[neil-gaiman]

There are now over 60,000 asks sitting here unreplied to. I thought it might be fun to answer a few from the dawn of time. Tumblr wizards: Is there any easy way of getting to some of the earliest asks that doesn't involve me scrolling down for, literally, weeks?

[miem1004]

Reading the notes is good entertainment. 🤣

[lollidaze]

you're just going to leave me here? – It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020)

[miem1004]

👀💖

[mysticalsashaxoxo]

MYSTICAL WRITER’S TWO CENTS

Creative liberty is a double-edged sword. I think as writers one should also respect the characters we use as muse—esp in fanfiction since they are just borrowed characters. But then again this is just my own principle.

I’ll say this once more, we can’t control how people react to something—what we do have control however is what we write.

If one would really want to delve on disturbing or thought provoking concepts I think it’s best to use and create original characters instead. That way you can have full ownership and have a better creative space without fear of offending certain audiences.

I always say this but please be kind, to others and to yourself.

Have a great weekend. ☀️

[miem1004]

Fanfiction is a good platform for advocacy on diverse subjects. Let’s do our part to educate people on what is good and what is bad.

Writers and readers alike, each have their own responsibility - to choose what to write and read.

Having said that, I stand by my stance - nonconsensual sex, even between a married couple is not making love, it’s rape.

No means no. Period.

p/s Fanfiction is a good platform to create awareness about PLAGIARISM as well. 😂

[vvvrvr]

sharing my two hundred cents

you can write hot and explosive smut without sacrificing and degrading the beautifully written canon characters. i may not know everything but all i know is a writer always knows what she/he writes. it’s always a choice, whether you take it to please your audience or to please yourself.

“don’t like don’t read”, sure. i mean if you enjoy writing or reading those kinks, go ahead. but maybe do it in another fandom where you dont have an actress that once stated she was uncomfortable on being sexualized? idk.

i also know that demand often creates the market. so if more people talk and hype about this kind of content, you all know where you heading to. just saying. it’s kinda true and tested method you know, happens everywhere. it’s not that unpredictable. it’s not that shocking tbh. if im being a pretentious fvk, idc. don’t like, don’t read. lol.

thank you for reading. i hope and i know you can do better.

sincerely,

a concerned citizen

[miem1004]

No means no.

[ckret2]

some of the best writing advice I’ve ever received: always put the punch line at the end of the sentence.

it doesn’t have to be a “punch line” as in the end of a joke. It could be the part that punches you in the gut. The most exciting, juicy, shocking info goes at the end of the sentence. Two different examples that show the difference it makes:

doing it wrong:

She saw her brother’s dead body when she caught the smell of something rotting, thought it was coming from the fridge, and followed it into the kitchen.

doing it right:

Catching the smell of something rotten wafting from the kitchen—probably from the fridge, she thought—she followed the smell into the kitchen, and saw her brother’s dead body.

Periods are where you stop to process the sentence. Put the dead body at the start of the sentence and by the time you reach the end of the sentence, you’ve piled a whole kitchen and a weird fridge smell on top of it, and THEN you have to process the body, and it’s buried so much it barely has an impact. Put the dead body at the end, and it’s like an emotional exclamation point. Everything’s normal and then BAM, her brother’s dead.

This rule doesn’t just apply to sentences: structuring lists or paragraphs like this, by putting the important info at the end, increases their punch too. It’s why in tropes like Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking or Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick, the odd item out comes at the end of the list.

Subverting this rule can also be used to manipulate reader’s emotional reactions or tell them how shocking they SHOULD find a piece of information in the context of a story. For example, a more conventional sentence that follows this rule:

She opened the pantry door, looking for a jar of grape jelly, but the view of the shelves was blocked by a ghost.

Oh! There’s a ghost! That’s shocking! Probably the character in our sentence doesn’t even care about the jelly anymore because the spirit of a dead person has suddenly appeared inside her pantry, and that’s obviously a much higher priority. But, subvert the rule:

She opened the pantry door, found a ghost blocking her view of the shelves, and couldn’t see past it to where the grape jelly was supposed to be.

