First sentence of the new project I started this week:

He walked into class like he didn’t know he was special.

sylwritesstuff:

Hi, PatB fandom! Syl here! (Or SylviaW1991, for my target audience here) Long time, no see.

So sorry about deleting my ff.net fics without warning. Genuinely didn’t realize it was upset so many of you! Back when my cowriter and I wrote them, we were a very isolated isle of 2. And sometimes, even with the reboot, it still feels like it’s so small no one would ever notice us.

So I’m very sorry for so abruptly emptying that account. But fret not, the fics are NOT gone. I have every single one of them saved still. They will be going up on ao3 under the username Syl1991.

So please go sub to that account. The plan is to start posting my solo works and then add the cowritten things as she and I figure out how exactly we’re going to go about it. Her stuff is still on ff because she’s less impulsive than my ridiculous self.

I may have been the Brain to her Pinky, but she’s the much better planner between the two of us. And I’m the impulsive button pusher.

Narf

It’s back, y'all

Follow@skimmingthepast for more updates whenever she feels like it

fallenstarworkshop:

theleakypen:

winged:

thewritinggrindstone:

whatagrump:

Apparently a lot of people get dialogue punctuation wrong despite having an otherwise solid grasp of grammar, possibly because they’re used to writing essays rather than prose. I don’t wanna be the asshole who complains about writing errors and then doesn’t offer to help, so here are the basics summarized as simply as I could manage on my phone (“dialogue tag” just refers to phrases like “he said,” “she whispered,” “they asked”):

• “For most dialogue, use a comma after the sentence and don’t capitalize the next word after the quotation mark,” she said.
• “But what if you’re using a question mark rather than a period?” they asked.
• “When using a dialogue tag, you never capitalize the word after the quotation mark unless it’s a proper noun!” she snapped.
• “When breaking up a single sentence with a dialogue tag,” she said, “use commas.”
• “This is a single sentence,” she said. “Now, this is a second stand-alone sentence, so there’s no comma after ‘she said.’”
• “There’s no dialogue tag after this sentence, so end it with a period rather than a comma.” She frowned, suddenly concerned that the entire post was as unasked for as it was sanctimonious.

And!

• “If you’re breaking dialogue up with an action tag”—she waves her hands back and forth—”the dashes go outside the quotation marks.”

Here’s one that a lot of people miss, but that can be helpful for the reader: 

“Of course you already know to use a paragraph break between speakers,” they said.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Depending on style, you can either indent or line break, as long as you keep it consistent.”

“Exactly! But did you know that if your single speaker goes on and on and gets a little rambly, and you find yourself needing to put in a paragraph break but not switch speakers, you should do the exact same thing?
 
“Only, in this case, don’t close off the quotation marks until that speaker is completely done talking. See how after the question mark above there isn’t anything? Indent or line break for your next paragraph – however you’re indicating – and use a beginning quotation to mark the dialogue, but leave the initial paragraph open, so that the reader can tell it’s not a different person now speaking,” they finished. 

Obviously, people can often get it from context even if you don’t do this, and grammar and punctuation is a thing that evolves and changes over time, but I do like this rule because it actually benefits the reader. 

Brief addendum to the breaking up dialogue with action thing:

• “If your action briefly interrupts—” Ve struck the desk for emphasis “—your dialogue, you put the dashes inside the quotation marks.”

“And if you put a quote inside a quote,” she said, “use apostrophes. ‘Like this,’ I would say.”

jasontoddiefor:

me @ myself: don’t expect comments on a self-indulgent fic written for an audience of 2

me, after posting: where are my comments

me @ myself: you’re posting this at 2 AM on a tuesday don’t expect comments

me, after posting:commints?

stammiviktor:

emails with “[AO3] Comment on _____” in the subject line give me a better dopamine rush than hard drugs ever will

colubrina:

maddersahatter:

cannibalcoalition:

Reminder to self:

Your writing seems boring and predictable because 

• You wrote it
  
• You’ve read it like eight million times.

A person who has never read it before does not have this problem. 

