whatever our souls are made of

I daydream a lot about my favorite characters. Sometimes, I put those daydreams to paper. I figured it was time to finally give those dreams a home of their own. Along with my own fics, you'll also find recs and points of inspiration here, as well as various writing prompt lists and writing nuggets of wisdom/advice or just relatable posts for all of us suffering fanfic authors, lol. I write about 99% Caryl from The Walking Dead, but I've recently dipped my toe in the shallow end of the Stranger Things Jopper pool and there's a pitiful little Kabby ficlet of mine floating around out there somewhere in the 100 fandom.

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Reactions to… an almost kiss

"Oh."

"Oh, I didn't mean, like, ok..."

"Nothing happened here, right?"

"So, that almost happened..."

"You were really about to kiss me, weren't you?"

"...Were we just about to do something stupid?"

"Why did you stop?"

"Tell me you felt that too."

"Okay, wow. That was close."

"You leaned in first."

"I panicked, alright?"

"I thought you were going to kiss me."

"I wanted to."

"Don't look at me like that."

"So we're just going to pretend that didn't happen?"

"Right. Cool. Totally normal."

"My heart is beating ridiculously fast right now."

"If someone walked in right then, we would've had some explaining to do."

"You hesitated."

"We need to stop having moments like this."

"If I kissed you, I don't think I'd be able to stop."

"I almost ruined our friendship just now." (or made it better...)

"Can we talk about what just happened?"

"Can we never talk about what just happened?"

"You know, for a second there, I thought you were finally going to do it."

More: Reactions to… Masterpost

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[concerningwolves]

favourite things about first drafts:

square brackets with notes to self mid-line like [does this make sense with worldbuilding?]

ah yes, Main Character and their closest friends, Unnamed Character A and Unnamed Character B.

bullshitting your way through something that you probably definitely need to research later

also square brackets to link up scenes. [scene transition idk] my beloved

the total freedom of word vomits

"I'll fix that later"

the moment when the world and characters start to gain a life of their own

pieces falling into place as you write that you were uncertain about before you started

the accomplishment of Made A Thing

[concerningwolves]

Not only is this allowed but it's something i encourage all writers of any kind to play with! :D

The idea that all writers know what to say all the time and just splash fully-formed drafts out one word after the other is false. There are some who can do it, but i think most of us... can't. Which is why we need tricks like square bracket notes! They're not cheats or lazy writing or some other flavour of Not Allowed, but instead really really important tools that we should use as much as we need to.

Some of the most helpful tricks I've collected over the years are:

make some notes in square brackets – e.g., I had to write a scene on a sailboat, but I know nothing about sailing so i literally just had notes like [boat part] and [how to do X thing?]. If you use square brackets as punctuation anyway, use something else like [[double square brackets]] or a unique letter combination like XY at the start of the note; the point is to pick something you can search for easily later on.

(You can also style inline comments in a different font/colour. Scrivener has an inline annotation feature; if you use Word, you can make a specific Style to make notes stand out at a glance, etc.)

bullet-point your way through any tricky parts – this can be pure stream-of-consciousness vague ideas. it only needs to make sense to me later. much more helpful than just leaving big blank gaps that Future Me has to work out how to fill, but also better than dwelling on a piece of writing forever.

use comment tools – mostly do this if I have ideas for alternate events and/or phrasing, or if I want to check something for continuity purposes.

write out of order – Best advice i ever got for academic writing is to know or even write your conclusion first and your introduction last, which your main argument in between. Similar principles apply in fiction, or any kind of creative writing. If there's a part of the essay that I can visualise clearly or a part of the story that is particularly exciting or important, I might write that first, then figure out how it fits/how everything fits around it.

keep a loose scenes and/or "outtakes" folder – anything that i write out of order goes here, along with any notes for how I think I want to incorporate it into the full text. In the same vein, if I delete something but don't know for sure it will never be relevent ever again, it gets cut and pasted into an outtakes folder.

Basic rule though is that you do not have to get your writing perfect on the first try. This is where drafts come in. The way I see it is to treat each draft as a fresh start – I create/open a new document (well, new Scrivener file) and start over as if from scratch. Each draft gets a narrower focus than the last. This is my process, as an example:

first draft is the word vomit. You do whatever you need to do to get it onto the page, and it can be terrible. In fact, it probably should be terrible. You can fix everything later. it's fine.

