Mac Verse

I'm not a writer | I just like to write

[macverse]

Hubbell's Girl

---

A Joshtin - At some point, Justin says to JC "Your girl is lovely, Hubbell" and everything is different.

--

This references a few things I’ve mentioned in one of my previous Joshtin “Lance Watched” but it's not required reading to be able to enjoy this. Sorry, this is late. Life has been life-ing. I started this on May 13th if you can understand how much life has be life-ing. I know Justin wasn’t there (or at least not photographed or mentioned as far as I know) but my brain thought a little while ago that JC’s girlfriend looks so nice that Justin might like her unlike how it seemed that he hadn’t liked any of his past girlfriend while JC was dating them. I’m also not assuming that JC doesn’t like Jessica. I’ve just never seen the two of them in the same place for the entirety of Justin’s relationship sooooooo….that feels like something. Anyway, only JC could be with someone who makes me stop being distracted by how handsome he is. She looks like she’s really, really sweet. And she’s sooooo pretty. I love, love everything that she wears to appearances with JC. She and Michael are my favorite. I clearly have a type. I might have a small crush on her. Her smile! Okay, I’m gonna stop. Enjoy.

---

“That’s fucking unbelievable,” Lance says to JC as he takes a seat next to him across from the rest of the group. It’s the first official day of his Vegas birthday weekend. Lance has gotten very lucky to have almost all of his brothers here with him. Justin was on tour but he had three full nights in Las Vegas. He’d be tired and tight for time but he’d promised to drop in for a drink no matter what time it was. Among an entire hoard of his closest friends, Lance was also lucky enough to have Joey and JC in town to celebrate with him.

“The sign?” JC asks, referring to the nearly six hundred-foot electric billboards on the side of the Hilton across from where they are celebrating his 45th birthday. There is nothing like seeing your twenty-something-year-old face in an astronaut suit on the side of a building to remind you how much you’ve done in your life.

“I’m sure one of your friends, if not Michael…”JC starts but Lance interrupts him, once again amazed at how obtuse JC can be. “No JC. Them. Look at them,” Lance says gesturing at Jenn and Justin chatting away like they are old friends on a sofa the short distance across the Ayu dayclub from them. Lance looks back at JC, watching him look at Jenn and Justin. There is something about the way JC is looking at them. He’s not at all tense while he’s watching them the way that Lance expected. Lance thought for sure JC would want to split them up. He’s observed over the years that JC can be a protective boyfriend in the best way. Walking on the outside of the street. Keeping an eye on his girlfriends at parties to make sure they are okay. You know the cute, nice guy stuff that most men don’t seem to do anymore without begging. But this, whatever this is, feels like the opposite of what JC would want to see. 

Since Justin arrived, he and Jenn have been inseparable. The minute Jenn spotted Justin, she practically ran and flung herself into Justin’s embrace. It was almost like a scene out of a rom-com. Where the male interest comes back after years of separation when truthfully Justin and Jenn had last seen each other a few months ago at the LA performance at The Wiltern. Watching them greet each other, Lance half expected them to start kissing but Justin hoisted her up, carefully avoiding planting his face in her bust, and swung them around before putting Jenn back on her high healed feet. 

Something about Jenn and Justin together was captivating. Lance wanted to stop looking but he couldn’t take his eyes off of them. They complemented each other nicely. Although not entirely his style, Lance has been finding himself a little jealous of Justin’s latest wardrobe. He’d arrived in another subtly sexy, light-colored match-set linin outfit with a deep collar showing off just a hint of his buzzed, tanned chest. The outfit Jenn had on was sexy, full stop. A tight, colorful, and strappy dress with equally just enough skin showing to get your attention. Lance didn’t know how JC managed to not wisk her back up to their hotel room with her dressed like that. Their body language with each other screamed of their familiarity. The way they seem to be melting into each other due to something other than the desert heat, their bodies seemingly one despite not being each other's partner was enough to gravitate the gaze of anyone around them.

“That's real, isn’t it?” Lance asked JC. “They like each other?”