Great encouragement for writers

Pass it on

annleckie:

aquestionofcharacter:

aquestionofcharacter:

aquestionofcharacter:

there’s going to be a difference sometimes between the stories that you find masterfully crafted and the stories that mean a lot to you personally and those two things don’t have to overlap completely or even at all to make that story worthwhile

and that’s a good thing to remember as a reader/viewer/etc but also as a writer because even if whatever you ultimately write is full of mistakes, someone out there is gonna take it so to heart that it fundamentally changes them as a person. and that is. Huge.

Like! I made a list of the top ten stories that have influenced me as a human being and only 2 or maybe 3 of them are things I would hold up as examples of narrative mastery. But I cannot imagine who I would be without the other 7!!

Please write your story and share it with the world! Someday someone will not be able to imagine a world without your story in it and they’ll be so grateful you brought that wonderful, meaningful thing into their life

Also while I’m on a roll, a story doesn’t have to have some deep hidden meaning or philosophical theme for it to be meaningful. Sometimes a story is meaningful to someone because it was fun and made them happy at a time when they really, really needed that. Or because it was an incredibly intriguing world that inspired them to dream. Maybe they’re another writer, and they see in that thing you wrote the exact kind of story they want to tell someday.

There are many ways to be meaningful

This is true.

candy-m-s:

There is no reason not to love your writing. You did it. You spent time on it. Of course you should talk about it. No. It’s not boasting, nor are you self obsessed. It’s yours.You spent time on it. Not them. Post about your art.Share with everyone. Because it is amazing.

clairelutra:

seeing some nasty anti-lurker posts going around rn and just

this is your friendly daily reminder that i appreciate you no matter how you choose to interact or not interact with me/my fics

• if you wanna drop a kudos or a like? *fingerguns* my dude, you are the bomb
• if you commented/reviewed/reblogged with nice tags? tbh you have restored my health and unknowingly added 100-1k+ words to the next fic draft, just like that.
• if you drew fanart/wrote fic/etc inspired by my fic? the above, plus anything you want, any request you send is now at the very tippy top of my list of my priority list, i guarantee you. (i’d offer you my firstborn, but i like to offer things i actually have the ability to provide.)
  

but at the same time:

• got to the end of my fic and didn’t feel much like dropping kudos? sorry dude, i feel that. tastes don’t always match up! i hope whatever you find next suits you better :)
• lurking and worried about who’ll see you online if you click ‘like’? been there, done that. i hope your lurking is restful ♥
• clicked on my fic but wasn’t hooked? again, tastes don’t always match up! i’ve definitelybeen there and done that. what kind of person would i be if i held that against you?
  
• binge-reading an entire archive of X type of fic to the point where you forgot to click the button because you were so busy clicking ‘next’?been there, done that. when the fever strikes, it strikes. i hope you find exactly what you’re looking for :D
  
• wanna comment but just too tired? bitch, s a m e. squee and cry and analyze and relish in your fannish glee in peace and please don’t feel bad for not having the energy to put yourself out like that. we’ve all been there at some point, promise. :’)
• using a link to my story to get on the archive/ffn but actually don’t have any interest in reading it at all? *bows* it was my honor to be a stepping stone
  
• any other reason you didn’t leave any sort of feedback? it’s okay, it’s good, i promise you that you haven’t hurt my feelings. people read fic for all sorts of reasons, and sometimes that reason doesn’t involve clicking a button or dropping a few words, and that’s okay.

do i want feedback? of course! i’m not going to lie and say it’s not my lifeblood. i’m a writer. i livefor validation (quite literally—fanfiction kept me from hitting rock bottom during some of the worst times of my life).

but if you’re not up for it, for whatever reason, that validation doesn’t have to come from you. it can come from someone with more spoons, who’s in a better place, who’s more outgoing, who enjoyed the fic more, anything.

the fan experience is supposed to be fun for everyone. i want validation, yes, but never at the expense of yours.

