1. How did you come up with your ideas for the fics? Can you take us through your process after receiving the first prompt?
So, originally I was going to write a new fic for each prompt. When we got the first prompt, it fit so well with an idea I already had that I couldn’t not write that idea. But I immediately started intensely stressing because I knew that it would be a plot heavy fic that I could not possibly finish in a week. Luckily, my beta suggested writing one fic broken up over the 5 weeks. I think that worked for the particular fic I had in mind. And it sounded like fun to have to try to work the other prompts, which I knew wouldn’t be so on point, into the fic.
2. What is your favorite fic you wrote for Wordplay this year?
I think my favorite part of the fic, since it’s all one fic (that’s not even finished yet lol), was part 2, for bronze (Under a Bronze Moon). I initially struggled to figure out what to do with the prompt, but I was really happy with where I ended up. And I think in the end that part was a good balance of humor and angst and connecting between the pair. I needed to give them an obstacle to solve together so that they’d bond, and I needed to give Harry a key role in the solution to balance how in control Louis had been in part 1. I hope I achieved getting them on more even footing in that part.
3. If you’ve previous participated in previous years of Wordplay, what has been your favorite prompt from all the years you participated in?
I was a newbie to Wordplay! (And fic writing -- other than a drabble for the Halloween fest last year, this was my first fic.)
4. What was the shortest fic you write? The longest?
The shortest part was Mistaken for Sinners at about 5600 words, and the longest part was Under a Bronze Moon at 8200. I’m not surprised that Mistaken for Sinners was so short -- I didn’t start until Sunday night. That week got away from me and what I ended up with was not what I had intended. I hope the section worked to develop their relationship, but much of part 4 was meant to have been included in part 3. If I had done that, I would have finished the fic in 5 parts and not had a last part hanging out there to still be finished. I had intended to have about 5 10,000-word parts, but I now realize that I don’t have the experience yet to predict either how long it will take me to write something or how many words it will take.
5. What fic of yours surprised you?
Again, I think this is Under a Bronze Moon. I was struggling a bit with the prompt and the story that Louis tells came to me totally out of the blue well into my writing process. I think it worked well and it was not at all what I had intended going into writing that part.
6. Were there any prompts you struggled to find an idea for?
Shot. Since I always had the outline of the plot of my fic in mind, I knew what needed to happen in that part, but I really couldn’t figure out how to work in “shot.” I initially had this elaborate metaphor going on and scrapped it because it was just so artificial. (And my beta rightly pointed out that it was just too much). I’m still not happy with what I ended up with. I feel like a Chopped contestant who just threw a basket ingredient on as garnish, but alas. Next year, assuming there is another Wordplay, I am going to try separate fics, in part because sometimes all you can come up with for a prompt doesn’t fit the story of a longer fic.
7. Were there any prompts you had an idea for but ended up with something different? If so, what made you choose to change what you write? Do you think you’ll ever write your original idea at a later date?
The biggest change to the plot of the story I already had in mind that happened due to the prompts was a more fleshed out story of Harry being jealous, especially at the part in part 5. And that this jealousy would spur them into finally getting together. The “board” prompt, though, inspired a different idea about how their relationship would evolve. Plus, much of the work for the jealousy angle would have been in part 4 had what ended up being parts 3 and 4 been a part 3. There didn’t end up being room for it in the end. It would be fun to write jealous Harry someday, absolutely. Hopefully, I’ll return to it.
8. What do you think was the most difficult as well as the easiest part about the Wordplay Challenge?
I think the most difficult, for me, was meeting the deadline each week. And I didn’t for week 5, lol. I went in to it thinking I would appreciate the structure, but quickly realized that the structure just gave me anxiety. And when I get anxious, I procrastinate. I think if I had been doing separate fics, I would have put less stress on myself because one week could have been a short fluffy fic and the next something longer or whatever. Instead, I felt the pressure of putting out a WIP that was coherent, interesting, and stuck to the deadlines as much as possible. I think the easiest was how much the prompts made me think hard about my story and what I was writing. I really think they helped inspire my ideas to be better than they otherwise would have been, especially for a first-time fic writer.
9. If you participate again next year, is there anything you’ll do differently? If so, what?
Yep. Write separate fics. It’ll be a different challenge that way, I think.
baratheonpilled
dailybridgerton
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
prguitarman
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
tangentwithtanner
yousharknotpass
gummygunk