Because the ghost is in the middle of the sentence, it’s presented like it’s a mere shelf-blocking pest, and thus less important than the REAL goal of this sentence: the grape jelly. The ghost is diminished, and now you get the impression that the character is probably not too surprised by ghosts in her pantry. Maybe it lives there. Maybe she sees a dozen ghosts a day. In any case, it’s not a big deal. Even though both sentences convey the exact same information, they set up the reader to regard the presence of ghosts very differently in this story.

[cynicalities]

it's a crime that i'm such a ‘press a soft kiss on the tip of the nose of the one i love’ person but have no one to do that to

[firestarsandseneschals]

This is a free coupon/excuse for you to infodump on the current topic you’re obsessed with. Take some time away from internet discourse and share with us something you find interesting. ✨

okay omg SO. i just finished It's Okay To Not Be Okay, and holy fucking shit it's absolutely FANTASTIC.

here, in bullet points, i shall illustrate the reasons why i love this show, and why it has instantly become the best TV show i've ever watched and my absolute favourite.

kim soo-hyun. watch me shamelessly admit that this man is one of the top reasons i love this show so much. his acting? phenomenal. his face? sinful. his voice? swoon-worthy. he has killed me, and i'm fully willing to reanimate just for him to decimate me again. his character itself is fantastically showcased. he's a psych ward caregiver who's selfless to the point of almost no return. his journey is one of my favourite things about IOTNBO.

soo yea ji. my bisexual ass couldn't handle these two together, to be honest, but i managed. she's just absolutely freaking stunning, and her character is so well portrayed i just can't 😭 from being a near-psycho bitch to being a sweetheart bitch, her development is *chef's kiss*. plus, she's the queen of classy fashion.

the showcasing of trauma! the actors, directors, writers, literally everyone has done a fucking awesome job of showing trauma, how it affects each person differently, and how it shapes the lives of not just them, but the people around them, too.

each and every character, no matter how briefly they appear, has been fleshed out thoroughly. from the patients at the hospital to Ko Mun-Yeong's publisher, they've all been given the same treatment, and haven't been written off as side characters with no sense of self.

the plot twist. okay, so i kinda saw it coming, but i have to admit that the twist within the twist was the wildest shit i've ever seen. it's been carried out so well, and hats off to whoever came up with it.

Ko Mun-Yeong & Moon Gang-Tae's relationship. from Mun-Yeong developing an obsession with him and chasing after him, to them slowly falling in love, it's been handled to perfection. their respective traumas have been shown to get in the middle of their budding relationship, as they do in real life too, and the way they overcome their own struggles while leaning on each other is just beautiful to watch.

the art!!! Ko Mun-Yeong is a children's book author, so all her books & stories have illustrations in them, which have been braided into the storyline, and all her stories are running parallel to something that's happening in their lives at that point.

the cursed castle. that house is a dream. and forget all its other features—its got a balcony on the first floor that overlooks the grounds, and it's so fucking pretty i just can't 😭 all the scenes there are amazing.

Moon Sang-Tae is an amazing character. he loves his brother, is aware of how he was mistreated by their mother, but he has his own struggles with PTSD. he's on the autism spectrum, but i'm not autistic myself, nor am i an expert in the field, so i don't know enough to comment on it. still, i think it was a wonderful part that was very well shown, including how it affected Gang-Tae, his childhood & his adult life. Sang-Tae's dinosaur love reminded me of Ross for some reason, though Sang-Tae's is way sweeter and not academic whatsoever 😂 his healing journey is also wonderfully represented.

Moon Sang-Tae, Moon Gang-Tae & Ko Mun-Yeong's found family trope was everything. i don't have words for how abso-fucking-lutely amazing it was to see.

so there's my rant. in conclusion, EVERYONE WATCH IOTNBO RIGHT AWAY GO GO GO—

[miem1004]

Well written review! 💖

[writingquestionsanswered]

How do I overcome the need for validation that comes with being a fanfic writer? I’m taking a long time to update my fics, and I’m scared by the time my productivity finally takes off, then the fandom will be dead and no one will read my work. It’s sucking my motivation a bit and making me feel anxious about writing instead of excited. How do I change this?