I guess like 3 people noticed, but ASTRON is late. It will be late, and there is little I can do about it. My family is kind of facing a difficult time right now… and although I’ve had a moment to write it, I did not get much done and I haven’t had much more time to pull a fic together for the last 2 weeks. I hope you guys can understand. I will do my best to have it out ASAP.

garthgender:

garthgender:

garthgender:

You know what I hate a lot? People who act like writing is ~so easy~ compared to like, drawing or whatever. Like no actually it takes effort to make it good you just don’t need expensive supplies or programs and it takes little to no physical ability. Writing is art. There’s just as much skill involved with this medium as anything else, and comparing mediums is itself kinda stupid if I’m being completely honest

“Butanybody can just start writing-” anybody can start drawing, too, jackass. Oh but it takes time and dedication to get good at it? Boy do I have news for you about how writing works

Tbh? They sound exactly the same as those people who think digital art isn’t ~real art~ because ~the computer does all the work~ like no….. That’s. No

Personally, I have an easier time writing than drawing, but writing itself definitely isn’t easy unless you’re splashing every immediate thought you have on the page (and really, not even then).

vancityfire13:

kosmo-mckogane:

rereading my own writing is just a constant fluctuation between “damn, girl, you wrote this? (affectionate)” and “damn, girl, you wrote this? (derogatory)”

I am also “damn, girl, you wrote this? (forgetful)”

fictionissocialinquiry:

disregardcanon:

unnecessaryligatures:

Wired: Leave comments because it makes your fav writers feel good

meteor-sword:

so,Metacognition is the practice of thinking about thinking or identifying one’s cognitive process . in essence, metacognition is understanding how you prepare for academic challenges, exams, or tasks, and then being able to reflect on whether you did well, you prepared adequately, and what was most effective. in a writing setting, this type of self-awareness helps you transfer skills in writing, say, fanfiction into writing academically, competitively and professionally. 

here’s an article from brown university on the subject i’ll discuss further. there are 3 parts of practicing metacognition identified in this article: planning, monitoring, and evaluation. how might this look like for a fanfic writer? 

planning:asking oneself ‘what is my goal?’ ‘what strategies should i use to meet that goal?’ ‘how much time/length do i need to meet my goal?’. so maybe my goal is to write a meet cute where two characters kiss. i’ll need to use a perspective, an upbeat tone, and forward characterization to do this. it’ll probably take 5000 words and two days to write. 

monitoring:asking oneself: is my story making sense? am i reaching my goal, or do i need to summarize more succinctly to keep it to 5k? maybe you started with a lot of exposition and now you’re 6k in and the characters haven’t met yet. what went wrong/changed? is it ok that it changed or did you not realize it got away from you? what now? 

evaluation: asking oneself: did i reach my goal? was it effective? what would i change next time? 

this is where comments come in

it is incredibly difficult to evaluate yourself. comments like “i love this!” actually do begin to touch on the evaluation step of metacognition. it means, in general, the writer is on the right track. comments like “i loved the dialogue between x and y” or “the emotions of this section really hit me” begin to answer the questions of was it effective, did i reach my goal and conversely answer what would i change next time (by adding more of whatever was specified as working well). HYPER SPECIFIC comments, like analyzing the story between the lines or pasting in a line that you really liked and explaining why, is like jet fuel for the metacognition process and i’m not exaggerating. specifically pointing out what was effective and why is incredibly useful 

meteor-sword:

i might elaborate later but fanfic replies literally develop writer’s metacognition and make them better writers

i can straight up credit my writing style to all of my friends and readers who have given incredibly detailed comments. when i found a community who gave feedback like that, my writing improved a thousand times faster than before. so! i guess what i’m saying is give feedback! it goes so much further than you realize!

Inspired: Leave comments because it will make them write better

Eureka-d: leave comments because it will make YOU write better too. It develops your meta cognition as well

I been screaming about this for like 4 years now! Want more and better fic? Tell your fic writers what you liked and why!!

gr8writingtips:

writing tip #3474:

writing is about “what ifs”. for example, what if i closed the word document and played sims 4 for five hours instead

botwstoriesandsuch:

moinsbienquekaworu:

botwstoriesandsuch:

kittmoon:

botwstoriesandsuch:

Pssst

Hey, are you an artist or writer with WIPs?

Come here… I got a secret for you pssst come ‘ere

waiting in deep suspense

Psst you ready here comes the secret

Here it comes

I am also very curious about this secret

Your time spent enjoying the creative process is infinitely more valuable than any final project you create. So stop putting yourself down for never finishing or posting those WIPs because every moment you spent creating something you loved is a moment not wasted. Your progress and talent is measured by your passion not your number of posts.

thebibliosphere:

thebibliosphere:

Writing the copyright page is legitimately giving me a heart attack. Either that or I’ve fucked up my meds. Aaaaah. I’ve only ever had to do this for other people before. I can’t believe I’m writing my own copyright page.

