

Physical objects: Letters, notes, tickets, emails, keepsakes, text messages, diaries, etc.

Dialogue: voicemail recordings, overheard conversations, hearsay, gossip, rumours. All of these can hold grains of truth!

Red herrings distract and confound your protagonist and your reader, so you should be careful not to overuse them. Well balanced, red herrings should lead your characters down false paths to create confusion, tension, and suspense.

Contradictions! Have characters claim they did so-and-so at such-and-such a time, but other characters have evidence that contradicts this.

Balance! Avoid a clue that’s so obvious it’s like a neon sign saying “Look at me, I’m a clue!” but don’t make it so obscure it’ll be missed entirely. A good clue should leave a reader saying “Damn, I should have noticed that”

godlessondheimite

it’s actually really easy to satisfy audiences with Good Representation. you can’t depict someone struggling with their Otherness because that portrays it in a bad light but you have to depict them struggling with their Otherness because if you don’t, then you’re romanticizing how hard it is to be Othered. be super careful not to depict anything that might be adjacent to a common stereotype but if you go too far to avoid all stereotypes, then you’re still building the characters around stereotypes, which is a stereotype in its own way. if your storyline uses tropes, then it’s cliche, but if it avoids tropes, then it’s inauthentic. if you lampshade any of this, then you’re speaking down to your audience but if you don’t acknowledge this, you’re also speaking down to your audience. this is all really easy stuff i don’t know why people don’t get it.

godlessondheimite

forgot The Most Important thing. you absolutely CANNOT make them perfect because that dehumanizes them, but if you give them flaws? hoooo boy…let’s just say, you do *not* want to give them flaws…

moethh

die die die

lycosofscribes

It's a pain in the ass, but it's my pain in the ass!

skribblegurl

some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.

heywriters

I couldn't remember the word "doorknob" ten minutes ago.

bumblewyn

ok but the onelook thesaurus will save your life, i literally could not live without this website

breelandwalker

REBLOG TO SAVE A WRITER'S LIFE

myfairkatiecat

LIFE SAVED

REBLOGGING TO SAVE ANOTHER WRITERS LIFE

sirowsky

I use this every time I sit down to write. It's the best tool in the world and I would be lost without it!

rainintheevening

Okay, we got a new one, boys.

shantismurf

Okay so, definitely this is about not giving your protagonist a spontaneous murder tail, but more largely and it's about building a living breathing world where things fit and work together within an established framework, rather than just adding new mechanics and features in isolation and outside of the rules the reader expects the world to follow.

pantserspen

How to Fix Overwriting

1. Know why you’re overwriting.

Overwriting usually comes from fear—fear the reader won’t feel enough, understand enough, or care enough. When you know why you’re adding too much, you can fix the cause instead of just cutting words.

2. Remove repetition, not emotion.

If multiple sentences express the same idea, keep the strongest one. You’re not deleting feeling—you’re sharpening it.

3. Trust the reader to understand subtext.

Readers don’t need every emotion spelled out. Actions, reactions, and choices already communicate more than explanation ever could.

4. Use one concrete detail instead of many vague ones.

Specific sensory or physical details create stronger emotion than listing abstract feelings. One image lets the reader do the emotional work.

5. Filter description through your character’s perspective.

Your character won’t notice everything, especially in intense moments. Limiting description to what they would notice keeps scenes tight and immersive.

6. Cut intensifiers immediately.

Words like very, really, and extremely weaken prose instead of strengthening it. Strong verbs and images do the job better.

7. Let dialogue stand on its own.

Dialogue already carries tone and emotion through word choice and rhythm. Adding explanations often flattens its impact.

8. Keep metaphors purposeful and rare.

Too many metaphors compete with each other and slow the scene. One strong comparison is more memorable than several decent ones.

9. Read your work out loud.

Overwriting becomes obvious when you hear it. If a sentence feels long, heavy, or tiring to say, it likely needs trimming.

10. Ask what the paragraph accomplishes.

Every paragraph should move the story forward, reveal character, or raise tension. If it doesn’t, it’s probably indulgent filler.

11. Edit separately from drafting.

Overwriting is allowed in early drafts. Clean prose comes from revision, not self-censorship while writing.

12. Cut more than you think you should.

Most overwritten paragraphs can lose 30–50% of their words without losing meaning. Tightening prose almost always makes it stronger.

proudfreakmetarusonikku

i NEED people to realise foreshadowing is. in fact. a literary device. and not a Bad Thing. the audience picking up on your hints is a Good Thing. because. it makes the story and it’s conclusion make sense. and some people will not see those but enjoy seeing them on a second read through. red herrings are one thing but if your novel consists of nothing but red herrings it’s not a coherent story it’s just a collection of paragraphs that don’t actually plausibly link to one another. you're not fighting with the audience you don’t look clever you look like you don’t know how basic fiction works. be vulnerable for once in your goddamn life and don't treat writing like a game to be won where the audience losing is a good thing.

lnorelle

Yes, one of the biggest lessons I have learnt from writing in recent years, is that it's okay if your readers guess the plot twist before it happens. Let your audience feel smart for picking up on the clues.

As a writer your job is not to outsmart the audience and show how smart you are, but to make the audience feel smart.

Your work being 'too predictable' and your work having a 'shock twist that came from nowhere' are two sides of the same coin, which happen when you don't trust your audience. Trust your audience will enjoy your work without over-explaining and over-foreshadowing, or, on the other extreme, disguising the plot with a million red herrings for everything to be a 'surprise twist' later on.

One of my favourite storytelling twists in recent memory (No spoilers) was from the Half Life games, and yes I guessed correctly what was happening before it happened and you know what? When the reveal finally happened, despite guessing correctly, the twist was a delight. And almost more enjoyable because I guessed the twist before it happened. I was so thrilled! Trust your audience with your story. It's going to be okay.

sexchangedotcom

my beautiful baby who i'm naming untitled document

sexchangedotcom

i can't seem to find my baby

botanyshitposts

yesterday in economic botany we were learning about plant based oil compounds and stuff and my botany professor was talking about lynn seed oil, which in woodworking is rubbed on over furniture as a varnish. this oil has an exothermic chemical reaction with oxygen, meaning that the reaction creates heat. what often happens, apparently, is that woodworkers will finish rubbing on the oil with a rag and then will ball up the rag and throw it away, but because the reaction is taking place and the heat can’t escape (like it would on a piece of furniture where it can be cooled) it gets trapped in the rag, which gets hotter and hotter until it reaches the temperature where it bursts into flame. apparently many woodworking shops have been burned down by this. the proper way to dispose of rags with this oil is to hang them up on a clothesline, so again the reaction never gets enough heat to start a fire. im telling you this because im a writer and ive never heard of substance that will just…spontaneously combust conveniently like that so long as it’s in a confined space. my botany professor tried it in a trash can in his driveway and it did indeed burst into flame after 45 minutes, which is an exceptionally convenient time delay. im sorry im tying this so fast my laptop is on 2% battery and theres no outlet an

jehovahhthickness

Praying that $1500 randomly comes to you when you need it the most this year.

jehovahhthickness

Okay inflation is crazy.

We bumping up the price to $15,000 for 2026.

multi-fandom-lunatic

chat reminder to just write whatever the fuck you want. write that overused trope. write that obscure shit that no one will have heard of. just. do it. your writing is yours stop depriving it of that.

sadboybrigade

honestly in the era of AI slop it is more important than ever for you to write or draw that incredibly niche/strange/unpalatable thing you want to make. the world needs the unique weirdness of people more than ever

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