Overcoming Need for Validation

This is one that actually applies to any kind of fiction sharing, whether posting to fiction-sharing sites, sharing on your blog or web page, publishing, or even sharing privately among smaller groups. Any time feedback is potentially part of the process, that can quickly turn into a need for validation.

Positive feedback is super rewarding. Even more neutral feedback, such as a view or a like can be rewarding. But feedback is also fleeting. Few people take the time to leave feedback, even if it's simply pressing the like button. Comments and reviews are even harder to come by. There are different rates for different functions on different sites, but you're generally going to get fewer than 10% engagement on anything you share to any site. There are going to be exceptions, of course, because some things perform better than others for reasons that are sometimes difficult to understand. Either way, feedback is a fickle thing.

A lack of feedback can lead to the sense that no one is reading your story, no one likes your story, or no one cares. But the reality is that not leaving feedback does not always mean someone didn't read/like/care. In fact, because people are so bad about leaving feedback, there's a good chance the number of people who liked your story but didn't bother to tell you is equal to or higher than the number who did. Again, feedback is a fickle thing.

Having said that, relying on a feedback fix every time you share a story is a dangerous game.

Here are some things you can do to overcome that reliance and need for validation:

1) Let It Go - Part of sharing your work as a writer is learning to let go of a story once it's shared with your readers. That means letting go of the notion that feedback is important. Sure, positive feedback can be celebrated if you get it, but don't expect it or be disappointed if you don't get it. Negative feedback can be taken into account if you think it's useful, otherwise it can be ignored. Lack of feedback doesn't mean lack of reading/enjoyment.

2) Bring Focus Back On Yourself - Most people get into writing fiction because they enjoy it. We start out writing for ourselves, but we forget that when we start sharing with readers. Focus on the joy writing gives you. Write for yourself, not for your readers. When a story is done, if you want to share it, do it with the attitude that your job is done but if others enjoy reading it as much as you enjoyed writing it, that's just a bonus.

3) Give Yourself Positive Feedback - Sometimes we need a reminder that what we love about our own writing matters, too. In fact, it matters most of all because it's probably the reason we got into writing in the first place.

Dig out one of your pretty unused notebooks or journals. On one of the first pages, write "Me as a Writer - My Favorites," and write down five things that you personally love about your writing generally. This could be things like "I create amazing characters," or "my plots are tight and engaging." After that, every time you finish writing a story, write down the title and five things you loved about the story. Again, this is not reader feedback, it's what you personally loved about the story. Try to include at least a couple things related to the quality of writing, like that you thought it had amazing flow or you thought the description was really good. Keep this notebook/journal around, and when you feel that need for validation, open it up and start reading.

I hope that helps! ♥

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[miem1004]

Thank you!

[quotemadness]

“One day, whether you are 14, 28 or 65, you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in you that cannot die. However, the saddest, most awful truth you will ever come to find - is they are not always with whom we spend our lives.”

— Beau Taplin

[miem1004]

Wow!

[heywriters]

My writing seems very boring, i try not to do the show don't tell, however it becomes mostly descriptions, what should i do?

Though “show, don’t tell” is an incredibly important rule for fiction writers, it is not the kind of rule you must always follow. Sometimes, you should “tell.”

Here is an article I found very helpful on this subject: 6 Reasons “Show Don’t Tell” Can be Terrible Advice for New Writers 

As with all “writing rules,” a balance is needed between showing and telling. Your writing may take some reworking, but that’s okay. You’ll learn which parts in your story are important to “tell” and which need to be “shown.”

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[haticesultanas]

Ko Mun-Yeong’s flawless fashion sense

[miem1004]

Baby girl! I miss you 💖😭

[heywriters]

I hope this is fine with you ask policy, but I was wondering if you’d know how to help with writing more descriptions and expanding vocabulary.

Of course this is fine, though I have answered it a few times before. Here are my tags for descriptive writing and vocabulary. 