“When did that happen?” Lance asks again after JC doesn’t react to his previous question. JC shrugs and takes a sip of his drink leaving Lance to interpret the casual gesture as his response to Lance’s latest question. Justin and Jenn laugh loudly suddenly, Jenn falling backward into Justin, the back of her hand cascading across his chest while Justin’s arms flow around her both keeping her upright and emphasizing the surely hilarious story he is telling...

Read the full fic on my AO3

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[luna-azzurra]

Prompts for writing Eyes like that

☆ She had silver eyes with the faintest blue at the rim, like a cloud that can't decide if it wants to be sky.

☆ She had eyes like the surface of a frozen lake. Silver-grey, still, and you were never quite sure how thick the ice was.

☆ She had grey irises like a winter sky and she looked at me like I was the first thing she'd seen in a long time that made her want spring.

☆ His eyes were the color of a storm I would have walked into without a coat if he'd asked me to.

☆ His irises were the silver of a sword that has never been used. Beautiful and cold and quietly waiting for the moment it becomes necessary.

☆ He had grey eyes that went silver in certain light and I spent an embarrassing amount of time engineering the right light.

☆ His silver gaze was the first cold thing I had ever wanted to be close to.

[luna-azzurra]

Tips for Writing Injuries! (AGAIN)

Your action hero just got shot in the shoulder, stitched it up in a motel bathroom, and is now running through a forest. I need you to know that a shoulder wound severs muscle, nerves, and sometimes bone, and the human body's response to that is not "mild wincing followed by full range of motion." here is what injuries actually do to peoplee...

⊹ Adrenaline is REAL and it does allow people to do extraordinary things immediately after injury, BUT it is a loan, not a gift. you borrow the function and you pay it back later with interest. Your character might genuinely be able to run for twenty minutes after being stabbed. and then the adrenaline drops and everything the body was delaying arrives all at once. the collapse is NOT weakness. it's biology collecting its debt. write the debt collection. it's more interesting than the heroic sprint anyway.

⊹ Blood loss changes cognition before it drops you. you don't go from "fine" to "unconscious." you go through a whole middle stage of confusion, poor decision-making, emotional dysregulation, a strange calm, tunnel vision, difficulty forming sentences. Your injured character making a bad call, saying something they normally wouldn't, becoming suddenly and inexplicably gentle--that's blood loss. use the middle stage. it's dramatically rich and almost nobody writes it.

⊹ Recovery has a timeline and the timeline is long and boring and inconvenient to plot. a broken rib takes six weeks and during those six weeks sneezing is a genuine emergency. a concussion means no screens, no reading, no bright lights, and symptoms can persist for months. a stab wound to the abdomen means weeks of infection risk, limited mobility, and a specific kind of exhaustion that has nothing to do with sleep. Your character being sidelined and frustrated and useless for a long time is not a narrative problem. it's the story.

⊹ Pain also affects personality in ways writers skip. chronic pain makes people short-tempered and then guilty about being short-tempered. it makes concentration difficult. it makes intimacy complicated, both emotional and physical. a character who was patient and warm before their injury and is now snappy and withdrawn is not a character regression. they're in pain. pain is exhausting in ways that don't show on the outside. the people around them noticing and not knowing how to help is a whole story in itself.

[luna-azzurra]

Tips for Writing Trauma!

i love you all and i need you to stop writing trauma as a single breakdown scene in the rain after which the character is Healed and Ready to Love Again. that is NOT trauma :(

⊹ Trauma doesn't announce itself. it shows up as your character suddenly not being able to eat a specific food, or going very quiet in a loud room, or laughing at the wrong moment because their nervous system decided that was the appropriate response. it's mundane and weird and it makes no sense from the outside. the dramatic flashback sequence is the least realistic part. the most realistic part is your character suddenly needing to leave a grocery store for a reason they can't articulate.

⊹ The body keeps score and it keeps it in the strangest places. a particular smell. the quality of light at a certain time of day. a tone of voice that sounds like someone who hurt them. your traumatised character doesn't think "this reminds me of the bad thing." their heart rate spikes and they don't know why. they feel wrong and they can't locate the feeling. they're irritable for three days and only later, if ever, do they make the connection. write the disconnection. it's more honest.

