#clean writing

[multi-fandom-nightmare]

My Stance on Writing/Reading Smut

⚠️This post isn't made to offend. It's something I've been thinking about as a fic writer who wants to dabble in writing smut but doesn't want to overdo it.

As a married Christian woman and fic writer/reader I do hold the things I read and write to a standard. A few days ago, I wrote on here that I was contemplating writing smut. You can scroll through my blog to find that post. It was mostly a vent that I posted, just some frustration. Since then, I have been thinking about it. I didn't post it lightly, mind you.

I even went into my pinned post and under the section where I talk about my unwillingness to write smut, I crossed out the part saying I won't write it. In that section, I write that I find writing smut to be cringe. This doesn't mean I find anyone who writes it cringe; I just find my own ability to write it would be cringe. I'm uncomfortable writing smut due to my own values and general ideas of reading and literature. Not to mention my lack of experience in writing smut.

That said, here's some brief reasons why I'm considering it.

There are a lot of smut fics I don't read because they are "porn without plot" and the main reason I find fanfiction so interesting is the plot.

I want to write smut but only if it fits into what I'm writing. And I don't want to be extra detailed about it. This really is territory I've never been in with my writing.

Example: I'm writing a second part to my Hannibal x reader fic where I really do think that some smut would tie it up nicely. I just can't figure out how to write fade to black. In My Darling, he convenience his wife to come back home and, as far as my writing goes, part 2 she is giving him all sorts of attitude that would make sense to lead into sex.

I find smut in fan fiction to be different than smut you'd find in the novel of a grocery store. A lot of the books on my home shelf don't have smut on them. This really is something I would keep on fanfiction and you know what? I guess that's part of the beauty that comes with having a Tumblr blog that doesn't include any of my personal info on. No one is going to read my fanfiction and put my face on it.

Fanfiction has warnings outright as the first thing you see and I would handle any smut fics I write with some sensitivity. I would use the community labels so my smut doesn't randomly show up on someone's dashboard without them wanting that kind of content to be exposed to them during their scrolling. If they want to read it, they have to click the button. That way no one is having smut pushed onto them as soon as they open their feed.

I contemplated having a separate blog for smut fics but I don't want to dedicate my Tumblr time to smut. I want to dedicate it to stories and I'm not going to make a smutty blog. It's not how I role. I like subtly which is something that can be noted in the fic covers I make for my fics. I just find beauty in subtle story telling.

Fanfiction, as I said a few days ago, is my escape from everything that tells me I have to be a specific way. Yes, I do have firm beliefs in holding a least a hint of decorum with yourself so people can take you seriously. But I won't take myself on Tumblr seriously. This is where I can be someone other than me.

[sprite-and-the-bunnydragons]

Your fics are great. came here for Linked Seas and stayed for all the other fun fics ypu write. Also its super nice to see someone in the fandom who doesnt swear.

T-T Thank you so much, Anon!!!! That lifted my spirits so much today, you have no idea. And that gives me more confidence to finish up TGRR, so woohoo!!! I'm super excited that people are still interested in it, it's such a fun au (but there's been so much ANGST and ACTION lately, I'm excited for some fluff in the Aftermath fics-but also expect different-flavored angst, muahahahaha)

Also! I realized there needs to be one last surprise character cameo at the end of the next chapter. Buckle up, y'all. He's a doozy. :D

There's also an off-handed comment in the next chapter that's 100% a hint about the next major arc in the series. It'll be a bit before we get there, but get hyped! Our boy Wind is going to get his moment in the (literal) sun!

Thank you again for your kind words. It's really important to me to make books and fics that anyone can read and enjoy! I think there's always a good place and home for clean fiction, and I'm grateful I get to write those kinds of things and share them with others. It's always wonderful to meet people who feel the same! (And no shade on anyone who thinks or writes otherwise. I'm just in my corner of the internet, writing what I enjoy and believe in like everyone else. :) )

[gmisbrowsing]

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

This fic is so freakin underrated! I discovered the game ‘Wandersong’ which this masterpiece is based off of and was intrigued by it’s storytelling and was wondering if there was anything written about it and i found it. It describes friendship so beautifully :D

[totallynottherealalliprince]

Dialogue Prompt

"You're serious this time?"

"Yes--I'm serious. Today is the day!"

"That's what you said yesterday... and the day before."

[writing-with-olive]

Extending or lowering your essay’s page count

So this really only works with page count. I've you have a wordcount you're trying to hit, this isn't going to help. Sorry.

The big thing is that you don't want your writing to read as bloated. If you can get your paper sounding good and clean and make it fit inside the assigned parameters, that's ideal. This also means you want to avoid changing margins, font/font size, making the title super big, etc. These are all parameters that you can lose points for if you mess them up. Also, if your teacher reverts them back to what they're supposed to be, it can push your essay out of the required page length. Not good.

Elements of your paper

The thing to remember is that page count is, in effect, a vertical measure. That is, the more writing you have, the more it's going to stretch vertically. This means if you're going to change the page count, you want to target the stuff that's going to extend it vertically. In this case, that is line breaks, and in some cases, paragraph breaks. 