Also, since the topic comes up often, I went ahead and looked up a few online resources for expanding one’s English vocabulary.

Let’s Write Some Novels | How to Write Better Descriptions

EIL Writing Source: Dictionaries, Thesaurus…more

6 Useful Vocabulary Websites

Describing Words

Vocabulary

Visuwords

Etymonline

Freerice

Word Sift

+ Please review my Ask Policy before sending in your ask. Thank you!

+ If you benefit from my updates and replies, please consider sending a little thank you and Buy Me A Coffee!

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[quotemadness]

“Know that you can start late, look different, be uncertain and still succeed.”

— Misty Copeland

[miem1004]

True!

[writingdotcoffee]

“Every writer I know has trouble writing.”

— Joseph Heller

[sunnydwrites]

Describing New Settings

Hey friends, Abby here with another writing post! Today I’m coming at you with tips on introducing new places through your character’s eyes — how to do it effectively and naturally, without overwhelming your reads with every little detail.

It’s often hard for readers to pick up on the exact appearance of a place upon the first visit, which is why this isn’t something you should aim for. Try to think of it through the filter of your own mind; if you walked into a museum you’ve never been to before, you wouldn’t expect yourself to remember every single detail, so you shouldn’t hold your readers to the same “standard”. So what would you remember?

What Draws the Eye?

Maybe they walk into someone’s bedroom and the walls are bright green. That would be pretty hard to forget, don’t you think? Most bedrooms don’t have bright green walls, so that’s something you’d probably notice and expect the next time you went into that room. Or maybe you notice how generic the room feels because there’s not much of a personal touch. These are all things you’d come to notice about a room when you enter it; we tend to look at everything holistically before picking out the smaller details. Keep that in mind when you’re writing your character’s very first impression. These could include (but are not limited to):

Stand-out wall colors

Lots of or very little “personal touch”

Clutter or lack thereof

Flow of the room (Does it seem to go well? Does everything seem to direct the character towards a certain view?)

Anything that would be drastically different from what the PoV character considers “normal”

That last one ties in especially when you’re picking out the smaller details. These are the things you might want to hold off on describing all at once, but introduce them slowly to give the reader more of a feel for the room. Details your character might include (but, again, are not limited to):

Any technology, like a computer on the desk

Minor similarities or differences between the new place and what the PoV character considers “normal”

Anything that might define the character who owns the place, if they’re in the story at all

Things that pop or sparkle or somehow draw the PoV character’s eye when they’re looking around

Things that pertain to the PoV character’s interests

Any collections (for example from my room, Taekwondo trophies and belts, or books)

Anything other characters in the room would draw attention to

What’s Important?

Are there things in this area that’ll be important later in the book? Take a second to notice these in your story, even if they just get a sentence. Establishing their existence in this place will help you nail the continuity that makes your life a whole lot easier when you’re seeing what went down earlier. Anything in this room can be important in one way or another, and I mean anything. For example, we’ll take two very different things:

A pencil and a pad of paper

A Swiss army knife

Your character might be needing one of both of these in the future. Maybe they’re writing down the time and place of their next dentist appointment. Or, ya know, maybe they’re fighting for their life against the savage vampire-werewolf-bigfoot hybrid that just broke into their house. Nothing out of the usual, right?

Either way, if your character needs these things at any point, it’s helpful to make the reader aware that they exist somewhere. If your character knows, do your best to convey that information to your readers. Unless you’re using it as a plot device, keeping your readers in the dark can be incredibly frustrating when the knowledge was something trivial.

So, that’s all I’ve got for you today! If there’s anything you want to see me write about in my next post, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask. Until next time, much love! <333

[writingquestionsanswered]

I've done the research, but I don't think the results I've found have answered my question. My WIP stars a trio of teens who are 14 - 15. And since this story centers around change, firsts, and coming into one's own, I wanted to feature a romance between two of the three MCs. I know more subtle signs of romance include shared looks, unspoken communication, hand holding, shoulder bumps, gentle headbutts, and going out of your way for the person your care for. But is that everything?

