I... was tagged by a lot of people so here we go hahaha thank you tooooo @a-brighter-yellow, @runaway-train-works, @allwaswell16, @laynefaire, and @himynameiszayn! sorry this wasn’t timely, but honestly who expects timely out of me anymore? no one. lollll I honestly don’t know who has and hasn’t done this, so I’m going to just... share my three lines and then answer the three questions everyone asked me. if you see this and wanted to be tagged but weren’t, say i tagged you and answer the three questions out of the list of 15 that i’m apparently going to be answering and do your own post! i’d love to see what you have as well. Soooooo here we go!
Three lines from my WIP (i’m doing five instead cause i was tagged by five people, hope that’s okay):
Harry had done them a favor, really.
Louis’ heart didn’t believe him just yet. The tears running down his face and the fact that he was having a hard time breathing as he tried to hold back the worst of his crying until he was done driving were physical evidence of that. But he knew that given time, it would.
Hopefully.
Three Questions from Sage:
1. Do you have a strategy for writing dialogue?
uhhhhhh.... not so much. lolll i just try to make it sound natural and have a good rhythm to it. but i guess i don’t really think much about it other than trying to make it sound like something they’d say, if that makes sense? i’m afraid people who bother to read my answers to these questions are gonna be like “wow she doesn’t really think about much of anything ever while writing, does she?” noooo i really don’t. lol
2. Do you keep a note in your phone related to your fic/fics? What kinds of things do you jot down?
uhhhh i mean kinda. lollll i mostly keep a fic list in my planner, actually, but i also will brainstorm in chats in whatsapp and then i star the messages so i don’t lose them. other than that, i don’t really keep any notes in my phone.
3. Who’s characterization do you think you have the best handle on? Does writing a particular one of the boys come easier to you than the rest?
Nicholas Grimshaw’s. Because he is the gay male version of me, i swear he is. lolllll otherwise I don’t really know? I mean, i feel like it’s a really opinion based subjective answer because we don’t really know them, so what i think is a good handle on their characterizations might have someone else reeling and upset lol that said, i do often find it easier to write from Harry’s pov as opposed to anyone else’s, but over time I’ve come to be comfortable writing from Louis’ too.
the rest is going under a cut cause wow this got long
Three Questions from Rebecca:
1. What’s a trope and/or pairing you love to read but haven’t tackled yet yourself, and why?
uuuuuuhhhhhhh that’s a really good question actually. i am not really sure? i LOVE fake relationship, friends to lovers, bed sharing, hybrid, abo, f/nf... oh! i know! i love royalty fics and i’ve never tried one of those! and same with regency fics. all the pairings i love to read i have officially attempted writing now, so i’m actually quite proud of that.
2. Which fic of yours are you most proud of and why?
i... this is mean. lolllll Goodness. I have a handful of fics that I’m actually really proud of. But one I’ll use for one of Anitra’s questions and another I’ll use for one of Michelle’s hahaha SO I’ll say the fic I’m most proud of is You Don't Care About Me (One More Night). There’s a lot of reasons why, for this one. One, it’s the longest fic I’ve ever written and I wrote it in something crazy like 3 weeks. Another is I have tried writing canon compliant fics in the past and they are SO FREAKING HARD. like SO HARD. And I promised myself I wouldn’t write another one, but I got this idea and I wanted to write it since I hadn’t found anything like it. So I took on the attempt to write a long canon compliant fic, and i did it! I also wasn’t sure how successful I would be with getting the emotions and sensuality across with this fic, because it’s a friends with benefits fic, right? but, i decided a few years ago i wasn’t going to write smut anymore. would i be successful in getting that across? the connection they have? the desire? the sexual tension? would people be able to feel the growth in the attachment between them as their relationship grows and changes and morphs without it? I didn’t even touch on all the reasons why i was concerned and nervous but also excited to write this fic that all come together with me being so proud of it. but in the end, it was SUCH a growing experience and such an incredible writing experience for me and in the end, i think i truly produced exactly the fic i wanted to. i think this fic is one i would thoroughly enjoy reading again later, and that i would love it. which is always my greatest goal, so yeah. i think my tomlinshaw fic is probably the fic i’m most proud of.
3. What three tips would you give to a new writer in the fandom?
oh goodness okay so let’s see here.
1- get good support around you. i’m talking friends, cheerleaders, betas, just anyone and everyone. writing is hard and if you feel like you’re doing it alone it’s that much harder. so surround yourself with good, wonderful, and supportive people.
