KalinMegaFan20

[writingquestionsanswered]

Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write

1) Find inspiration photos - create a folder on your desktop or browser and fill it with inspiration photos for your WIP. You can search for photos on Google Image Search or photo sites like Pixabay and Pexels.

2) Make a playlist - music can be very inspiring when you’re writing or planning a story, so try making a playlist for your WIP. You can do Google searches for things like “songs about love” or “songs about war” if you want songs that fit a specific theme. You can also look through the music you own and see if anything reminds you of your story.

3) Make aesthetics or mood boards - aesthetics and mood boards are photo collages that you make for your story. They can be general, for your whole story, for characters, for the setting, or even for a particular scene or event. Aesthetics are fun to make and can be very inspirational when you’re writing.

4) Draw a map or make a layout - try making a map of wherever your story takes place, whether that’s a town, kingdom, or a whole country or world. You can even draw layouts of things like high schools, houses, or other buildings in your story. Not only are they fun to do, but it can be a helpful tool for visualizing your setting, and sometimes it can lead to ideas about scenes or plot points.

5) Do a character interview - imagine that you’ve pulled your character out of a story into the room and now have the opportunity to interview them. What questions would you ask them? What do you want to know about them that you don’t already know? What do you think the reader would want to know? What might be pertinent to the story that you haven’t thought about yet?

6) Do a TV Crew follow around - no matter when or where your story takes place, imagine that you’ve dropped an invisible TV crew into your story’s world to follow your character around through an average day. Follow them from the moment they wake up until the moment they go to bed that night. What are they like when they wake up? What is their morning routine? What do they eat for breakfast? How do they get ready? What do they do throughout the day? Who do they interact with? What else do they eat and drink? What do they do for fun or relaxation? How to they make money or meet their basic needs? What is their bedtime routine like?

7) Try a writing tool - there are all kinds of interesting writing tools out there, both online and things, apps, and physical things. Story Cubes, plot generators, plot twist generators, the Storymatic, StoryForge, Story Dice, tarot cards, the Writer’s Toolbox… just to name a few!

————————————————————————————————-

Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

[inky-duchess]

Are marriages between feuding nations a case of "you wouldn't murder your grandkid ruling the enemy nation would you?" Like using the taboo of kinslaying as a deterrent?

Yes but also, you wouldn't declare war on allies would you?

[papercranesong-deactivated20260]

As a fanfic writer, here are 5 things I use chatgpt for + 1 thing I don’t

(sharing this for anyone curious about using generative AI in writing, and to hear how other writers are using it)

I love writing but don’t get a lot of time to do it (young child, job, varying degrees of spoons on any given day). So when I do get a golden window, I’d much rather be actually creating and writing than doing the more tedious stuff below.

So here’s 5 ways I sometimes use chatgpt to save time so I can use the time to write instead.

1. Changing the tense

Sometimes I’ll start off writing in the past tense and then realise I’ve slipped into writing in the present, or vice versa. Rather than going back and changing everything into the correct tense, I’ll get chatgpt to do it.

2. As a spell checker

Typos do my head in, especially my own typos. They’re like the visual equivalent of someone offering you popcorn during a film, it really breaks the flow of the story. So I prompt chatgpt to list all the typos and grammar errors in my fic, but I don’t get it to change the errors automatically - this is because I use British English spelling and grammar but often write American-style dialogue, and so I like to see the list and decide for myself what’s actually a typo.

3. Tidying up glitchy html

For some reason, when I copy my fic into AO3 from my notes app, I always end up with weird html errors like double spaces that annoy me visually. Rather than going through and finding and correcting each one, I now get chatgpt to remove the glitches.

4. Flagging any repeated words

Sometimes I latch onto a good word like dismayed or stricken and I end up inadvertently repeating it multiple times in a fic. I don’t like repeating a word because I think it lessens its impact, but oftentimes I can’t tell if I’ve done so, because I’m too close to the text and get a bit wordblind, or I’m just really tired. I might just have a vague subconscious sense of repetition somewhere.

So I prompt chatgpt to list all the words I’ve repeated, identify the key word and then I rewrite it so there’s no repetition.

5. Knowing you know a word but not knowing what the word is (you know?)

For example, the word atavistic. I always forget how to spell it but I can remember the vague shape and meaning of it. I end up writing something like ‘avartic’ which makes no sense and is unfortunately unrecognisable when I try and look it up.

So I’ll ask chatgpt - “it’s a word like avartic that means ancient and instinctive.”

And then it comes up with -

atavistic — this is probably the closest to what you’re reaching for.

“relating to instincts or traits that have re-emerged from an earlier stage of evolution. Ancient, primal, wired deep in the bones.”

Very useful.

+ 1 thing I don’t use it for

I don’t use chatgpt to write for me. Aside from the fact that I love writing and wouldn’t want to outsource this to anyone or anything, it has a horrible writing voice.