The Subtle Signs of Romantic Interest and Love

Whether affection is just beginning to develop or two people are in the early stages of a relationship, there are lots of subtle signs to indicate romantic interest and love. In no particular order…

External Signs

- stolen glances- lingering looks- intense eye contact- sharing a knowing look- eyes meeting- looking away bashfully after eyes meet- feeling nervous/tongue-tied when trying to talk to the other person- voice cracks when trying to speak to the other person- flirting- straying from normal attitude or behavior with other person- denying interest in other person when pressed by friends (in early stages)- communicating feelings through the eyes (worry, pain, pride, love, etc.)- awkwardness after accidental touching- shared laughter after accidental touching- an “electric” feeling when touching the other person- speaking at the same time (a little cliché, but it can happen)- tentative touching- finding ways to touch when intimate touch is restricted- open, affectionate touching (holding hands, hugging, nuzzling, etc.)- brushing a lock of hair behind the ear- gently stroking jaw line, chin, or cheek- kissing forehead, temple, or top of head- rubbing nose tips together- displaying flirtatious tics like biting lip, twirling hair, running hand through hair- talking excitedly or affectionately about the other person to friends- constantly talking about the other person to friends- blushing when teased by friends about the other person- giving the other person meaningful gifts- keeping mementos as reminders of the other person- making excuses to be near the other person- making excuses to spend time with the other person- wanting to get to know the other person’s friends and family- good mood/always smiling from being with or thinking about other person- giving each other nicknames or using pet names/terms of endearment- being reminded of other person when listening to love songs- sharing possessions, letting each other borrow meaningful possessions- willing to make sacrifices to be with the other person or to make them happy- sharing secrets, or things not often shared, with the other person- speaking softly or whispering in the person’s ear- cheeks/neck/chest becoming flushed- moving quickly toward the other person to close the distance- sighing, either out of happiness or missing the other person- losing track of time when with the other person- feeling like the rest of the world melts away when with the other person

Internal Signs

- thinking fondly of the other person- thinking about them constantly- recalling fond memories- seeing constant reminders of the other person- worrying about the other person- daydreaming about future activities with the other person- daydreaming about sharing a future with the other person- analyzing a previous interaction- dreaming about the person- feeling “weak in the knees” around the other person- remembering moments containing looking/touching moments- wanting to know everything there is to know about the other person- wanting to spend every waking second with the other person- orchestrating meetings that seem to be happenstance- feeling joy/racing heartbeat/butterflies upon seeing other person- craving the person’s touch, or being able to touch them- constant feeling of being “on cloud nine”- often distracted due to thinking about other person- wanting to impress the other person or make them proud- when not with the other person, noticing things they would appreciate- unable to see anything but positives where the other person is concerned- feeling suddenly warm- feeling breathless- noticing (and loving) little details (moles, scars, birthmarks, unusual traits)- wanting to improve self to impress or benefit other person- eyes constantly seek the other person out- inability to stop looking at the person, difficulty not staring at them- thinking you see the other person in a crowd when they’re not there- difficulty sleeping/loss of sleep- feeling a deep desire to kiss the personIf you need an extra boost, watch a few romantic comedies or love stories. Watch the way the characters behave as their interest in one another is building and as they begin to explore a relationship. :)

[carpisuns-archive]

do fic commenters know how Important and Powerful they are. like when someone tells u they actually laughed out loud or cried or screamed or buried their face in their pillow or something and ur just like.....i've done it....i have elicited a Physical Manifestation of Emotion....tf....i feel so powerful....

or when they tell you they stayed up late or read it at work or school when they weren't supposed to and you don't wanna encourage that but also......yeeEEEHAW

or when u get regular commenters on a wip and ur like brO bro??? you're still here? after all this time? even after i didn’t update for months?? 🥺

or when someone says it's their favorite fic and u just gotta lie in the floor and Emote for a while

or when they say the characters feel in character and u just disintegrate into glitter and blow away in the wind bc your purpose as a fic writer has been fulfilled,,,

yeah