⊹ trauma also does not make people universally sympathetic and wise. it makes some people controlling. some people funny at inappropriate times. some people very good in a crisis and completely unable to handle a normal day. some people are generously kind to strangers and absolutely terrible to people they love. trauma shapes behaviour in contradictory, inconvenient ways that don't resolve into a lesson. your traumatised character can be difficult to like. that's not a flaw in the writing. that's the WRITING.

⊹ Healing is not linear and it is not a destination. your character does not get better and stay better. they have a good month and then something small undoes two years of progress and they have to start again with slightly more tools than before. that's the actual shape of it. the spiral, not the arc. the scene where they finally open up and cry is not the end. it might not even be progress. sometimes it just means they were tired that night.

[luna-azzurra]

Things to consider when Writing about Schools/Academies!!

⊹ What is this school actually for. training mages? knights? spies? just normal education? because "prestigious academy" means nothing if you don't know what they're prestigious at

⊹ Who gets in and how. is it merit based, do you have to be rich, legacy admissions, secret tests, random selection, born with the right abilities. what happens to kids who don't make the cut

⊹ What's the age range. are these literal children or young adults or mixed ages. because a school with 11 year olds has very different problems than one with 18 year olds

⊹ How strict is it. prison vibes with tons of rules? pretty chill? different rules for different student groups (which is unfair and causes drama)?

⊹ What are the social hierarchies. obviously there are cliques but what are they based on. wealth? power level? what year you're in? family name? talent?

⊹ What happens if you fail or get expelled. are you just sent home in shame or is it worse. do people sometimes not survive the training. how often do students drop out or disappear

⊹ Who are the teachers and why are they teaching. washed up former heroes? people who never left? actually passionate educators? suspicious people using it as a cover? mix of all of them probably

⊹ What's forbidden. certain magic, certain areas of campus, relationships between students, leaving grounds, specific books/knowledge. and obviously your protagonist will break these rules

⊹ How do students get sorted/grouped. houses? teams? specializations? randomly? and do these groups have rivalries because they should

⊹ What's the curriculum actually like. is it actually useful or are they learning weird outdated stuff. are there classes that are just covers for something else. what are the hardest classes

⊹ Where is this school located. isolated castle? middle of a city? pocket dimension? floating island? does it move? can students leave or are they stuck there

⊹ What traditions does the school have. tournaments, festivals, hazing rituals (the dark kind), graduation ceremonies, weird old customs nobody questions

⊹ Is there corruption in the faculty/administration. favoritism, taking bribes, secret agendas, covering up student deaths, embezzling, working for the villain

⊹ What's the diversity situation. is it segregated somehow (by class, species, magic type)? integrated but with tension? do some groups face discrimination from staff or other students?

⊹ What happens outside of classes. clubs? underground fight rings? secret societies? banned parties? students sneaking out? romantic drama?

⊹ Why is your protagonist specifically there. chosen one nonsense? hiding from something? forced to attend? actually wants to learn? found out they have powers and got dragged there confused?

[luna-azzurra]

I genuinely cannot explain to a non-writer what it feels like when a chapter suddenly clicks. it's not satisfaction. it's not relief. it's this horrible specific feeling like you just remembered something you never knew. like the story was already there and you finally stopped being in the way of it. i don't know what to do with that feeling. i just close the laptop and stare at the wall for a bit.

[luna-azzurra]

Tips for Writing Comas!

Your character has been in a coma for three weeks and just woke up, said something profound, recognised everyone in the room, and will be walking by next chapter. i love you. i respect your commitment to the plot. but i need you to sit down because we have to talk about what the human body actually does when it's been unconscious for three weeks.

⊹ Waking from a coma is not waking up. it is a gradual, nonlinear process that can take days or weeks. there's no moment where the eyes open and the person is back. there are stages: responses to pain, then to voice, then to commands, then inconsistent awareness, then windows of consciousness that come and go. Your character might recognise someone they love and then have no memory of it an hour later. the people waiting at the bedside have to live in that uncertainty for a very long time.