2- write what you want to read/write for yourself. i enjoyed writing the first few years i was doing it. it was fun being inspired by other people’s ideas and participating in a lot of exchanges where i was focused on the recipient and writing something for them. the year i wrote something like 42 fics was such a growing experience for me and i don’t think a single one of those fics was actually for myself. after that year i decided i wanted to focus on what I wanted to write and what i would like to read, and ever since i changed that focus in my writing, it’s changed entirely. i’m so much more proud of the fics i produce overall and i enjoy the process so much more because they’re for me. if they aren’t hugely popular, that’s okay. i like them, i love them, and that’s what’s most important for me. i’ve become so much more settled in my writing and just all of it since i made that change.
3- write often. it makes the biggest difference and makes things become so much easier if you do. it’s so hard at first, but you will strengthen those writing “muscles” and become such a stronger writer and narrator and just improve vastly the more you do it. so, write often.
Three Questions from Anitra:
1. Which of your fics do you wish more people would read? (Include a link please!)
You Try To Be Everything (I Need)! i know i know i know. it’s fantasy. those never get huge amounts of hits. AND it’s kinda future/dystopian. those ALSO never get huge amounts of hits. AND it’s a non-linear narrative which ALSO never gets huge hits. BUT I LOVE THIS FIC, OKAY??? it’s one of the top three i’ve posted this year that i’m most proud of and i ADORE IT. it’s one of my absolute fic babies. it FLOWED from me in a way i’ve never experienced before and i used symbolism! and visuals! and created a world! and took them on an epic journey! this fic is just. one of the best examples of how i can write as well. i loved how i was able to reveal information as it needed to be and was pertinent to the story. i feel like it gave a power to it that it wouldn’t have had without those flashbacks. and the art!!!! gosh the art that @hrrytomlinson did for it was just stunning. so yeah. probably that one.
2. What are three of your favorite tropes to write? Why?
ooohhhh i LOVE writing friends to lovers. i think it’s the pining. i ADORE writing pining. probably because until my husband i had very few experiences that went past pining so i’m quite familiar with that in my own life lollll i also love writing disaster gay/humor fics. they’re so fun and also feel so relatable to my life. they’re easy for me to write and just SUCH A BLAST. and lastly i think... my other favorite trope to write is... meet cute. i just love writing that point in time when two people meet and immediately like each other and have to figure out how the hell they’re gonna ensure that they see that other person again. you know? i love those beginning stages so much! so yeah. i think that would probably be my other favorite trope to write.
3. Do you write side pairings in your fics? Which side pairing is your favorite? Why?
i dooooooo! i dunno if i have a favorite. i feel like i often rely on ziam because, well, why not? right? but i do have a LOT of fun writing shiall. there’s just something about their two personalities and getting to write them that allows me to be a bit silly but also just have fun and be cute and fluffy. so yeah. i guess maybe shiall. ooh but i do love a good rare pair of side gemma/niall as well hehe
Three Questions from Layne:
1. Do you have a writing routine? What is it?
mmmmm i guess kinda? lolll generally i have a very hard time writing at home. if i’m at home i’m going to get interrupted by my husband or kids or parents. it’s bound to happen. either that or i’ll remember any number of five million things that i should be doing around the house instead of sitting there and writing, so overall i have to write somewhere other than home. i’ll shove all of my errands and chores and everything into a smaller time frame so i have a bit of time to myself that i can leave the house and write for. whether that time amount is just 20 minutes or 3 hours, i’ll go and get set up (usually at starbucks or the library) and i’ll check in with any number of people or chats and let them know i’m writing. i’ll give them a starting word count, the fic i’m working on, and when i’ll be checking back for accountability. i then write like the wind. often, i’ll have a playlist going in the background, but not always. then when my time is up, i’ll check back in with the chat and share my ending word count so i can see how much i wrote that 20 minutes/hour/whatever and then i’ll also usually share a snippet so they can yell at me in excitement and help me stay excited too. and then rinse lather repeat until the fic is done! soooooo yeah. if that counts as a routine, then that’s my routine. haha!
2. Which of your fics was the most challenging to write? Which was the most fun? Why?
oh goodness, there have been a few that were difficult as fuck to write. i think the one that was the hardest was probably I Don't Mean to Frustrate. it was for an a/b/o exchange and i got three prompts that i just... was not really comfortable with tbh. i wasn’t sure any of them were tropes i could take on or i was not emotionally equipped to handle, which left me with a canon compliant prompt. i LOVE reading canon compliant a/b/o fics, but i hate writing canon compliant as i think i’ve said before. because of that, it felt like pulling teeth. i wanted to be sure that i was holding true to their schedule, i wanted to be sure i was sticking with what we knew of the band at that time etc but then mix things up a bit with the a/b/o dynamics. i think i just put a lot of pressure on myself and didn’t feel confident in it and that just made it suuuuuuuper hard to write. i do like it now, but it was really hard for me. the most fun? oof uhhh probably I Like Digging Holes. That fic is so self indulgent. i was meant to be writing at least another two or three other fics that actually had deadlines and instead i saw a silly interaction that grimmy had with an instagram person and i had to write it. something ridiculous like two days later this fic was posted and it was just a blast to be ridiculous and over the top and silly.