The second draft is a half-hearted cleanup attempt. I'll re-type everything because everything is subject to change, from the characters' personalities to the pacing to the order of events. It's all primordial goop, basically. i'm just poking and prodding and making a few adjustments, but mostly trying to create a more stable version of the first draft. All shortcut tricks continue to be my best friend.

By draft three I'll let myself copy-paste between documents if I'm particularly happy with a passage, but try not to get hung up on anything specific. I'll still make liberal use of square brackets etc. as I need to, but try to address as many from the previous draft as I can. This is where I get more brutal with making decisions and trying to fix parts of the story in place.

Draft four is usually my final draft, but there's literally no rules about how many drafts you're allowed to write. It's at this point that I try to keep square brackets etc. to a minimum (unless i've diverged significantly from the plot of a previous draft and having to rewrite large chunks), and make sure to address all the notes and problems encountered in previous drafts.

This is when I move on to revisions. Revisions are the "final do-overs", for me. I start them when I'm satisfied with all the large-scale aspects: plot and chronology; characters' personalities, motivations and arcs; large-scale pacing (so the over-arcing pace, rather than the pacing in individual scenes); backstories; and worldbuilding. I'll copy the last draft's document instead of starting with a blank one. First I run through those large scale things one more time and tweak until I'm happy, not just satisfied. Then I shrink my focus to in-scene pacing, dialogue, and the quality of the writing itself.

I'll also rewrite my plot outline between each draft, too. The act of actually re-writing stuff is very helpful for making your brain think about it.

Drafting like this isn't for everyone, but realising that you can just bullshit your way through chunks of text was a massive game-changer for me. Some people will do a draft, then work on something else, then come back and do another draft, work on something else, etc. Some people's drafting process will look more like what I consider to be revisions. Do whatever works for you. Just remember that from the moment you first decide you Want to Write a Thing to the moment you hit "post" or "publish" or give your manuscript over to a publisher, you can keep making as many changes as you like in any way you like. (And if you go the querying to traditional publishing route, you'll probably get suggestions for, and have space/time to make, changes to the manuscript quite far into the process).

[laurenkmoody]

Yes!!

I don't believe I've ever met two writers who have exactly the same process. Every writer I've spoken to about the craft of writing has their own process, usually developed over years and years of practice and trying things out.

For example, I don't rewrite at all, that sounds horrendous, I just save-as to create a new draft. I also get the big structure stuff done in outlining, but I'm a weirdo who writes 20k word outlines. As mentioned above, I am one of those people who needs space between drafts--or at least, between rough draft and first revision. And I do my first revision on paper, always. The human brain processes screens and hardcopy differently! I write all over my printed rough draft, and then go back to the doc and apply those edits and anything else that occurs to me at the time, so my draft 2 is more sort of draft 2.5??

There's a lot more, obviously, and it's different between novels and short stories (I don't print short stories unless I'm really struggling). But I'm always experimenting with different ways to write, and sometimes they work and sometimes I get stranded and have to go back to the drawing board. Some people have a lot more hand writing in the prep stages, in notebooks or on index cards--I visited someone once whose dining room walls were covered in butcher paper and index cards with pushpins!

So if you're a newbie writer, experiment! Read about a bunch of different ways to get those words down! Try new things! Put notes and placeholders and such in your drafts, write by the seat of your pants, try out the whole in-depth outline thing, revise every paragraph before moving on to the next one, whatever works!!

Also please feel free to come talk to me about it! I love hearing about how people write.

[shimmershaewrites]

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

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

🧩 How to Outline Without Feeling Like You’re Dying

(a non-suffering writer’s guide to structure, sanity, and staying mildly hydrated)

Hey besties. Let’s talk outlines. Specifically: how to do them without crawling into the floorboards and screaming like a Victorian ghost.

If just hearing the word “outline” sends your brain into chaos-mode, welcome. You’re not broken, you’re just a writer whose process has been hijacked by Very Serious Advice™ that doesn’t fit you. You don’t need to build a military-grade beat sheet. You don’t need a sixteen-tab spreadsheet. You don’t need to suffer to be legitimate. You just need a structure that feels like it’s helping you, not haunting you.

So. Here’s how to outline your book without losing your soul (or all your serotonin).

—

🍓 1. Stop thinking of it as “outlining.” That word is cursed. Try “story sketch.” “Narrative roadmap.” “Planning soup.” Whatever gets your brain to chill out. The goal here is to understand your story, not architect it to death.

