It’s always a special moment when a multi-chapter fic comes to an end. At least it’s still very vividly before my eyes when I read the final chapter of my first multi chapter DM-fic „in the deafening polar province called You“ by @shineforthee last year – in fact, this was an experience, that needs to be told in a separate post. Lately, several longer fics were finished, that I was following with excitement and joy. For example, there were “let gravity be my sculptor” by luminoussbeings @gaysie (8 chapters), "Camboy Molloy" by @graygiantess (12 chapters), "the good nurse" by @welcomingdisaster (19 chapters) and "Houseboy Molloy" by Thunder_Puss @pickingbelovedoffthesofa (37 chapters). These amazing stories extended over 4-8 months – and just think about what that means, how a life can change within this period of time! So maybe at the end you are no longer the same person you were when you started writing or reading the first chapter.
It's not surprising, that the authors, who put their heart and soul in their writing, have mixed feelings when they post the final chapter. They are happy when they brought their fics to a conclusion and achieved their goal, that they maybe had in mind from the very beginning or that only developed during the journey – especially if this was their first multi-chapter fic ever to finish, as was the case with the amazing “let gravity be my sculptor” by luminoussbeings @gaysie, who called it a “learning experience” and wrote “I’m glad I tried this” (me, too). And probably every author one day has the certain feeling, that there is nothing more to tell. “It was time to wrap it up”, @alernun once said to me in a reply to my comment on “Atonement”. Thunder_Puss @pickingbelovedoffthesofa put it into similar words, when they summarized the last chapter of “Houseboy Molloy” simply with “Putting a bow on it”. But they also made no secret of the more frightening aspects of finality: “I get nervous when finishing stories. I have thoughts like ‘but what if I want to go back to that world and add something?’” It’s not unlikely, that it can be painful and sad, when you have to leave your beloved characters, who were accompanying you for a considerable amount of time. “This is such a bittersweet moment to me – I can’t believe it’s over!”, @graygiantess wrote at the end of “Camboy Molloy”, and you commiserate with her. Does it even scare some authors to finish their stories? For sure, I can imagine. Maybe all of a sudden you lose the confidence in your abilities, a dark abyss of doubt yawning before you. Will you measure up to the readers’ expectations, and even worse: will you measure up to your own demands? And maybe in daily life nobody knows how highly talented you are. But you are – the love of your readers has long been yours.
Not only writing, but also reading the final chapter causes mixed feelings, at least in my experience. After having read the first few chapters and very often right after chapter one, sometimes even after the first few sentences, I fall in love with the story and carry it in my heart. And when the story develops, I pretty soon wish, that it would never end. That’s why it’s such a delight, when the chapter number constantly spirals upwards and the authors realize, that they have much more to say. Therefore @welcomingdisaster admitted in their final chapter: “I had no idea this fic would end up so involved or so long […].” And yet you also want to know what the story is heading for. So one day you open the final chapter with a languorous and wistfully sigh, ready to get all the answers, ready to devour with bated breath until the final revelation. “The good nurse” and “let gravity be my sculptor” are perfect examples for this kind of plot structure – I think I never cried so hard as I did while reading the final chapter of the latter. Others finish their fics with an epilogue, and how wonderful is that! It feels like a delicious dessert after the tension has already been resolved. Once, as the author had announced an epilogue as final chapter, I compared this with a really hot orgasm’s afterglow and honestly, what could be better?! And funnily enough back then this epilogue really was about an afterglow setting – have a look at the great “Holy Trinity” by @animalceramics. “Houseboy Molloy” has an epilogue, too, and Thunder_Puss @pickingbelovedoffthesofa called it “in fairytale fashion”. And @graygiantess gave her “Camboy Molloy” an extremely hilarious epilogue. I think these examples make clear, that there is no way I feel scared when I’m about to read the final chapter. No, I trust the authors, who seem to know so very precisely, what I need, who seem to know me in a wondrous way und who speak directly to their readers’ souls with their stories. And the main difference between writing and reading is, that I can reread my favourite fics as often as I like while writing is a one-off process – you won’t rewrite your fic. So to all the authors out there: This is a loveletter to all of you, who took and take the bold step to tell a story over a longer period of time and finish it one day. My heartfelt thanks!
Please note: This article is an expression of my personal opinion. I don’t know every DM-related fic (unfortunately) and by mentioning some of them I don’t want to say, that these are better than others. Your recommendations are, of course, highly welcome.
Based on this post and ask by @calaisreno thank you for tagging me!
💬 2 🔁 15 ❤️ 31 · 2025 · Someone tagged me a while back (sorry, I lost the post and searching tumblr is a nightmare). The challenge was to
I pondered this a lot and what I can offer are just some long and rather rambling thoughts. Sharing this is also weirdly personal, so please be nice. (I know you are.)
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The fic that gave me these insights is As if there was no tomorrow, but that might be coincidental because it merely strengthened some notions I have had before.
Characters have to be able to speak to me or I cannot and/or will not write them.