Paragraph breaks are something you want to be careful with - many essays have a set structure you're supposed to follow, and screwing that up is not going to look good. The nice thing (if you're trying to make your paper longer) is that with most word processors, if you only have one line of a paragraph on one page, and the bulk of it on the next, it will all get shifted down so as not to oddly break up your writing. This can be used to your advantage.

Line breaks are going to be your best friends. regardless of whether you're trying to extend or compress your paper. Basically, if a word doesn't fit, it'll get pushed to the next line. If the last words of the last line of a paragraph don't fit, you get a new line. 

This got pretty long - tips for both extending and compressing your essay under the cut

Headers are also particularly vertical. That is, they consist of a bunch of lines that push your writing down. How you format them (staying within the guidelines of course) can make a pretty big difference.

Extending your paper

If you're trying to extend your paper (making it appear longer than it would normally be) you're going to want to increase your content. Is there anything else that you can think to add that isn't just repeating yourself over and over? Sometimes there isn't. If this is the case, move onto line breaks. In this case, you're going to want to first target paragraphs who have both

a last line that takes up most of the page horizontally

several lines that reach almost to the margin

Of course, this can work in paragraphs that aren't like this, but it'll take more effort. Start by looking at the sentences on the "full" lines. 

Are there any places where you're unclear or glossed over something? If making it clearer would be longer, replace it. 

Are there places where you can replace a weaker verb, noun, adjective, etc with something stronger (and longer)? Do it. 

Would adding a simile or metaphor help add more texture to your writing? Add it. 

Also keep in mind the space individual letters take up. For example, the letter i takes up almost no space compared to the letter m. In some cases, words with the same number of letters can be different lengths based on how they're spelled. Use this to your advantage. 

The idea is that you're making your essay longer, but you're also strengthening your writing - this will help with your grade. 

The next thing to do is to expand any contractions into their full form - this is a good practice anyway, and will help expand your paper without adding new content, or worse, making it bloated. Also, expand any dates. Your subject matter died on Dec. 12 1987? Now he died December 12, 1987. ESPECIALLY do this if you've listed any dates like 12/12/87. Also, spell out any numbers: your subject matter wrote twelve books, not 12. This is not a math textbook. If applicable, expand titles when people are first introduced. These changes may be small, but either they will create new lines, or they will help disguise some of your whitespace, making it appear that there's more content. Both are good.

The last thing to do is fiddle with your headers. Ideally, you've already hit your page count. This is just to make it look like you weren't struggling to put content on the page. Basically, if there's any optional lines to your header (teacher's name, or class name are common ones for me), add them. You're following the guidelines as they're intended (sort of) so you're not going to get called out on it. Best of all, it will push your paper down a little farther on the page, filling it out. In the same vein, make sure you've got any block quotes properly formatted - they're going to have narrower margins than the rest of your paper.

Compressing your paper

You've got all this great content but not enough space? Don't worry. You probably won't have to cut as much as you think. 

The first step is a little different than with expanding your paper. Go through the whole thing and see what information isn't pulling its weight. Redundant? Convoluted? Irrelevant? Cut or simplify accordingly. Depending on how you've written your paper, this could range from minor edits to something that changes the length by several lines.

Next thing is to identify paragraphs that fit almost the opposite criteria as I described above. Here, the ideal paragraph is one that has

Lots of shorter lines

a last line that doesn't take up much of the page.

Now you're going to clean up your writing on a smaller scale. To start, find words at the start of lines that are longer, and see what shorter words convey the same or more specific meaning. Replace it. Also see if there are ways to take longer and meandering sentences and cut the parts that are more extraneous. This will have the added benifit of making your work clean and well-crafted. 

Now, find filler words. Two common ones are "very," "that," and "just." If your sentence means the same thing without them and is gramatically accurate, cut them. They're not doing you any favors. Also, except for when you're introducing someone, you often only need their last name. Cut useless instances of their given name. 

Finally, focus on headers. Some teachers don't care much about what info you include. If there are any optional details, leave them off. At a bare minimum, you need your name, and often your date, but some teachers may not care if you put their name, for example. 

Good luck with your papers!

++++++++

Academic Stuff taglist: @candlemouse 

--find my taglist options pinned to the top of my blog. Please let me know if you want to be added/removed from any list

[totallynottherealalliprince]

Dialogue Prompt

“I’m not nervous--hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m not!” 

“Okay, then what are you?” 

“Terrified.”

[totallynottherealalliprince]

Oh my god I am so sorry I don't know what happened And why it got cut off. The prompt was supposed to be a time traveler girl who's in love with someone from the future

Haha! You're good! I had a good laugh :)

~~~

"You have, literally, 30,000 years of the past to choose someone--someone you know everything about. You'll know what they're capable of, what they're struggles will be, what--"

"And what if I want more curiosity and mystery than that, hmm?"

~~~

"I love you."

"You can't. You don't understand what will--"

"Then make me understand!"

"... You know I can't tell you."

~~~

I hope these aren't too overdramatic XD

[totallynottherealalliprince]

Dialogue Prompt

“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

“Ha! Jokes on you, if I ever hurt her I’d kill myself!”