What do I mean by that?

So when I write, I want the reader to feel what I’m writing, e.g breathlessness or fear. I like sketching an outline and trying to make it so that the reader will fill in the blanks and imbue the lines with their own emotions.

Conversely, chatgpt’s function to be understood, so it has a tendency to over-explain, name everything, clear up ambiguity and to round off emotional beats in a too-clean, neat way.

Here’s an example from one of my Star Trek Enterprise fics, a garden of forking paths 🍃 (I’m not saying this is a great example of writing, it’s a little bit messy but I like it like that, because crying is usually messy).

My writing:

“And then Trip heard a sound, and he looked over. Malcolm was crying, his head bowed, hugging himself as if that would keep the sobs in, but they came out anyway through clenched teeth, like they were being wrenched from him.”

Here’s how chatgpt thinks I should write it:

Trip heard a quiet, choked sound and turned to look. Malcolm was crying, his shoulders shaking as he clutched his arms tightly around himself, as though trying to contain the sobs that threatened to escape. His head was bowed, his entire posture closed inwards, but the effort to stay composed was failing. The sobs forced their way out through clenched teeth, raw and involuntary, betraying how deeply he was hurting. He looked small, vulnerable in a way Trip had rarely seen. And for a long moment, neither of them said a word.

So in chatgpt’s version, it -

tells the reader that Malcolm looks vulnerable and small, rather than letting the reader infer that from the language

It names emotions and explains what’s happening

It can’t resist rounding things off with a tidy emotional beat at the end

The more worrying thing generally though is its confidence in its own abilities, that it will usually course-correct to its own ‘superior’ style. This can be quite damaging to a writer with low self-confidence or if you’re still trying to find your own writing voice.

(There’s some ways round this though, depending on which prompts you give it, but that’s the subject for another post).

In closing

So that’s my 5+1. I’ve used chatgpt as the example but there’s also other generative AI models out there which do the same thing, including potentially some small language models that use consent-given data sets. (I haven’t touched on the valid concerns around genAI and writing but I’ve attempted to explore a lot of the issues in this FAQ post. You’re also welcome to get in touch using the ask function).

I think it's really important that we have more open and nuanced discussions about the use of generative AI in writing so that creativity doesn’t get stifled by fear or shame.

Thanks for reading 🖖

[leatafandom]

I completely understand not wishing to spend time on the very important step of editing and not having the time or spoons to do things the old fashion way. I just wanted to put some resources out here, options for those who struggle with this and don't want to use AI to do these things. Most importantly a way to not replace the humans and programs that do these things already. I understand that AI is faster and easier but to surrender your hard work to feed the beast just…I find it personally disheartening. Everyone can write how they wish, I have no control over anything except what I choose to do and I choose to offer options, resources, and perspective. Writing is hard and editing is a drag, but it is so so worth it even if it makes it take longer. You don’t have to just be faster. It is hard, writing is hard and time consuming but doing these things yourself really does help your writing and help you develop more style even in these simple tasks. I just want to give options for these same issues that are not AI.

This may not be as fast or easy but I find them more rewarding in the long term. I think taking the time to edit gives a writer more skills, the ability to regain control of your words and not feed them to a machine, and help engage the community that is fandom. As all of these things can be caught by asking a human, a beta or alpha reader, for help. Sometimes it takes some time, but other times it's just throwing up a post in a community. You can join a multi-fandom server like the @fanficocean or @fanfictionlibrary01 or in more fandom central servers like @spnfanficpond each of these have sections to ask someone to help with you're writing. You can find someone to help you proof your stories and share the burden of editing. Most fandom servers on discord have a section to ask for help, just reach out someone would love to work with you. 

1. Changing the tense

I often write in a different tense and later, while editing, realise that I don’t wish to write in that tense. I read it out loud to myself to help switch it as part of the editing process or if I’m unable to find time to do that, have a reader read it to me and edit like that. If you know the tense you want to change you can use the find and replace to switch it and hunt through the document. There is also the option of reaching out and finding a fellow human to take a look at your work and let them know you need help changing the tense. 

2. As a spell checker

This is a prime example of getting a beta reader that knows the type of dialogue you wish for and to look for typos. You can also use a spell checker and switch the language options in your settings. They do not correct it automatically. You have to toggle it to do that. There are also plenty of great spell checker add-ons that do not use AI that you can install. The one I use you can turn on and off lots of rules and switch which the dialect of English you wish to use. So for instance with Harper there are options for long sentences, repeated words, tenses, typos, misspelled words, and so much more not to mention the option to dismiss them if your brain knows better. 

