#exploring-in-space

[bugsry]

I keep thinking about your framed thumbry with a candle lmao the fact it's in black and white makes it seem like a memorial for someone who passed away, and then it's just fucking thumbry 🤣🤣 you also inspired me to print thumbry and put him at the top of my Christmas tree

WAIT thats such an incredible idea can i do it too? and please post a pic of yours i must see this 😭

rip low res thumbry he was quite hungry 😔🥀 fly high 🕊️ 1403-2025 🕊️

[manesalex]

Happy Birthday, @exploring-in-space!!!

[damnitiloveyou]

I'm happy to say that I'm officially done with the first part of the sequel to Stay Awhile! 🤩 I'm hoping the second part will be finished soon, but I feel like I needed to give you an update lol

This just makes me so happy!!!! Seriously, I absolutely adore that fic and to know a sequel is coming ❤️❤️❤️Truthfully it is an all time favorite and I have lost count of the number of times I have read it. It really does fill me with joy.

Also I'm glad I fangirled all over it so much you felt like I should know the progress. Bless you. 🥰

[kellykadesperate]

I just saw it was your birthday a few days ago! Sorry I missed it, but happy belated birthday Nicole! ❤️🎉 I hope this year will be amazing!

alix!! absolutely no worries, thank you so much for sending this lovely message <333

[thewooliepubquiz]

Congratulations @exploring-in-space ♡

[winged-fool]

🔪🔪🔪🔪

Eat my ghostly dust asshole

[saras-almanac]

For the writing ask 📝 3, 5, 20, 25 😁

Thank you my love! 💖 

3. what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

So I sort of do a hybrid of chronological/in narrative order and favorite scenes. I tend to have an idea of what I want to write and then just write down everything I know about what I’m writing (whether that’s fic or original stuff) and a list of scenes I know I’m including. After that I tend to just open a word document and start writing the scenes that I’m most excited for--usually the scenes that I envisioned when thought of the idea. After getting through some of those, then I go back and just start jotting down what I need to include between scenes. Eventually I go back and start from the top of my document and start filling in all the rest of the missing beats and scenes. It’s why I don’t particularly like publishing a WIP before I have it finished because I do sort of jump around or not--hence the incredibly long wait in between my last update on my WIP! 

5. character you were most surprised to end up writing

Hmm... This is interesting. I guess for Emmerdale... I think writing Moira into the finding one’s footing was a massive surprise. I didn’t expect her to pop up but then when I sort of thought that maybe Moira’s the one who finds Robert when he’s having a really tough moment--cause I love Moira. And then it sort of happened and just felt right as I was writing it. Right now... I’m really in the supernatural mindset and weirdly enough literally only writing about Claire and Dean cause I just really like their weird father-daughter dynamic which is slightly surprising because I did not anticipate caring about (and potentially writing) supernatural fic again and also just about Dean being a parental figure in Claire’s life. But also, I’ve been really focused on parenting stuff lately even since I played The Witcher 3. I can’t help it! 

20. do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

So I used to set aside a couple hours on the weekend to do a lot of writing. It was when I had the idea that I had to be writing 10k a week and only considered progress in terms of word count. And sometimes I could crank out 10k in a weekend, but sometimes I could barely get 1k, if even that. And so I started stopping that because I just dreaded it every weekend. And then I read this book about the 15 minute writer and it was just about incorporating a daily writing habit that fits your life and your style of writing. I talked about it with some writer friends and my therapist and realized that I was struggling so much because I was so focused on hitting a word count that I sort of was doomed to fail at times. 

No I focus on the 15 minutes thing. It’s so much easier to do because I can consider writing, plotting, drafting, editing, or even just thinking about my story as the 15 minutes. So I consider just sitting with my breakfast and thinking about my story or novel for 15 minutes just as valuable as spending 15 minutes writing. It’s eased a lot of tension and stress I had with my own writing and I’ve found that when I do actually sit down to write, I write so much more and so much quicker than I usually do. I set my timer for 15 minutes and when it goes off, I stretch my wrists and fingers and usually go for another 15 minutes (or longer) depending on my time. It’s just been a way to be a lot kinder on myself while still trying to focus on my writing. (And it’s a lot easier to focus on multiple different writing projects this way too!) 

25. copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

I don’t have my computer so I can’t send you another that’s current, so I’m going to send you a little piece from the fight on ao3 that I think about occasionally. 

“It’s just… He keeps saying stuff about me not wanting to make my mind up. Or that I can’t accept who I am,” Robert said. “He wants me to choose him, but I have. I don’t know how to convince him otherwise. I thought getting married would do that, but I’m not sure that’s the answer anymore.”

“Have you talked about this with Aaron?” Vic asked.

“Not specifically,” Robert said. “I’m not great at talking about this stuff. I’m just… I spent so long lying about who I am and now. Now, it just feels like I’ve finally admitted it and am open about it with someone who doesn’t want me to be…me.”

Full disclosure, fics where any bisexual character defends their sexuality--or better their partner does--hit really really close to home for me. And Emmerdale never really was able to get there with Robert so I love every fic that does that. I don’t know if I’m entirely proud of it, or I just used this as an excuse to talk about some of my own issues, but the bolded line is one of my favorite things I’ve written in a while. 

💖