Outlining isn’t predicting everything. It’s just building a scaffold so your plot doesn't fall over mid-draft.

—

🧠 2. Find your plot skeleton. There are lots of plot structures floating around: 3-Act. Save the Cat. Hero’s Journey. Take what helps, ignore the rest.

If all else fails, try this dirt-simple one I use when my brain is mush:

Act I: What’s the problem?

Act II: Why can’t we fix it?

Act III: What finally makes us change?

Ending: What does that change cost?

You don’t need to fill in every detail. You just need to know what’s driving your character, what’s blocking them, and what choices will change them.

—

🛒 3. Make a “scene bucket list.” Before you start plotting in order, write down a list of scenes you know you want: key vibes, emotional beats, dramatic reveals, whatever.

These are your anchors. Even if you don’t know where they go yet, they’re proof your story already exists, it just needs connecting tissue.

Bonus: when you inevitably get stuck later, one of these might be the scene that pulls you back in.

—

🧩 4. Start with 5 key scenes. That’s it. Here’s a minimalist approach that won’t kill your momentum:

Opening (what sucks about their world?)

Catalyst (what throws them off course?)

Midpoint (what makes them confront themselves?)

Climax (what breaks or remakes them?)

Ending (what’s changed?)

Plot the spaces between those after you’ve nailed these. Think of it like nailing down corners of a poster before smoothing the rest.

You’re not “doing it wrong” if you start messy. A messy start is a start.

—

🔧 5. Use the outline to ask questions, not just answer them. Every section of your outline should provoke a question that the scene must answer.

Instead of: — “Chapter 5: Sarah finds a journal.”

Try: — “Chapter 5: What truth does Sarah find that complicates her next move?”

This makes your story active, not just a list of stuff that happens. Outlines aren’t just there to record, they’re tools for curiosity.

—

🪤 6. Beware of the Perfectionist Trap™. You will not get the entire plot perfect before you write. Don’t stall your momentum waiting for a divine lightning bolt of Clarity. You get clarity by writing.

Think of your outline as a map drawn in pencil, not ink. It’s allowed to evolve. It should evolve.

You’re not building a museum exhibit. You’re making a prototype.

—

🧼 7. Clean up after you start drafting. Here’s the secret: the first draft will teach you what the story’s actually about. You can go back and revise the outline to fit that. It’s not wasted work, it’s evolving scaffolding.

You don’t have to build the house before you live in it. You can live in the mess while you figure out where the kitchen goes.

—

🛟 8. If you’re a discovery writer, hybrid it. A lot of “pantsers” aren’t anti-outline, they’re just anti-stiff-outline. That’s fair.

Try using “signposts,” not full scenes:

Here’s a secret someone’s hiding.

Here’s the emotional breakdown scene.

Here’s a betrayal. Maybe not sure by who yet.

Let the plot breathe. Let the characters argue with your outline. That tension is where the fun happens.

—

🪴 TL;DR but emotionally: You don’t need a flawless outline to write a good book. You just need a loose net of ideas, a couple of emotional anchors, and the willingness to pivot when your story teaches you something new.

Outlines should support you, not suffocate you.

Let yourself try. Let it be imperfect. That’s where the good stuff lives.

Go forth and outline like a gently chaotic legend 🧃

— written with snacks in hand by Rin T. @ thewriteadviceforwriters 🍓🧠✍️

Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:

5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making — A Mini eBook for Fiction Writers

✦ A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages ✦If you're unsure whether your opening is ✨doing enough✨ to hook re

[shimmershaewrites]

SG1 fic: 29 things Vala is no longer allowed to do on the Odyssey

Title: 29 things Vala is no longer allowed to do on the Odyssey Pairings: mostly gen, team plus General Landry, with some Vala/Daniel Rating

[shimmershaewrites]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir Characters: Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard, Stargate Atlantis Team Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Elizabeth Weir, Wilderness Survival, Nanites (Stargate), Nanite Shenanigans, Non-Explicit Sex Summary:

There is blood in her mouth. It occurs to her that other than the pain in her leg, sensation is dulled. She might have a bleed, internal or otherwise. She will not be walking away from this place on the forest floor, and if she could, she has no idea how she got here or how far away from the Stargate she is. There’s a gaping hole in her memory from dinner onwards. 

Dappled moonlight drifts down through the canopy. M9D-846 is more alien than most planets they have visited. The foliage here carries a purple tint, a magenta hue that permeates the grass and leaves and casts illusory shadows in the corner of the eyes despite the striking jewel tones of the forest. Even the curve of the sky is especially brilliant, a deep indigo at the height of the blazing sun. Rodney had impatiently explained the science of it when they stepped through the Stargate the first time. She had listened with one ear and both eyes turned to the result of whatever math he was rattling off, and Teyla had cast a wry smile from her place at Elizabeth’s shoulder. 

When he’d finished, he’d said, with some amusement, that at least they finally came across a planet that didn’t vaguely resemble Canada. 

[creativepromptsforwriting]

All The Prompts List

Tumblr is seriously screwing us over with this search thing, so here is every single one of my prompts. This is especially helpful for everyone who is playing the Writing Games and who are searching for the right prompt.

Prompt List #1-50

Prompt List #51-100

Prompt List #101-150

Prompt List #151-200

Prompt List #201-250

Prompt List #251-300

Prompt List #301-350

Prompt List #351-400

Prompt List #401-450

Prompt List #451-500

Prompt List #501-550

Prompt List #551-600

Prompt List #601-650

Prompt List #651-700

Prompt List #701-750

Prompt List #751-800

Prompt List #801-850

Prompt List #851-900

Prompt List #901-950

Prompt List #951-1000

Prompt List #1001-1050

Prompt List #1051-1100

Prompt List #1101-1150

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[shimmershaewrites]

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

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir Characters: John Sheppard, Stargate Atlantis Team Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It Summary:

Elizabeth was with him—that's the only thing he remembers.

[shimmershaewrites]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir, Elizabeth Weir/Other(s), John Sheppard/Other(s) Characters: John Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir Additional Tags: Jealousy, Pining, Friends to Lovers Summary:

Or: Five Times John Doesn't Tell Elizabeth He Loves Her.

[writersisland]

friends to lovers

“Oh, no. It's not like that. We're not…”

“If this is what friendship feels like, I don't even need a relationship.”

“Everything okay? You’ve been acting weird.” “I’m good.”

“Life's too short to waste with the wrong person, you know?”    “Yeah… I think I do.”

“I can talk to you about really anything. You make me feel so safe.”

“Whatever it is, you can talk to me.” “I really can’t this time.”

“Ugh, I just want someone to hug me and tell me it'll be alright.”    “I mean, I'm right here.”    “Not you!” (lie)

“I don't get it either. It's just that no one makes me feel the way you do I want to feel.”

“It's hopeless. I'm never gonna find someone.”    “Don't be stupid. You're a great catch.”

“Don't talk about yourself like that. You're fucking hot.”

“You know how much you mean to me, right?”    “Of course I do.”

“We'd make a great couple, wouldn't we?”

“We've been super close for as long as I can remember.”

“You know what? Next time you find some loser who is just going to play you, don't even tell me. I can't watch you waste your time again.”

“I don’t get it. I just feel like things aren’t the way they used to be between us.”

“They thought we were a couple! Isn't that funny?”    “Yeah. Hilarious.”

“Ugh, I still don't have a date for the dance.”    “I mean, we could go. Like, as friends.”

 being protective when they date someone else, but of course just because they're looking out for them and don't want them getting hurt. they deserve the best, after all

staring at their lips as they talk, admiring their beauty. but like, platonically of course. just appreciating how awesome their friend is!

drunken kisses and making out dismissed as meaningless/just fun/just pretend

talking about them at every opportunity, to a point where others just assume they are together until they are corrected

‘Oh yeah, all those times I called you the most important person in my life and I cried when you got into a relationship was totally platonic why do you ask’

jokingly calling each other “wife/husband/spouse”

not knowing where the playful flirting ends and real feelings begin

[writersisland]

domestic, quiet life

kisses down to a routine: every morning at the breakfast table and every night slipping off to bed

dancing to radio music and booing at the ad breaks

running up the stairs to avoid getting their ass slapped / poked

competetive board game nights

helping them undress before the shower when drunk

breakfast in bed (and deciding never to do it again because of the clean up effort)

having to fight for their place on the couch with their pet

gossiping with tea and feet up on the windowsill

running them a bath in winter

rainy nights spent by the fireplace

sitting together and each pursuing their own respective hobby

making diy decor together

binge watching their favorite shows together like it’s the superbowl

falling asleep on the couch

stocking up the other’s favorite snacks

[shimmershaewrites]

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

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Weir/Sheppard Characters: John Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir Additional Tags: First Time, Romance, Friendship/Love Summary:

When you fell for someone, sometimes you lost yourself in the falling

[promptcalender]

Types of Flirting

SUBTLE: giving looks, brushing hands, little comments that could be mistaken for an innocent compliment

PLAYFUL: lighthearted teasing & banter, exaggerated reaction, poking fun at behaviours, playful shoves, feigned offense, "Oh, you think you're funny, do you?"