3. Tidying up glitchy HTML

There are a lot of options for HTML with importing fics into ao3 if you’re not comfortable adding the HTML yourself or don’t like editing the rich text version. If you use @ellipsus-writes their program actually has an import feature that I’ve heard works pretty well! I’m used to adding my own HTML but there are lots of great tools for listing out how to add them if you just search. You can go a bit old school (or I guess mid school) and use an older google doc (ugh I know its google but its there) for implementing HTML and copying that directly into your ao3 page. It takes seconds for it to run the script and in the past I’ve never had an error with it. Ao3 also has a ton of resources about this as well. I know doing it yourself can be a bit frustrating and time consuming but you learn a new skill or utilize an old one since Ao3 still takes the old HTML too. 

I also wanted to mention that if you are writing in a notes app, take a moment to think about using a document instead. I write a lot of scenes and things in notes apps on my phone while out and about but I do paste them into a document for editing and take the time later to review them. I know a lot of them have AI integrated into them and often scrap your creative things but Ellipsus and LibreOffice (as far as I am aware) do not. 

4. Flagging any repeated words

Repeated words are so hard! It is really frustrating and I struggle with this myself, I always try to prompt my beta readers to look out for repeated words. However, this is just part of editing, the find and replace tool is great for finding these, and reading it out loud to yourself or using a reader to listen to it. The great part about editing it yourself or with another human is that you get used to catching when you are using a word too often and it really helps build your skills as a writer. It is definitely time consuming but so is editing because writing is hard but it is so so worth it. You are sharpening your tools and your mind to spot words you may be repeating too often and then by looking up a new word for it increasing your vocabulary. 

5. Knowing you know a word but not knowing what the word is (you know?)

There are great tools for this! Other than just searching the definition up and looking about, there is a great thesaurus called OneLook. It has saved my bacon so many times, you just type a phrase or definition or a similar meaning word and it will give you a list of words just like it. I have never used it and it didn’t find exactly what I was thinking of but couldn’t remember. I can never not recommend this one, it's just wonderful. 

I know that the world is changing and AI is easier and quicker, but I just wanted to give some options for these because I really find it's important to take the time to edit even though its tedious. It's part of writing, and fandom is about community and reaching out and finding humans to help you. It is just a beautiful thing. I just feel that replacing parts of the editing process, of the creative process, is in the long run a disservice to the writer and effects our ability to grow in our hobby and craft.

Research and editing aren’t the fun parts of being creative but it is an important part and a human part. Alpha and Beta readers are lifesavers. I know it can be a struggle to reach out to people and to share our roughest drafts with others, but it is important to. To replace the fantastic people willing to look at them, to edit them, and help us with AI it just makes my heart sad. I can’t imagine replacing mine with a machine and feeding my creative works (in part or in full) to ChatGPT willingly, and I know this is just my option and everyone has one but I just care very deeply about it. I don’t wish to shame anyone or give fear, I just want to give alternatives.

Again, everyone can write how they wish, I have no control over anything except what I choose to do and I choose to offer options, resources, and perspective. Writing is hard and editing is a drag, but it is so so worth it even if it makes it take longer. 

Happy writing <3

[sidequestsforall]

Beginner’s Side Quest (REPEATABLE DAILY)

Let’s try resting our brain today:

Do nothing for 15 mins. Set a timer. Let your brain wander. Try not to get stuck on an idea. Just breathe and feel your body.

If it helps you to stay awake, play instrumental music or go outside in the sunlight.

If you last 1 minute, you get 10 XP.

If you last 5 mins, you get 15 XP.

If you last 7 minutes, you get 20 XP.

If you last 10 minutes, you get 25 XP.

If you last 12 minutes, you get 30 XP.

If you last the whole 15 minutes, you get to accumulate every XP about shown above (TOTAL 100 XP).

Why is your brain resting so important that I made it worth a high amount of XP?

Your brain’s idea of rest and your body’s idea of rest as not always the same thing.

Learning to rest is a skill!

Rest vs Avoidance

Real Rest

Purpose: Refuels your energy

Feeling: Calm, quiet, steady

Afterward: You feel recharged or grounded in your body and brain.

Avoidance

Purpose: Delays discomfort

Feeling: Numb, restless, guilty

Afterward: You feel drained or behind or in a state of escape. (Anxiety)

Think of your dopamine like a battery. Avoidance gives you a 2% top-up. Real rest? That’s the full overnight 100% recharge your brain actually needs.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLES—

Real Rest:

Taking a 15-minute walk outside, no phone, just breathing and letting your mind wander.

Listening to worship or instrumental music while making a cup of tea.

Journaling your thoughts or praying before bed instead of scrolling.

Sitting in the sun or lying down with your pet for a few quiet minutes.

Doing something creative just for fun — doodling, playing guitar, rearranging your room, playing football.

Avoidance (that feels like rest but isn’t):

Opening TikTok “for 5 minutes” and realizing it’s been an hour.

