I like writing whump fics and I’ve been doing it for a while, but I feel like I’m running out of steam. I end up using a lot of the same words and expressions and I know that’s going to show up in the fics I post and make me look lazy. Also, for some reason I can never draw the whump out long enough when I write it? In my head it goes on forever, but when I’m writing I find myself quickly getting bored, especially after the whumpee’s been rescued. Do you have any tips that might help, please?
What you’re feeling is completely understandable. Everyone feels like they’re stuck in a rut at some point in their writing, and whump is no different. I’m going to separate your question into three different issues: repetition, pacing, burnout.
Repetition (aka I’ve been using the same words since forever)
First, I want to state that this isn’t a problem. I have a grand total of five words I usually use to describe pain (searing, burning, stabbing, throbbing, pulsing) and a couple I bring out only when it’s serious (agonizing, excruciating). When you’re writing whump, your descriptions are naturally constrained to violence and pain.
But if you truly feel like you want to change the tone/voice of your writing, here are a few tips:
Try out a new style. Usually write long scenes? Try shorter ones. Try a text-message based fic. Try omniscient narrator. Try first person pov. Try out a new tense. Try 100-word drabbles. Find a new format, and see how it tweaks your writing.
Change up your character voices. Every character has their own voice - this is a little easier to do in fanfic, when the character voices already exist, but you can do it for original characters as well. Write a scene from the pov of each of your characters and see how a single event is interpreted differently by each of them. Let them use different idioms, and focus on different things, and describe things differently.
Pacing (aka I lose interest halfway through writing)
Ah, the ever-present problem of trying to translate from daydream to written word. First up, the bad news - there is no easy solution.
We don’t usually daydream in written word. The two mediums aren’t the same and, as with all translations, something’s going to be lost along the way. Maybe one day someone will invent a way to save daydreams in their own format, but as of now, we have to make do with whatever words we can squeeze out of our mind-image-construction-things.
This obviously gets a little frustrating, especially when we’re on scene 56 of our daydream and stuck on scene 3 of our writing.
But here are some tips to help with translating your imaginings into writing without losing interest:
Outlines. It’s okay if you’re a pantser, but if you want to remember everything that happened in your head, jot down a simple note as a placeholder, like ‘B falls off a cliff’ or ‘A takes a wrong turn and gets captured’. With an outline, it’s also easy to make sure that the whump stretches as long as you want it too.
Daydream in words. Some things don’t translate to written word very well. It’s one of the reasons that fight scenes are so annoying to write, even when they look super cool in your head. One of the ways to reduce frustration with the transference is to daydream the writing, instead of the scene. Imagine that you’re reading the words and not viewing the mini-movie. Your success with this technique may vary.
Emotionally traumatizing comfort. Getting bored when you get to the rescue? Make the rescue chock-full of emotional whump. I am definitely a comfort kind of person, but I make the comfort as painful as possible. First you break their bones, and then you break their heart.
Burnout (aka I’m losing enjoyment in whump)
This happens to everyone, across all domains, and especially with everything that’s going on now. C’est la vie. Sometimes our energy and interest flags, and it’s perfectly normal.
Some tips for when you feel like you’re running out of steam:
Take a break. Everything in moderation. Watch a stand-up routine. Watch a documentary. Read some history. Take a walk and marvel at nature. Hang out with friends. Play a new game. Creativity works with stimuli and sometimes you need to do something completely different to kickstart your imagination.
Watch/read some new whump. Fanfiction is great, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you need to read or watch something new. It may not be entirely whump, but it’ll be something fresh.
I hope this helps! If I totally misunderstood what your question was, feel free to send me another ask. 😅