SUGGESTIVE: straightforward, complimenting looks, casual physical touch, dirty jokes, expressing desire, "We could always sneak out somewhere quieter."

ROMANTIC: head over heals, thoughtful gestures, blushing, classically romantic gestures (holding doors, holding an umbrella, bringing coffee in the morning), "My soul knows yours from another lifetime and calls for yours in this one too."

ANXIOUS: freaking out over every text and interaction, discussing every move with their friends,

BOLD: direct, no subtly, relationships always labelled, "I've really liked being around you. Could I maybe take you on a date sometime?"

SHY: nervous, insecure, showing no interest until they are sure the other is interested, fidgeting, daydreaming about what could be if they had the courage to confess, using excuses to be close to them, "Um... you look really good today."

CARETAKING: acts of service, protectiveness, checking in, bringing snacks, offering jacket, fixing things, walking them home, "Brought you coffee; it's still warm."

CASUAL & INTENSE: platonic flirting with no further intentions, way over the top at times, effortless, fun, teasing, maybe eventually leading to more, "You look great, please break my back and reshape my inner organs."

[Prompt Calender: February 9th, International Flirting Week]

[promptcalender]

33 Compliments

“Oh wow, you smell incredible.”

“Waking up next to you is the best part of my day.”

“You look adorable like this.”

“I like watching you. Is that wrong?”

“Your eyes remind me of the night sky.”

“That color looks amazing on you.”

[between strangled gasps of laughter] “Please stop! I can’t breathe!”

“Are you going? Because if you’re not going, I’m not going.”

“Can we talk? You’re the only one I trust.”

“You make me feel like the moon, because I want my life’s purpose to be nothing but reflecting your radiance.”

“I missed you so much.”

“Something about your walk makes me want to carry you off to the bedroom.”

“Your hair is so soft.”

“On a scale from 1 to 10, you’re somewhere else entirely because I would never dare reduce your worth to a number.”

“I like who I am around you.”

“Can you stay over? I sleep better with you around.”

“You make me lose track of time, and I’m not even mad about it.”

“Sometimes I’m jealous of you, but I will always love you more than I envy you.”

“You’re so talented.”

“I pity that I may never see your soul, for I know it is the most beautiful of them all.”

“You remind me of a field of wild flowers.”

“Poor thing. Good looking, smart, charming, and funny? You must be fighting the suitors off with a stick left and right.”

“My life is better having you in it.”

“Your kindness cuts through this world like a candle in the dark.”

“I wish I’d met you earlier.”

“I love your taste in music. Do you maybe have any recommendations?”

“You always manage to make me laugh.”

“Thank you for being you.”

“You really got some natural leadership skills, it’s impressive.”

“The sound of you laughing is my favorite thing in the world.”

“Something about that whole ‘being a good persion’ thing you got going on for yourself really works for me.”

“I don’t like socialising, but you make me feel like an extrovert.”

“Of course you would like something like this… I love you.”

[Prompt Calender: February 6th, Pay a Compliment Day]

[luna-azzurra]

Almost-Confession Dialogue Prompts <33

[subversivegrrl]

@mindibindi @lola-andheruniverse @peletiersdixon @silver-dream89 @sasakisniko @alatariel-gildaen join me...

[shimmershaewrites]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir Characters: John Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Reality, Time Loop, Fix-It, Elizabeth Weir Lives Summary:

There's an Elvis Presley poster in his quarters here, a golden oak leaf on the uniforms in his closet, and a disappointing lack of turkey sandwiches in the commissary. But not one of those things is a deal breaker when he holds them up to the sight of Elizabeth beside him, a light breeze shifting the hair on the back of her neck, and her shoulder so close to his that he can feel every breath she takes.

[shimmershaewrites]

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

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stargate Atlantis Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Sheppard/Elizabeth Weir Characters: John Sheppard, Elizabeth Weir Additional Tags: Fix-It, Angst Summary:

“They would know that no matter what, you’d come for her.”