⊹ Muscle atrophy is immediate and significant. after one week of immobility, you lose a measurable percentage of muscle mass. after three weeks? your character cannot sit up unaided. they cannot stand. their legs do not work the way they used to and getting them to work again involves weeks of painful physiotherapy. They will not be walking to the window to look meaningfully at the sky. They will be trying to hold a cup without dropping it.

⊹ Cognitive effects are real and unpredictable. memory gaps. difficulty concentrating. words disappearing mid-sentence. personality changes that might be temporary or might not be. your character waking up is the beginning of finding out who they are now, which parts came back intact and which parts are different in ways that can't be fixed by time or willpower. The person who walked in is not quite the same person who wakes up.

⊹ The psychological experience of the people who were waiting is also almost never written properly. you visited someone unconscious every day for three weeks and talked to them and held their hand and made decisions about their care and lived in a sustained state of grief and hope at the same time. and then they wake up. and you're supposed to be relieved. and you are relieved. but you're also exhausted in a way nobody is acknowledging, and slightly angry in a way you can't justify, and you've changed too while they were gone. the reunion is complicated. Write the complicated.

⊹ What the coma patient experiences, if anything, is genuinely unknown. some people report nothing. some report vivid dream-like states they can't distinguish from memory. some report hearing voices around them, including things said at the bedside that were never meant for them. Your character might have three weeks of false memories they believe are real. They might have heard something they weren't supposed to hear. they woke up knowing something about the people in that room that those people don't know they know.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

some of y’all will be engaging in witch hunt, accusing writers left and right and then wondering why more and more writers take their works down and don’t share them with you ungrateful losers anymore.

“this fic looks like it was created by ai” yeah that’s because ai was trained on human-made works and it was trained to mimic human-made works.

you claim you hate ai because ai harms real artists, yet you are out there accusing and harassing artists because “their vibes just aren’t right”. at this point, you are the ones who cause more harm — to art and the writing community — than ai does.

you are the ones killing art and writing community, the community you want to “protect against ai”.

so at this point, you’re killing the community faster than ai is. good luck when the community you want to protect has no human-made work left because you accused and harassed genuine artists/writers away and the only things that are left for you to read are actual ai-generated fics.

if you think a fic is ai and if that bothers you like it does me, quietly exit the tab and avoid their future works like a normal, decent person. because with every "this fic looks ai" comment, there's always a chance of you wrongly accusing an innocent writer and further harming the writing community as a whole.

[luna-azzurra]

How to write Apologies!!

✮ Bad apologies are worse than no apology. Your character says "I'm sorry you feel that way" or "I'm sorry but..." and wonders why the other person is still mad. They're not actually taking responsibility, they're deflecting. Or they apologize way too much for little things, making it about them and their guilt instead of the person they hurt. Show the difference between PERFORMING remorse and actually FEELING it. Real apologies are specific. They name the harm and they don't make excuses.

✮ Sometimes your character doesn't know how to apologize. They were never taught. They get defensive instead. "Well you did X" or "I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't..." They're so afraid of being the bad guy that they can't admit they messed up. Show that resistance. The pride and fear mixing together. The way they're digging themselves deeper while trying to save face. They know they're wrong but they can't make their mouth say the words.

✮ A good apology is vulnerable as hell. Your character has to sit with the discomfort of hurting someone. Look them in the eye. Say "I fucked up. I'm sorry. You deserved better." No buts. Just acknowledgment. And then they have to wait for the other person's response. They don't get to demand forgiveness. They don't get to move on until the other person is ready. Show that powerlessness (Please.)

✮ Actions matter more than words. Your character can say sorry all they want but if the behavior doesn't change, the apology is worthless. Show them following through. Doing the work. Proving they meant it. Or show them failing, apologizing over and over for the same thing until the words become meaningless. Sometimes people don't get second chances. Sometimes the damage is done. Show the consequences of waiting too long or not trying hard enough.

[egonkula]

Trying to print gay fanfiction, and the damn printer jammed. A lovely employee offered to print it behind the counter, and I couldn’t think of a reason to say no and didn’t want to be suspicious and now this poor man is printing 200 pages of smut on very nice paper. KILLING MYSELFFFFFFFFF

[egonkula]

Oh my god. There’s a problem with their printer too. He’s waving my smut around and asking other employees to help. Im gonna die.

