#writing patterns game

[lilac-hecox]

writing patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

i was tagged by @docmerlin ❤️

It’s late when JR wakes up.

-Drive it Home

2. It was never just about football.

-With My Own Two Hands

3. Shayne looks up from sipping at his drink.

-In the Low-Lights

4. Courtney is thirteen when her soulmate’s name appears on her skin.

-Don't Care Where You Been (Cause Now You're Mine)

5. Ian sets the box of decorations on the carpeted floor near Anthony’s Christmas tree.

-Christmas Tree

6. “What’s on your mind?” Anthony asks as he drops down into a chair across from Ian.

-Perception

7. Most people soul-bond the moment they meet their soulmate, but since when have Ian and Anthony been like most people?

-Bonded

8. “If you keep ending up in skits like this I’m going to start thinking you have a kink going on,” Anthony says. 

-Interoffice Relations

9. Damien is very aware of how good his boyfriend Tommy looks.

-Up Against the Wall

10. Ian knew from the beginning he wasn’t like other people. 

-Gunpowder

I feel like I've been making a conscious effort to make my sentences in general shorter and less run-on so I think that reflects in these opening lines. I also do enjoy beginning with dialogue because you can start anywhere!

Tagging:

@myspace-3ra, @femmmie, @lucy-frostblade @wishywashysmoshy @sheisaquarius-blog @toomuchsmoshbrainrot @xxmoonch1ldxx

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Writing Patterns ~ Opening Lines

I was tagged by @thelettersfromnoone. Thanks for the tag, my friend!

Rules: list the first line of your 10 most recent (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

I chose to limit myself to fics that I knew when I began them that they would be longer pieces and/or multichapter fics. I've excluded drabbles, outtakes, bonus content for completed fics etc, and any stories that I've posted only the first chapter.

Where the Stars Crumble to Life

She was alone.

Maybe Tomorrow

His eyes itch and his head is pounding.

The Baker & The Hunter

How long does it take for the scars of loss to heal, I wonder as I stand next to the door and the train slows down to enter the station at District Twelve.

A Case of the Honeymoons

Six months of insanity all for this moment. 

Unmasked

The rain only exacerbates my headache.

[pauses to go ....hmmmm....]

9000 rpm

The echo of the announcer beats through the trees, tinny and grating.

The Midnight Train

Her father died when she was seventeen.

12 X 12

Wah! Wah! Wah! Wah!

Katniss peels her eyes open and growls at the offensive red numbers informing her that she has slept through six minutes of her alarm clock ringing.

Spellbound

The sun is mid sky by the time I return to the house with my haul for the day.

Outside Expectations

I drive by the place once just to make sure I have the right address. Twice because I know this can’t be right.

[It feels wrong to include OE without including the stories that go with it in the series, even though they've been posted longer and this puts me over my ten]

Outside the Lines

First Line posted: “Three brunettes and a blonde walk into a bar,” Laura says and Heather snorts.

Actual first line if you're reading the chapters chronologically: It’s late and dark. The window only useful to see my reflection. I’m restless and toss in bed.

Outside Chance:

First line of the text: “And that’s it folks. Katniss Everdeen takes the lead.”

First line of the action because split time formatting: “You wanna explain that garbage?” Haymitch snarls and I squint at the target.

BONUS! Because out of all my fics, this first line actually gets regular comments on it, to include multiple people claiming it's the most memorable opening line of anything I've ever shared with you all. If you've read it, you already know what it is. ;)

Pure

It's always snowing when I fuck up.

CONCLUSION: They're all short (concise?) opening sentences, and with maybe a handful of exceptions, they start with my characters at an extremely low point.

I tag! @mollywog, @sohypothetically, @rosegardeninwinter, @littlerosette, @creamytinydays, @endlessnightlock If you so choose to play!

[blue-grama]

~ Writing Patterns ~

[How to play: Write the opening line from the last ten fics that you posted and see if there are any patterns!] Thanks for the tag @7nessasaryevils! I have a feeling I might know my patterns already…

10. “Dammit, I know it was right here!” - Closer to the Heart, Aob/Puen from Playboyy and Aob/Jim from Moonlight Chicken, yeah you heard me right.

9. “Okay,” Aob says. “Show me your double-column tie.” - Rope Practice, a short ficlet for Playboyy bingo.

8. Tharn wakes with a start, Phaya’s name on his lips - The Uncertainty of Victory, Phaya/Tharn, The Sign.

7. Phaya sprawls on the sand, midday heat seeping through the seat of his black regulation trousers. - What If I Told You I Feel Like I Know You, The Sign.

6. On the 15th night of the 11th full moon, hours before the fireballs begin to rise from the river, Sakuna asked Wansarut: Why did you save me? - Tidal Pull, The Sign. In retrospect this sentence doesn’t make sense. It should say waxing moon. Or waning?? Dammit I forget.

5. The rain comes down hard outside Jom’s apartment, hitting the windows in great, shivery bursts. - River and Rain, Jom/Yai, IFYLITA.

4. The text comes while Boston is enjoying a post-fuck joint at the window of his shitty shoebox apartment in Washington Heights. - New York, February, a Boston fix-it ficlet, Only Friends

3. “No,” Yang says, slapping an open palm against the table in unconscious mimicry of his father when he wants to drive home a point. - A Sympathetic Kind of Joy, from when I was in my Khun Chai feelings (a reoccuring event)

2. Kissing Tinn isn’t like Charn had imagined it. - Keeps Me Warm, Charn/Tinn, Laws of Attraction

Tinn wakes to a warm body pressed against his back and the soft press of lips on his shoulder. It takes a moment to orient himself – this isn’t his room, this isn’t his bed – and then it all comes back. - Ten, Ten, Ten, Charn/Tinn, Laws of Attraction

…Ok! Learnings from this exercise: I’m not as guilty as starting with a snippet of dialogue as I thought (I thought that would be like 80%), but I am an in medias res kinda gal. Perhaps not to surprising for fic, where presumably your audience knows what’s up and is happy to be dropped into a scene. I also really like present tense.

tagging… who writes fic… uhhh gonna go with some people I’ve beta’d recently but feel free to ignore @technicallyverycowboy, @lugarn & @tinncharn!

[estrellami-1]

Writing Patterns Game

Rules: share the first line of your last 10 published works or as many as you are able and see if there's any patterns.

Thanks to @stevesbipanic for the tag! I don’t have my fics posted in chronological order, so I’m going to do my ten most recent fics from my general masterlist. Some of these don’t have official names, as they were based off of someone else’s post.

Mechanic Eddie Meets Stephanie - “Good afternoon,” a voice says.

Appalachian Cryptid Wayne - Wayne wakes up with a start.

How Steve Harrington Gets a Family - The first time it happened, Steve didn’t remember.

With You - Some days, Steve wakes up pain-free, and the only reminder of the living hell that was his late teens through early twenties is the slight muffledness of his left ear.

The Foundation (I’m Not Leaving You) - Steve thought of love like a house.

We’ll Help You - “Bye, Mom, Dad, I’m going to Steve’s!” Robin calls into the house. (I don’t know if this is actually one or two sentences?)

Quite Miss Home - “Helloooooo, Chicago!” Eddie yells into the mic, reveling in the roar he gets back from the audience. (Same for this one. One or two sentences?)

Skipping Every Time You Shine, I’ll Shine For You as it’s a continuation of another fic and I’m not going to count that.

The Easiest Thing (I’ve Ever Done) - The camera’s shaky, moving from Eddie trying to place his phone down, making sure to keep his face in frame.

Also skipping Until You for the same reason.

(Healing From The) Pain - Steve spent most of his life feeling pain.

Jemma - When the bell rings, Robin wearily sighs, stands, and affixes her hat on her head.

Any patterns y’all can see? I start with someone talking 3 times, and I mention Steve 5 times, but I do also tend to write in his POV, so that does kinda track. 🤷‍♀️ a mystery for the ages I suppose, though I do like a good in media res, so maybe that’s my pattern?

Open taglist ❤️ I just ask you to tag me in it so I can see everyone’s amazing fics!!