Binge-watching a show because you don’t want to think about what’s next on your to-do list. (One to two episodes is fine, I am talking about watching 5-6 hours of a show non stop)

Eating just to distract yourself from the anxiety of starting something.

Cleaning your entire room to avoid that one hard email or task.

Telling yourself you’re “researching” a new project, but really just chasing dopamine.

How to Tell Which One You’re In—

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I feel peace or guilt right now?

Am I doing this because I need rest or because I don’t want to face something?

Will this leave me feeling calmer or more scattered?

Source

[inky-duchess]

A kingdom overthrows a corrupt King, and replaces him with his male cousin. This cousin is a kinder King, and does not want to do anything like execute or harshly imprision his cousin's wife and children. After the King is overthrown, his wife and children go by her title, and are stripped from everything they were given upon birth as family of the monarch. What could the new King do to the old royal family that would be seen as appropriate, but maintain peace amongst his loved relations?

Yes, he could have them as guests at court, treat them well and like family and give them all their heart’s desire but he cannot change the fact that they are heirs in their own right with a claim better than his and would be used as a weapon against him for his entire reign. It isn’t about kindness frankly, keeping them alive and around would call down untold instability for the monarchy and the country as a whole as the threat of a civil war is always there. Even if the kids never actually are active in a threatening way, they can be used. It is a question of weighing up the lives of thousands against two which seems like a cold and clinical choice but it was the choice faced by many monarchs over the centuries.

[inky-duchess]

Greeting your Highness!

As my plot changes I keep coming back with questions, I hope I'm not being terribly annoying, do feel free to tell me if I am.

I'll try to keep it short, Character A is married to B. B is a low ranking noble (haven't decided how far up the ladder he is yet), and he dies. The title goes to his firstborn son who's about 6 or 7, who is more likely to be his regent? (Very patriarchal society so I'm not counting on his mom). Could the king choose the regent? Could the king take away the child and give him a job in court to educate him? Since his father is dead and there are no grandparents.

Are families with no titles allowed to be present at court? Could they leave when they wanted to? For example: my husband is away at war, I'm going back to my own house cause I don't like it here?

If a prince/princess is heir to a throne and they married someone of lower standing, maybe even a peasant (gasp!), what should the new consort be educated in? And who would provide that education? I'm guessing politics, economics, geography, history, and protocol, but is there a more thorough list for me to look up?

Thank you so so much 🧡🧡🧡

Usually it would be an uncle or a close male relative on his father's side but even in a patriarchal society, a mother would sometimes take charge until her son is old enough. The King might take a hand in the matter but he would probably allow the child's mother to take charge as long as she and the child are safe and she is capable. He may take a godfather like role and check up on the situation but if the mother can handle it, he will let her.

Yes non titled aristocrats and gentry can be at court. They command less privilege but they are still welcome and would have a decent place at court. Anybody who is a guest at court could leave but only at the crown's permission and 'not liking it' wouldn't be a great excuse, perhaps an application to return home to deal with the estate may be more acceptable.

Everything they will ever need. Literacy, geography of their new land if they don't know it, basics of the history, have a grasp on economics but that isn't required, but mainly it would be protocol. They would have to know the role of a consort in and out.

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to International Relations

When writing fantasy, geopolitics is an element that shows up often. How nations interact with one another, how they create alliances or how they handle tense situations with each other. How nations behave with each other and communiticate with one another can effect your overall plot and character situations.

Receipts

With any story, you have to go back to the beginning to understand any relationship. Kingdoms who have had past history of war or invasion or colonisation may act more wary around each other. Kingdoms who have aided each other in the past might tend to side with each other over matters. International Relations are not unlike interpersonal relations in the fact that if trust is a foundation, then much is possible in the ways of alliances and any betrayal is far more impactful. If trust was not there at the start, then an alliance will be difficult to form.

Quid Pro Ho

The thing about international politics especially in a fantasy setting is that there's no such thing as black and white. Countries deal with each other out of necessity even if they are ideologically removed from one another or have a history, one country will have something the other needs, be it military support, political support or resources.

Entering into a Political Alliance

A political alliance is when two or more nations agree to work together or support each other. An alliance is agreement like a contract, which lays out the demands of each nation when entering an agreement, what they expect of one another, rules of engagement between one another and instances where they would be compelled to act on the others behalf. However, on both sides, there are situations where it might compel them to be a bit more pragmatic. For example, if Kingdom A had an alliance with Kingdom B, they may demand military support on the threat of war from their neighbour Kingdom C but if Kingdom B has a fairly good relationship with C and doesn’t wish to cause a war but it will promise to stand up for them in a political sense, it isn’t exactly a great deal but it is better than nothing. Every political alliance is based on necessity rather than just need and or even on the basis that they even like each other. It is about survival or stability in the long run, protection from other nations. Political alliances shift over time and may be broken off for bigger or better things. It isn’t a friendship though it is framed like that in media. It is a contract, an agreed set of terms of how the nations behave with one other, how they behave with other nations and what both nations can get off one other.

Trade Alliances

In making a trade alliance, like I said above, it is all based on the idea of you scratch my back, I scratch yours. To make any set of trading agreements, one has to be prepared to get taken to the cleaners as well as strike gold. Trade is basically an exchange of goods and services, one person is getting something in return for giving another. If Country A has a wealth of forests such as oak to build ships, Country B might enter a trade deal to recieve the wood for a set price based on its market value however, if Country A suspects that the wood might be used to build ships or weapons that could be used against them or an ally, Country A might charge B a steeper price, akin to a tax. Trade alliances can occur between allies but also foes, though trade will be strictly limited in some situations, due to embargoes on certain items or higher tax on items and services. The need to generate wealth and trade often transcends little things like politics but the government would decide which nations its citizens will sell and buy from, who they will trade with and if they will enter into agreements. From a political standpoint point, trade agreements have to take into consideration of two things: need of the consumer and protection of national trade. If it is cheaper to purchase some goods such as silk abroad and Kingdom X has an industry in silk, Kingdom X would impose a higher tax and tarriff on foreign silk coming into the country.

Communication Between Nations

In another post, I spoke about the role of ambassadors as it corrolates to the communication between nations. Ambassadors are the main line of communication between nations, a physical being of go-betwee who is charged with the passing along of messages and dispatches. Ambassadors like I said can be seen as physical manifestations of the nation they serve and how they are treated and welcomed or if indeed they are at all, is a direct response to how one nation views its relationship with another. Ambassadors aren’t the only figures involved in diplomacy. Sometimes heads of state will communicate face to face on state visits or at summits or they will maintain communication through letters or telephone but this is sometimes dictated by the government though heads of state and even their families can maintain personal correspondence with one another (though in times of war or strife, it is not recommended). Gestures speak louder than words when communicating. Keeping a channel of communication between nations open is a gesture of “I’m willing to hear you “ whilst expelling ambassadors is the equivalent of slamming your flip phone closed during an argument. A smart nation would always keep communication open in order to remain informed even through times of tension. That isn’t to say all communication is official or even known to the parties. Letters, dispatches, reports, telephone calls, cables, telegrams and other ways of education might be opened or intercepted or tapped in order to gain information that usually would not be available or information that has been hidden for a sinister reason. Spies are not exactly seen as fair play but it would be a mistake to think that they don’t exist. Spies can be anybody from either trained individuals who are sent into nations to gather information or they can be people within the nation such as politicians or even staff paid or threatened or persuaded to pass along information.

Perception

If you look at today’s media and back to historical pamphlets and newspapers, you can glean clear as crystal who is a country’s ally, who is a foe and who is sort of on the fence. The media of nations who are at odds with each other will often lean into stereotypes of each other or they will outright slander each other or take stances against them because that is the status quo. The media may depict the citizens of that nation in unflattering light, exaggerating features or characteristics or propaganda highlighting past agressions or mistakes. Nations who are political allies might shape headlines of depictions of their allies in flattering lights in order to mould the hearts and minds of people so they will look favourably on that nation’s actions, say for example if an Invader/Occupier were slaughtering civilians in hospitals or in safe zones or systematically committing what can only be coined as an outright genocide than their allies would depict Invader/Occupier’s actions as justified or as mistakes while placing the blame on those civilians. It’s plain propaganda and bullshit but it feeds from the machine of alliances. This doesn’t even have to leak into media, it can manifest through a standpoint of civilians, they may view their allied nation in a better light then those that are their enemy and may even treat their enemy with hostility on the back of the political standpoint of their nations - this of course depends on individuals but it is safe to say that sometimes one can get swept up into the narratives peddled by the media and one’s government. Perception is a delicate balance between sculpted truth and the facts that are black and white. And even after things are made fine and dandy between nations, sometimes lingering resentments do remain.

Cycle of Life

To believe that one nation will always be friends with another or they will always hate each other would be nice and neat in theory but frankly impossible. The needs, desires, limitations and power of nations dwindles and rises like the sun and nobody knows what can happen over the course of centuries. Old enemies such as the French and English would never have been put on the same side of a major global war, but it happened in the 20th century sometimes on the same fields they fought the Hundred Years War. Allies cannot always remain friendly, this is not Ru Paul’ Best Friend Race, this is a struggle to survive and to build something everlasting, alliances will break due to betrayal or need to get the next best thing. Fair or unfair, it happens. It is the reality of life and politics. Nothing good or bad lasts. Nations have to keep moving to survive and if that is over the backs of former allies, handclasped with an old enemy in order to save themselves and protect their borders, it will have to be done.

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy/Mediaeval guide to building a spy/intelligence network and becoming a Spymaster. Please? Pretty please?

https://www.tumblr.com/inky-duchess/175511870218/fantasy-guide-to-writing-to-forgeries-spying-and?source=share

[kalinmegafan20]

🎬 “Rewriting the Rules” – a Scream (1996) AU one-shot

🩸 The villains win. The final girl falls. And Ghostface becomes a franchise…

What if Billy Loomis and Stu Macher never lost? What if the rules of horror got flipped — and the killers walked away triumphant?

In this darkly meta Scream AU, the final act plays out differently. Sidney Prescott doesn’t get her classic hero moment. Instead, Billy gets his revenge, Stu gets his thrill, and Woodsboro gets a horror ending no one saw coming.

🕯️ Tone: Slasher violence + tongue-in-cheek meta banter

🫀 Dynamic: Billy & Stu as twisted brothers-in-arms

🎞️ Ending: Dark. Triumphant. Cinematic.

—

Fandom/Characters/Ship: Scream (Movies) / Billy Loomis, Stu Macher, Sidney Prescott

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 597

Warnings & Tags: Alternate Ending, Canon Divergence, Villains Win, Slasher Violence, Meta Humor, Brotherhood, Horror Tropes, Twisted Friendship

—

🔪 Read it on AO3:

archiveofourown.org/works/68886151

—

✍️ Author Note:

This fic started as a late-night “what if” — what if Billy and Stu won the movie they always talked about being in? What if horror didn’t follow the rules?

I hope you enjoy this twisted love letter to the Scream franchise and its brilliant subversion of genre expectations.

Also shout out to @leatafandom for offering to beta read for me before I posted it.

[kalinmegafan20]

Sly Cooper And The Gang In: A Way Home

Fandom/Characters/Ship: Sly Cooper (Video Games)

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 1,160 (for now)

Warnings and Tags: Graphic Descriptions Of Violence

Summary: This continues on from the secret ending in Sly 4: Thieves In Time when Sly is found in Egypt but it looks like he had been transported through time, via the work of Cyrille Le Paradox and his Time Machine blimp at the end of the game. Since there was no official 5th game in the franchise, I have wanted to continue the franchise on and now I know about fanfiction I can do it! So here we go folks!! Welcome to A Way Home.

Author Note: This chapter will be just to bring all Sly Cooper fans up to speed on where this fic begins and will be done via Sly's POV/narration like he did at the start of Thieves In Time.

Read this fic on my AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66851590/chapters/172529593

[kalinmegafan20]

Team Legion Incorporated humbles the Bakugan Battle Brawlers.

Fandom/Characters/Ship: Bakugan Battle Brawlers (Anime) | Dan Kuso, Shun Kazami, Leon (OC) | Gen (Friendship)

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 3,826 (for now)

Warnings and Tags: No warnings apply really

Summary: Team Legion Incorporated (made up of me Leon Turner , Elizabeth Henstridge and Brett Dalton) battle, defeat and humble the legendary (still active members) Bakugan Battle Brawlers and make them work harder than ever to get back to prominence.

Author Note: Just a note, this is my first ever piece of fan fiction I have ever written period let alone on AO3 so please be patient and kind with/to me. It is a slightly AU Post-Canon story that I have often dreamed about both when I am asleep or awake of me and the two celebrities I really wanna meet battling the Bakugan Battle Brawlers in a multitude of different ways and formats. So yeah, this is a passion project of mine. This is now part one of a 3? part series and I'm excited. Also a note, anything in italics is a flashback scene in case you get confused.

Read on my ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65683933/chapters/169144726

[fanficocean]

Fandoms Mobile

We are always adding more to the list. 

Fandoms: American Horror Story, BBC Sherlock, Big Sky, Black Butler, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Charmed (old), Chronicles of Narnia, Cobra Kai, Criminal Minds, Dark Angel,  DC, Doctor Who, Death Note, Dexter, Farscape, Firefly, General Hospital, Gotham,  Harry Potter, Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, Hercules, iZombie, John Wick, Jurassic World, Kamisama Kiss, Labyrinth, Law & Order SVU, Leverage, LOTR/The Hobbit, Lucifer, The Mandalorian, Marvel, Mayor of Kingstown, The Mentalist, NCIS, New Girl, Once Upon A Time, One Tree Hill, The Originals, Other Disney, Ouran Highschool Host Club, Peaky Blinders, Psych,  Real Person (you can write for real people as well as fandoms (EXCEPT SPN) that actors are in, we have a few already on the tag list), Riverdale, Shameless,Smallville,  Sons Of Anarchy, The Sopranos, Stranger Things, Star Trek, Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, Vampire Knight, The Walking Dead, The Witcher, Xena, Z-Nation

[fanficocean]

Navigation

Welcome to the @fanficocean.

The Ocean is a place for fanfic writers of all types and fandoms to come together as a community, share your works and foster creativity. This is a safe, neutral environment to meet new people/writers, get advice/tips on writing and posting fics, and much more.

Looking to widen your reach? Submit your fics to be posted to the blog and gain a whole new audience. Looking for people to tag in your fics? We have a members tag list per fandom that you will have instant access to. Looking for a beta reader or some advice? We have a members discord server that given you direct access to help whenever you need it.

Interested? Check out this post here to get more info on joining and choosing a category, and then send us an ASK.

About Us

Rules

Categories

Fandoms

spnfanficpond Any Fandom Goes Bingo

[spnfanficpond]

How we choose Manta Rays

While members can choose whether they want to be Guppies or Jelly Fish, or any of our other member types, Manta Rays are ultimately chosen by the admins and other Manta Rays. Here's how it works:

To begin, we ask that if you are interested in being a Manta Ray that you are already a Jelly Fish, and have been a member of the Pond for a while. Once you've been a member for a while, then we would encourage you to contact us about being promoted!

Once you've sent us an ask or contacted one of our admin to let us know that you are interested, we will ask you to take some time and pretend you've already got the job. We ask a lot of our Manta Rays, and we know that it can be time consuming. The top reason why Manta Rays step down is because they no longer have the time and energy to commit to being a Manta Ray. Taking a month, at least, to test out the waters and make sure that you can do all that we ask is as much for you to be sure you can do it as it is for us.

Manta Ray responsibilities:

Be supportive, friendly, and confident in their abilities to share knowledge with our growing writers as a mentor

Offer feedback when asked

Reblog fics from other members

Nominate fics for Angel Fish Awards

Assist the admins in creating tools for our fellow writers (see the #pond originals tag for examples of these)

Spend two hours each month in the discord server so other members can easily connect when they want advice or support

Signal boost Pond activities such as writing challenges and Angel Fish Awards

Have a reasonable amount of followers so they can help boost our newer writers (This is listed last, and a specific number is not set for a reason. Although we would love for our Manta Rays to have a larger following, we feel it is more important that they are kind, generous, accessible, and knowledgeable!)

As always, if you have any questions, send us an ASK!

[spnfanficpond]

FAQ’s

Welcome to the FAQ’s Page

Do I have to be a member for my fics to be posted here? - Yes, we do ask that you become a member before submitting your fics.  UPDATE: As of September, 2022, we will be reblogging all SPN fics that we come across or are submitted to us! This is in service to our reader followers who are looking for more fics to read!

Can I join the pond? - YES! The pond is open to everyone. Take a look at this post and decide which category you want to be in, then drop us an ask.

I’m a new member. What do I do now? - Check out this post for some new member advice.

Are there any ships/pairings/subjects not allowed in the pond? - This is a hate free zone. All ships/pairings/subjects/forms of Supernatural fanfiction are welcome.

How do I receive an Angel Fish Award? - The best way we’ve found is to nominate other writers! Writers love to support each other, so when you spread love around, it coms back to you!

How do I format a fic? - Our suggested format is here.

How do I submit a fic to the Pond? - Check out this tutorial here.

How do I create a Masterlist? -

Make a text post

List your fics

Link each title to the original post

Update it whenever you add a new fic (always be sure to update and reblog the original).

For best results pin your masterlist post to the top of your blog!

How do I add my masterlist to my Blog Description - Check out this post here

How do I add a Keep Reading link to my fic? - This post tells you all about it.

How do I link a new chapter? - So in order to create those links to previous parts without using the whole link address you want to select the text that you want to be the active link, usually “part 1″ or the name of your previous parts if different from the part you’re posting. Once you select the text you want to be the active link a row of icon’s will pop up above it. Select the link icon. Copy the link url and paste it in the box that shows up, hit “done” and your link is created.

What’s this difference between a One-shot and a Drabble? - Some define a drabble as being exactly 100 words. Others define a drabble as being anything shorter than 500 or even 1000 words. Most define a ficlet as shorter than 1000 words. A one-shot is any story longer than a drabble that is completed in one chapter, though generally they are longer than 1000 words.

POND SUGGESTION BOX - Anonymous suggestion box

Message Us

[howtofightwrite]

If you’ve already answered this, I’m sorry. How much of a liability is long hair in a fight? I mean it probably depends on the skill of the fighters and the tendency to grab each other’s hair as well. Is long hair still dangerous if it’s tied back?

Not that much more of a liability than having long hair in any athletic or otherwise hazardous situation. The biggest risk is the hair getting in your face (which yeah, keeping your hair bound will reduce the risks.)

The irony is, the risk of an experienced fighter grabbing your hair is probably lower than the risk of them grabbing you some other way, simply because hair offers no joint control. If someone wants control over your head, they're better off grabbing your head directly, rather than trying to tug on your hair in the middle of a fight. Also, if someone is going after your head, they have to get past your defense. That's not something that's likely to happen unless the fight is going very poorly for you.

The liability with long hair isn't in the fight itself (at least not when anyone knows what they're doing), it's in the ambush. It's when the fight begins with them getting a hold of your hair. Especially from behind. As I mentioned, it's not as good as getting a solid grip on the target's skull, but, for someone who doesn't know what they're doing, it is an easy way to grab onto someone.

Similarly, if the victim doesn't know what they're doing, they may not understand how little control their attacker has over them, and that the only leverage their attacker has (from grabbing their hair) is the ability to inflict a bit of pain in the scalp.

There's a logistical problem with grabbing someone's hair. As mentioned, it doesn't really control them, so you're giving up one arm to mildly inconvenience them. You now only have one arm which you can use to attack or defend yourself. They have two arms that they can use to attack or defend themselves. Meaning, they have one hand to deal with your remaining arm, and another hand free for unrestricted strikes to your face. This is not a good position to be in.

Outside of hand to hand, the biggest danger is simply getting hair in your face. Which you would have had to deal with on a daily basis anyway. In that case, yes, binding it will take that out of the equation entirely.

So, how much of a liability? On its own not much. There are other potential situations where it could cause catastrophic problems, like if the hair gets caught in heavy machinery, or something similar. In that respect it's more of a liability in an industrial setting. It still means keeping your hair short, if you're expecting to fight, is a good idea, but it's not the end of the world. If you do have long hair, keeping it tied back (ideally in a bun), means it's very unlikely to be a problem at all. The end result is that while it's not a major problem, it is one that can be easily dealt with ahead of time, and probably should be, because while the risks are fairly limited, there's no reason to leave them unaddressed.

-Starke

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get access to new posts three days early, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’re already a Patron, thank you. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi,

Do you have any tips on how to write a character who has a bond with a symbiote?

Both help each other to survive, as character A (the human) was severely wounded and character B (the symbiote, a spirit) heals these wounds and keeps them from 'opening up again'. In return, they share a body, which keeps Character B alive as he receives the necessary nutrients to build up energy. In my mind, the whole thing goes in the direction of Venom from Marvel or Justice from Dragon Age.

My biggest problem is to write the whole thing so that it doesn't sound too absurd and to include character B's thoughts or just to remind myself that they are there. Do you have any tips or resources for this?

Searching the internet doesn't bring up anything for me.

Thank you for your time and kind regards.

Writing a Symbiote and Host

This is outside of my wheelhouse as far as personal writing experience goes, however I have a few directions I can point you into for research, as well as some general advice and parallel advice.

Symbiotes fall under the "body and host" trope, and there are a whole bunch of subtropes under that umbrella. I'm not exactly sure which one your story would fall under, however here is the entry at TV Tropes along with the subtrope list at the bottom. Just reading through the the trope entry and the applicable-sounding subtropes can give you a lot of helpful information. You might also read up on the Two Beings, One Body trope as well as the Sharing a Body trope--and look through the examples of both--as this can give you some ideas/information about how to portray it believably and in a way that doesn't let you (or the reader) forget the symbiote is there.

And my feeling on that last bit--making sure the symbiote isn't forgotten and including their thoughts--would be that you'll want to convey those via internal dialogue between the two characters. What's leaping into my mind here is Marvel's Moon Knight if you've seen it. It's not a symbiote situation, but I'm just thinking of the way Marc speaks to Steven (the "host") inside his head, and Steven verbally responds. So, they have a conversation but anyone witnessing can only hear Steven's side of it, obviously, since Marc's end is inside Steven's head. You could also just have them communicate via fully internal dialogue, so the conversation takes place entirely via thought. Either way, having this sort of running dialogue between them allows you to keep the symbiote present in the story.

There are all kinds of devices you could use to give this a relevant framework. Ultimately, you can assign the symbiote a character role that they can fulfill while they're recharging inside the host's body. For example, they could be a mentor... like let's say your character is afraid of public speaking--which advancement in their job requires--so they feel stuck where they're at. But the symbiote, by way of being in their head and experiencing what they're experiencing, coaches them to do better and helps them get over their fear. They could be the comic relief if you want your story to have a bit of levity. Or they could be the foil to the host character. They could even just fulfill a sort of sidekick role, but giving them a role will help give them a place in the story outside of just being stuck in your character's head.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

LEARN MORE about WQA

SEE MY ask policies

VISIT MY Master List of Top Posts

COFFEE & FEEDBACK COMMISSIONS ko-fi.com/wqa