[egonkula]

I WISH I WAS MAKING THIS UP. the stack of failed prints this man just handed me. DO I KILL MYSELF ON INSTAGRAM LIVE OR TIKTOK LIVE

[egonkula]

Guys. Are you fucking kidding me. It didn’t rotate and half of the pages are backwards. We have to do it again. My 200 pages of incorrectly printed smut. We have to print it again. Oh my God.

[egonkula]

we just ran out of paper.

[egonkula]

Like. In the entire store. I bought that last 400 pages of this paper. And they don’t have any more in stock. What am I being punished for.

[ihaveanaxe]

Literally just give up. Give up right now. Please I can’t keep reading this.

[minyicho]

starting a collection of my favourite AO3 author’s notes

honourable mentions

[glassfrogforest]

[macverse]

how else am i supposed to be inspired to write?

[solarsthoughts]

just your daily gentle reminder to go and write that story you so desperately want to read.

go on now, do it.

cause turns out i want to read it too. so go write it or else.

[solarsthoughts]

it’s always extra special when someone leaves a kudos or comment on one of your older fics. like you’re telling me you scrolled all the way down/filtered through all the works in the fandom and clicked on my fic, even though it was posted months and months ago? and you LIKED IT? you showed it some love even though it’s been collecting dust for months?

and this, everyone, is how you make a writer‘s entire week.

[nettles-and-petals]

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Drabble List #15

75 prompts to write drabbles or longer stories.

"We need to take a leap of faith."

"I won't let them take everything from us."

"This is the only way."

"We're on the same team."

"You can't keep running away."

"We need to make this right."

"I have some questions for you."

"Wanna test it for yourself?"

"I can't believe you said that."

"You have to make a choice."

"This is our chance to change everything."

"We need to be brave."

"I can't do this without you."

"You have to face the truth."

"This is bigger than both of us."

"We need to act fast."

"I can't keep living a lie."

"We need to find the courage to move forward."

"We have to be honest with ourselves."

"This isn't over yet."

"We need to take a stand."

"I'm not alone in this fight."

"We can't let them destroy everything we've built."

"I believe in us."

"We have to keep the faith."

"I'm not as strong as you think."

"I can't keep living a lie."

"You have no idea what I've been through."

"This is bigger than both of us."

"We have to find a way."

"I can't believe you did that."

"We need to be strong."

"This isn't about revenge."

"You can't hide forever."

"We need to stay focused."

"I never wanted any of this."

"You have to face your fears."

"This is our moment."

"We need to find the truth."

"I can't let them win."

"You really need to trust your instincts more."

"This isn't about winning."

"We have to make a stand."

"I never thought it would come to this."

"You have to let me in."

"This is our chance."

"We need to be ready."

"I can't believe I trusted you."

"You have no idea what I've sacrificed."

"This isn't just about us."

"We need to stay calm."

"I can't keep doing this forever."

"I can't let them take everything."

"You have to trust me."

"This is our fight."

"Who are your friends?"

"Don't start from the very beginning."

"Personally, I have no idea."

"We need to be careful."

"I wish I could believe you."

"We can't keep doing this."

"How did we end up here?"

"You know I can't stay."

"We have to take a risk."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You need to let go."

"This isn't the end."

"We're not that close."

"I had a bad feeling about this."

"And it seems like I was right about it."

"We can't let fear control us."

"I never expected this."

"You have to make a choice."

"We need to act fast."

"This is just the beginning of our story."

Drabble Masterlist

Have fun creating and writing!

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Two Kinds of Writers

When planning novels, writers generally fall into 2 categories: “plotters” and “pantsers.”

A plotter - is someone who meticulously plans and outlines their story before they begin writing.

If you’re a painstaking outliner who spends a large amount of time in the prewriting stage charting out plotlines, devising characters, and worldbuilding, you fall into the plotter category.

Most successful writers do plotting to some extent.

If you take any bestselling published author, chances are they’d fall into the plotter category.