3. Do you make playlists to write to, and if so, do you ever share them when you post your fics? Which fic’s playlist do you enjoy most, and why?
sometimes? if there’s a fic that has a really specific vibe i’m looking to channel in it then i will and USUALLY i’ll link them in the author’s note for the fic, but i don’t do it very often. generally the playlists i listen to as i write are just the ones i’ve made most recently of music i’m currently enjoying. that said, i do really love the playlist i made for my 50s direction fic (A Word We've Only Heard), because i made sure it was all era appropriate and it was the music that had inspired that fic in the first place, so yeah. you can find the playlist here, if you’re interested.
Three Questions from Michelle:
1. Which fic of yours holds a special place in your heart?
I have a little list of my fic babies mentally that i have, but the one from this year that i’m most proud of and is special to me that hasn’t already been talked about is The Only Thing That Keeps Me Grounded. i feel like i’ve talked a lot about it, but there were a lot of emotions and self realization moments and just... i tried really hard to make it true to those who identify as polyamorous. i think i really hit that on the head with that and made it so it’s a fic that actually can be relatable and others can identify with whether they’re poly or not, and because of all those things, it’s just really special to me.
2. Is there a pairing you refuse to write?
mmmm no? i mean there are going to be some pairings that i find more difficult, but if there’s anything that i’ve learned over the almost five years i’ve been writing in this fandom, it’s that i can write pretty much anything i set my mind to. i just might not enjoy it as much haha
3. What do you prefer Fests or challenges more?
i... dunno? lollll i love a good fest and a good challenge, so i guess it just depends on what the challenge or the fest is as to whether i prefer one over the other. haha!
And that’s it! if you actually read all of this, you are a GEM AMONG MERE ROCKS. lolll i appreciate you caring enough about me to read the whole thing. i hope i didn’t bore you. and again, if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged! please tag me in your own post so i can read it and enjoy your answers too!
These are scary words for me... My Journey Towards Minimalism. I've struggled with Bipolar most of my life, material goods have helped me through a lot of that. Buying things to make me happy... the only thing is, I am not happy. That takes a lot to say, I am not happy. Things in my life make me smile, but my overall mental well being would most definitely fall under the Not Happy category.
So I've tried this journey before, but I've never honestly tried. I feel that to become happy I must try. I must do my absolute best try. I don't know where this journey will take me or honestly if it will last, but if I can even take the steps to begin to a happier life, to begin to rid my life of zoning out on the computer while watching hours and hours of television with not a better thing to do.
So where does one start? Where does one begin when picking up the majority of their life and rid of it? I started with money... No, no, not to rid my life life of money, that is still a necessity. But no, I will not be ridding myself of money. What I did do with money instead was beginning to save it. This is something that I have also struggled with my entire life. Money tends to burn a hole in my pocket, not a good thing when you're nearly 26 and actually trying to begin a real life without as much stress.
I want to be happy, one of the biggest ways I can see myself happy in the future is by traveling, a passion that I've always had but never had the money to be able to do. By ending my spending habits I can look forward to be able to do this. Traveling is important and as I once read 'you don't have a passion for something if you continue to make excuses on why you can't do it'. I don't want excuses, I was experiences.
So currently I am working on the '52 Week Money Challenge' where you save money based upon the week that you are in. i.e. Week 1 you save $1.00 and Week 52 you save $52.00. So this is cool and an easy way to do it. At least as of right now it is, but I've only saved $6.00 so we'll watch the journey through the next 49 weeks. By the end of 52 weeks I should have saved $1,378.00, that is good news. I've made a whole chart that also adds things up on if I save anything extra. So during these first few months will be the best time for me do that. My overall goal is to begin saving at least $50 a month in addition to what I am saving with the 52 Week Money Challenge. That's an extra $600 in a year, getting me close to $2000 a year, which would be good. That is where I want to be.
My next step which is the biggest step for me is to get rid of clothes that I don't wear. This is always a struggle for me, so I may try The 333 Challenge. I will post more on this once I begin that journey. Hopefully soon. If you have any tips or tricks to make this journey a better one, please let me know.