For example, since a long time I love a quite popular anime character ship. I have read lots of fics in this fandom. I can imagine them easily but I never felt the need to write them because I never heard their voices talking in my head. Yes, I hear voices in my head. *eyeroll* This sounds really stupid or maybe mad but I cannot describe it otherwise. I need to find and hear and listen to their words in my head to write them. I need this connection. Otherwise, it would be like just describing their reflection in a window and not the real character that stands behind me. (Plato, cave etc. See my comments to Secret of AGRA and isn’t this a great way to make a connection to your fic.)
In As if there was no tomorrow I wrote Molly Hooper for the first time and also Greg Lestrade has been more of a real person than ever before in my fics. Because I heard them talking to me.
A most amazing thing happened to me just yesterday actually. I fell in love with another anime character about two weeks ago, one with a deep and tragic backstory and I thought about him and a key scene in his life a lot. And then, there was this alternative ending to his story arc in the anime that jumped me and I heard his words what he would say in this scenario. WhiIe I was hoovering of all things. I scribbled them down.
For the first time since I started writing fanfic, I feel tempted to venture into another fandom, writing-wise, because I can hear him. And thus, I know, I could write him. (I will not stop writing Johnlock btw. They have spoken to me for 9 years now and I suppose they will never shut up.)
I would really like to know if you other writers also make experiences like this.
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If I really want to and am determined to write something, as in full commitment, I can.
Sounds awfully pretentious and self-important. I don’t know how else to phrase this. It’s not about that I can write everything well if I am determined and focused but that I can get my ideas into a fic and finish it.
As if there was no tomorrow has started with a scene on a beach in my head and a vague plot leading to a diffuse ending.
Since it had to get published one chapter a day throughout October for Whumptober, I began writing for real after the prompts got released.
Inspiration often hits me while I am listening to music (while driving in my car) that invokes feelings in me. Later, during writing, I sometimes gnaw on a plot problem for days but I let it rest when nothing happens in my head and then start gnawing again the next day. When I have to write under time stress for whumptober it is actually kind of easier because it’s a write-or-die situation and I cannot let it go and postpone things to eternity, it has to be done.
The stress to get it finished sharpens my focus a lot and problems from three days ago solve itself after a while, sometimes right when I am writing. It is stressful and can be really draining and sometimes even unhealthy, but I know that I do it willingly and could stop any time if it gets too much. But I don’t. And the satisfaction afterwards when I can say “I did it, I wrote what I imagined” is immense and extremely gratifying.
This still does not save me from the writer-imposter syndrome I get every time when I upload a new fic.
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In As if there was no tomorrow I consciously tried and managed to really make the show-don’t-tell rule work for the first time. I think that I got it down with showing parts of the main antagonist’s life so that the reader can see what kind of character he is. As in dangerous predator, unsrupulous and intelligent without writing any of these words. I am still very pleased with myself about certain paragraphs.
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It's easy for me to write action scenes because they play out like a film in my head and I “just” have to describe what I see.
Here we go. Apart from hearing voices in my head I also see short movies up in there. *double eyeroll* Again, this does not mean they are good but I can envision and write them easily to my own personal satisfaction.
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So. This has been a lot.
Dunno if this helps people or even if this gets read in the first place, but it has been nice to formulate these thoughts, at least for myself.
If anyone has a spare moment I was hoping I could get a little bit of advice on posting multi-chapter stories. I've only done it once with Dosed. So looking to get pov of someone with more experience.
Anyone who's able to share their advice and own experiences on this matter could the kindly DM me please .
I have recently watched “Write Your First Draft By Hand” by Scott P. Scheper. He talked about how people, when they write digitally, start editing and changing things before they even have a coherent piece of text to critically judge yet. I have caught myself doing this a lot in the last weeks, so I’m quite inclined to try this out. I am quite curious about what kind of differences I can observe after (maybe) finishing this, both in the resulting draft and my very own sentence synthesis skills. Scheper also talked about how drafts are supposed to be shit. I kind of agree even though I don’t want to. So I shall see how smelly my 💩 is going to be, too.
And I started this draft after +1k words on my Yujin draft as well as a critical success at work. I guess it was a productive day for me today.
For those inclined to ask about my keyboard, it’s a custom soldered GH60 Rev. C with all split key options made use of, purple Zealios 55g or so and some British Navy double shot ABS key caps set, DSA profile. G502 master race. Not bragging, I just know that questions will arise once I show even a corner of my desk.
Ok, it is bragging: I am smelling paper and you guys are not. He he.
I was recommended Scheper when I was looking for tips on how to improve my usage of Obsidian. Obviously, I stumbled upon the Zettelkasten method and Scheper’s Analog Zettelkasten (Antinet) series, which was quite insightful to improve my organisation and note-taking methods. He manages to link his notes not just by the actual links and references, the first dimension of his method’s effectiveness. But adjacent notes are related, too. This was the second dimension the notes were organized with, and for me the most mind-blowing one, even though the concept is so simple. If you take a note out from the box, the note next to it is likely to be relevant, too. That is why Scheper leaves gaps in his numbering, so he can keep adding notes in between (and goes deeper with the numbers if he does run out).
It’s fucking 1am and I should go to sleep. Scheduled post so no doxx.
Chaewon bites, peace out ✌️!
P.S.: Can I even fucking read my own handwriting in a week???