If you’re new to writing, trying out writing as a plotter can give you a good sense of how pre-writing can prepare you before you dive into the writing process.

If you’re the type of writer who likes to fly by the seat of your pants and write without a roadmap, chances are you would identify as a “pantser.”

A pantser - doesn’t spend a lot of time evaluating writing methods or planning out story structure, nor do they follow a paint-by-numbers approach to novel writing.

It is the preferred method for Stephen King and many other successful writers.

Pantsing can be a great way to quickly get into the writing process and beat writer’s block.

Whether you are working on your first novel or a followup to your most recent bestseller pantsing can be a great method for jumpstarting your process and getting your creative juices flowing.

How to Approach the Writing Process as a Plotter

There are many ways to approach plotting, and you will probably experiment with many different techniques over the course of your writing life. If you’re just getting started trying out writing as a plotter here are some steps to get you on your way:

Generate ideas. The first step in writing a novel is generating story ideas. Some writers like to freewrite and brainstorm, others prefer working with writing prompts. Whichever approach you take, it’s important to spend time coming up with a variety of ideas and choosing a strong premise that lends itself to an effective plot.

Start with a simple, compelling premise. Once you have a basic idea, it’s time to develop a story premise. One way to develop a small idea into a basic story is called the snowflake method. The snowflake method involves starting with a core premise or theme upon which you build every other aspect of narrative and character as you flesh out the big picture.

Trace out general story arcs. Start to lay out a storyline. You don’t have to worry about building the whole thing at once. Rather you can focus on each act within your story arc—or even simple scene descriptions—and piece these together as you build out a full-length narrative.

Don’t neglect character development. Character is an incredibly important part of a story and helps to balance out plot-based narratives. Before you start writing you should make sure that you have detailed character arcs and a main character with a clear motivation and backstory. Part of building a good character is choosing a strong and nuanced point of view. Balance out the plot portion of your writing process by taking some time to analyze your characters and make sure they are strong, realistic, and nuanced.

Build subplots. Once you have a good sense for your main plot it’s time to layer in subplots. Subplots can often be character-specific, so this is a good time to think a bit about the characters you’ve populated your world with and how each individual backstory might come into play. Good subplots will weave seamlessly through your main arc and help advance your action rather than distract from it.

Write a detailed outline. Before you start writing, you should have a detailed plot outline. This should catalog the main story and individual plot points. It should be comprehensive enough that someone who has no knowledge of your story could look at the outline and piece together the narrative of events, identifying your inciting incident, rising action, and climax. It can also be useful to write individual smaller outlines such as a chapter outline or act outline that you can piece together to create a macro story outline.

Tie up loose ends. Once you have a detailed outline, it’s time to tie up loose ends and fill any plot holes. One common misconception about writing is that editing comes at the end of the process. Editing is something you should return to throughout your writing process, and it’s important to edit your plot and outline before you start writing in earnest.

How to Approach the Writing Process as a Pantser

There are many different ways to approach pantsing. The most basic principle of pantsing is to just start writing. Pantsers fly by the seats of their pants, whether they’re writing a full-length novel or a short nonfiction piece. That being said, there are some basic steps you can follow as you launch into writing a novel as a pantser:

Start with a concept. When you approach the blank page, it’s good to have at least a vague idea of what you want to write about. Part of pantsing is allowing your impulses and feelings to guide you, but having a basic sense of what inspires you can help focus your writing.

Follow your impulses. Once you get into your project, feel free to follow impulse and get lost in your project. One of the joys of writing fiction as a pantser, whether you’re working on short stories or a full-length novel, is to immerse yourself in the work and discover where your mind takes you.

Take pauses to evaluate your work. It’s important to take stock of your work as you go. This way you won’t leave any plot holes or loose ends that you forget to tie up in the second half.

Don’t be afraid to edit. Just because you are essentially freewriting doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t edit your work. Editing and revising can help you work out of dead ends and structure your story around a cohesive arc with a clear turning point.

Come to a resolution. Part of being a successful pantser is sensing when your work is approaching its endpoint. Pay attention to how your story is progressing and find a natural place to resolve your plot and tie up loose ends.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs