I think that there's a feeling that, if you start writing something and don't finish it, it's a failure.

As someone who has far more unfinished pieces than finished pieces (sorry to anyone who reads my stuff on AO3), here are a few good things about doing this:

First, all writing is practice. Just like there are reasons to sketch and do practice drawings, writing even unfinished pieces builds your skills in drafting sentences, characterization, voice, tone, and even working in a variety of styles. If you start a story in a new style, even if you never finish it, you have some experience in that style now.

It can also tell you what you love or hate about something. Sometimes you don't finish something because you realize you don't like it. That knowledge is also valuable.

Second, you can always go back to unfinished work. The main novel that I'm querying right now is one where I wrote the first couple thousand words and then didn't touch it again for probably at least a year and a half. It's now a finished novel.

Sometimes you need space away from a story to make it work. Sometimes you need to improve your writing skills to be able to accomplish whatever you were trying to accomplish then. Sometimes you need a mental or physical health break or you just need more time in the day before you can finish something.

Third, writing is fun and you shouldn't hold yourself or your sense of success at writing to how many stories you finish. Did you enjoy yourself even for the period of time that you wrote whatever you wrote? Did you end up with something cool, interesting, fun, exciting, weird, or different? Great, that's all a victory.

now I love author’s notes on AO3 I really do love them. Pretty much no matter what you’re saying, I’m gonna read your a/n and love getting this little insight into what was going on in your life when you posted, or what you came across while researching, or anything from the fic that you want to expand upon or yap about. I eat that shit UP and if you’ve read my fics then you know that I, too, am an a/n yapper

you know what I don’t like?

when authors say things like “this is kind of dumb” or “don’t really like this one but whatever” or the absolutely baffling one I just came across that was (paraphrased, bc I’m not looking to @ anyone) “this scene was awkward to write and I kind of disapprove of it but it’s what the character wanted to do in the moment so here have it”

it’s different to the authors who put little “this isn’t very good but enjoy” disclaimers. Those make me sad, but this made me really angry. It’s like you’re shaming me for enjoying what you wrote

writers who say their work isn’t good - I get it, okay? I don’t like it. It makes me sad to see it, and it does make me a little wary of how good your writing is going to be, but I understand the impulse to say you already know there are pitfalls in your writing, bc you think it won’t hurt as much if someone else points it out. Honestly, mate, don’t bother. Own it, be proud of it, and stick a little “no negative feedback pls” in there if you’re nervous, like I do. I’ve never had anyone try to give me concrit on something I’ve asked people not to. AO3 is, for the most part, a really welcoming, positive environment, and most people follow the established etiquette

HOWEVER. People who say they don’t like the subject matter of their work - not the execution, or the writing, but the actual Thing That Is Happening - I absolutely despise this. If you don’t enjoy what you’re writing, why are you writing it? If you disapprove of it, why are you putting it out there? If you don’t think other people should enjoy it, why are you sharing it with them?

I don’t have a lot to say except please don’t do this. I had a great time reading the scene that I’m purposefully NOT giving any details about, bc I don’t want to shame anyone. I thought it was incredibly sweet, and wholesome, and showed a really good understanding of the characters involved and their dynamic. And then I got to the end only to be, essentially, told I shouldn’t have enjoyed it. Which ruined the entire scene for me, even on rereads of the fic as a whole, even though that first time around it was one of my favourite parts

don’t do this. Don’t shame readers for enjoying the things you wrote. If YOU are ashamed of it, no one is making you post it. Writing and reading and sharing fic is about enjoyment, not whatever this was

I really should remember not to do this. Because I too have a tendency to apologize for things. The instinct is to lower expectations. That if I say "I know that was not very good, sorry about that" I will not be judged too harshly. Maybe even get some encouragement like "no, no, that was actually great". It's the same change of mindset that I needed to get me out of being shy.

CORRECTLY Writing "Morally Gray" Characters

Want to write a hot, cool, and bad character but DON'T want he/she to come across as toxic, downright bad, or, god forbid, cringe? Well, I've got a couple of tips that may help you create exactly what you want!

1. Softness

Okay, yes we want this character to be tough and cool, but there also needs to be a certain softness, no matter how small, that comes with them. If there's someone that your character prioritizes or cares about, there has to be a point or two that it shows--a moment where they're soft only for the people that they care about. Why? Because this establishes the humanity in them. It shows the readers that your character IS human, not an emotionless monster.

2. Goals

Key to any good characters are their goals. The thing is, for this type of a character, their objectives can't be so random. They need a reason for their actions, and it needs to be valid. Usually, this is reasoned out by some kind of past epiphany, which is crucial because without it, your character doesn't have anything solid backing up their goals. We need to see where they're coming from.

Bad decisions, but for an understandable reason.

Establishing their morals is important for nearly the same reason.

Now, why is this important? Because it can pull readers to their side. As long as they understand the cause, they have a chance to follow your character's side, increasing their likeability!

3. Neutrality

Notice how this is a "morally gray" character, not a "completely evil" one. Why does this matter? Well, a trait people tend to overlook when writing these characters is the morally gray, or neutral, part. It's important to just occasionally show that your character is walking the fine line and in my opinion, a great way to achieve this is to have them help the protagonist out (instead of always fighting against them) one, or even two times!

4. Positive Characteristics

This is a very simple one, but make sure to depict a couple positive qualities (besides just being hot) of your character! Like my first point, it's pivotal to illustrate that they have some humanity, and this is an easy and great way!

Throw in a few good characteristics (I have a post with some examples of redeeming qualities for villains if you need some help), and let it show that they are still respectable!

5. Backstory

I believe that with certain characters that play certain roles in the story, explaining their backstory is a NEED for them; and this character type is no different! Introducing even a bit of their past can get the audience interested in your character. It also allows for better understanding of them and shows how they changed over time.

6. CONFIDENCE

Be confident in your skills when writing this character! To many, the idea of "cringeness" makes them second-guess how they should write. In reality, it's better to write it however you wish, because if you're confident in one moment and clearly less in another, the readers are able to sense any unexpected changes in things in your character's tones, expressions, and actions.

It's important to keep your character in, well, character. Still, there's going to be a few moments that break it, but it shouldn't be in any unnatural way.

If your character is flirty, then let them act flirty. If they mess around a lot, then let them mess around. Don't limit their actions or words just because you think some people might find it cringe!

Alright, that's it for me! What do you think? Are they valid or unreasonable?

Happy writing~

3hks <3

the vast majority of fanworks are bad, and that's fine, actually. they are bad for the same reason that the average number of legs for a human person to have is less than two: statistics. like with all endeavours and especially creative ones, most people who write fanfiction or draw art of their favourite characters are bad at it. if you line up all the crochet projects in the world, most of them will be, well, bad. some are bad because they're the first thing a person ever made, or the second or third or tenth, and this kind of thing takes practice. others are bad because the person who made them is just not very good at it. maybe they just learned how to make granny squares and they're perfectly happy to never expand or improve on that. most people who dance or bake or garden or braid hair are not amazing at it! and you'd never go to your kid's dance recital or eat your friend's homemade carrot cake and expect the same experience as you'd have at a professional ballet performance or award-winning bakery. And that's if we assume there is an objective measure of Good Art, which there isn't! Some art is just "bad" because you don't like it!

I think though that specifically with fanfiction, we sometimes forget that when we read a book or watch a movie, dozens of people have looked at it and given feedback and made changes and done quality control before the final product reaches our shelves or screens, and that's not counting the original writer's learning process and past experience. A published book is not anyone's first crochet project, even if it is their debut novel. But with fanfiction, the barrier to entry is so low (on purpose! this is a good thing!) that we do get to see a lot of wonky granny squares, and on sites like AO3 they're sitting on the same shelf as the hand-made silk lace wedding dress and you can't always tell just by looking at it which is which. The consequence of this is that we encounter fic that we think is unpolished, has bad punctuation, is out of character, and we are tempted to think "well, this is awful! how dare this person put this wonky granny square on the same shelf as the lace wedding dress!" But that's not how fandom is supposed to work! That wonky granny square is somebody who is really excited about this TV show they just watched and they are reaching out into the void to share their excitement with you. To scoff at them for not making a lace wedding dress is really, really rude. Even if they did make a lace wedding dress, maybe it's just really not your style, or you think they should have used a different pattern, and it's still their wedding dress. You don't have to wear the dress and you don't have to read the fic.

We all know that there is some fanfic out there that is incredible. I think it's important to talk about that! But the vast majority of people who post their writing online are just sharing their little hobby projects that they make for fun and I also think it's important to remember that.

actually I want to share a fun story about this

a couple of years ago I spent nine months working on a 22k AU fic. I put so much thought and care and attention to detail into it. I crafted every aspect of the AU around the canonical traits and abilities of the characters. I poured my heart and soul into this fic.

about a month ago, I got a notification that someone had posted a work inspired by that one. it took the basic premise and transplanted it into a fandom with none of the original details — someone had just read my fic, gotten excited about it, and swapped in their preferred blorbos just because. and it was delightful.

if that had happened a few years earlier, I might have been upset by it. how dare someone steal this idea I worked so hard on, and ignore all the care I put into it? but now, I just think it's great. I spent nine months building this gorgeous, elaborate dollhouse, and somebody liked it so much they wanted to play barbies in it. and now they get to have fun with it too! and so do all the people who read their fic! and that's awesome!

anyway tl;dr: as soon as you internalize the "holy shit two cakes" mentality you will have so much more fun in your fandoms

What is... WIP?

WIP stands for work in progress. This usually refers to the most recent work of an author that they are currently working on. But it's also possible (and very likely) to have more than one work in progress at the same time.

WIPs are still works in progress even if no progress has been made on them for a while. They can only lose this status in two ways: the author intentionally abandons them for good or by finally completing them.

Yea... so I tend to think I'm done and delete the WIP tag. And then things come up. And sometimes I think something will come up and never does.

So most of my works are taged wrong...

The stuggles of being a writer.

A shame that I have to actually finish my book before I get to read it. I enjoy writing it just as much but I am looking forward to finishing my first book and getting to read through it, even if I do know what's going to happen.

Not planning to write a book anytime soon. But I do get this with the short stories.

re-reading my own fic because the author has exactly my taste in tropes, ships the same ships in the right way, and also shares my sense of humour. what a find, what a revelation. i hope they write more of this sort of thing.

You kidnapped a princess, because your dragon daughter wanted a princess. You are not sure why exactly she wanted one but you got her one.

Mom! I need a princess for a science project for tomorrow morning!

It turns out that luck is genetic. As underground research labs begin to appear, scientists across the globe set traps to capture lucky humans so they can be traded on the black market. It’s now recommended that people avoid casinos, night clubs, and Ireland.

Luckily, none of them ever gets caught.

There is a certain chat group whose members are a god, a mage, an immortal, a time traveler, an alien, an AI, and a secret organization leader.

They mostly send each other cat pictures and dad jokes. Especially the AI, they come up with puns all the time and get really excited about it.