Also hi it’s 4am and I’m still a raging insomniac, how we all doing?

Oh, educational moment, just in case you ever need to write one of these things, they are actually really simple. All it consists of is

• The Copyright Statement 
  
• “All rights reserved.” 
  

And that’s pretty much it. You can totally get away with  “© 2017 Author Name. All rights reserved.” if that’s all you want to write but it must include either the © symbol with date, or use of the actual phrase Copyright followed by date and name. Otherwise it doesn’t mean anything.

You can also get away with writing just all rights reserved if you want, but it’s often better to go into more detail, things like “all rights reserved, no element of this book may be recreated or distributed except with the express permission of [either your name or your publisher]” tend to hold up a lot better when it comes to suing someone for stealing your work, as does adding in the disclaimer spiel that all elements of the book are fictional and you totally didn’t base that one character on that one guy/place etc etc. You don’t technically need one, but it’s good to have. Like underwear ie cover your ass.

The copyright page is also a good place to give your contact details, such as author website or email, and to also credit your artists/editors/people who helped you get the book in print. If you are going through a place like Barnes and Noble for distribution, I think you need to buy your own ISBN regardless of whether  epub or not, but I’d need to look that up. As it stands you don’t need an ISBN for kindle publishing or self distribution, although I know some people think it’s a good idea to, and honestly it’s good if you can afford it. I can’t at the moment but I likely will at some point.

This is how the Hunger Pangs one currently looks:

Hunger Pangs. First Edition.
© 2017 by Joy Demorra. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact: [info @ weblink]

(This does not include fanfiction written for fun, you are welcome to play in my sandpit <3)

Please only purchase authorized electronic copies of this story. If you have somehow obtained this book through other means and have enjoyed it, please consider buying an official copy from [weblink]. 

The author appreciates your support and despite popular belief, does not subsist on the tears of readers alone.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book contains content of an explicit and mature themed nature, and is intended to be enjoyed by those of and above the age of consent.

The author does not assume responsibility for third-party websites or their contents. (As an aside, <—this is how I get out of saying I’m not responsible for the weird vampire kink y’all are gunna post on Ao3 just in case some puritan mob gets their pantaloons in a twist over it and decide I’m responsible for your lack of morals lol)

Cover art by _____; cover design and layout by _____.
Edited by _________

Digital copies of Hunger Pangs are available for purchase on Amazon, Patreon or by contacting Joy at [info @ weblink]

For Trade Paperback visit [weblink]. 

I’ll likely edit this again and run through it a few more times before I consider it finalized but yea. Job done. That’s a copyright page.

chaoschaoswriting:

The only writing advice that matters is this:

Persist.

Against all odds, despite doubt and scorn, with joy in your heart,

Persist.

Fly in the face of common sense and refuse to grow old where it matters most - your mind and soul.

Persist.

ohhgingersnaps:

opening up my own fanfiction document on my personal laptop to see if the author has updated it yet

Well if I have to thank Stranger Things for one thing, it’s that I wrote a reference to Luna Lovegood doing some Kate Bush, Wuthering Heights style whirling around about a month ago in a WIP and I wondered if the reference would make sense. Now she’s back in pop culture. So, thanks for that.

llleighsmith:

“No writing is wasted. Did you know that sourdough from San Francisco is leavened partly by a bacteria called lactobacillus sanfrancisensis? It is native to the soil there, and does not do well elsewhere. But any kitchen can become an ecosystem. If you bake a lot, your kitchen will become a happy home to wild yeasts, and all your bread will taste better. Even a failed loaf is not wasted. Likewise, cheese makers wash the dairy floor with whey. Tomato gardeners compost with rotten tomatoes. No writing is wasted: the words you can’t put in your book can wash the floor, live in the soil, lurk around in the air. They will make the next words better.”

— ERIN BOW

botwstoriesandsuch:

botwstoriesandsuch:

moinsbienquekaworu:

botwstoriesandsuch:

kittmoon:

botwstoriesandsuch:

Pssst

Hey, are you an artist or writer with WIPs?

Come here… I got a secret for you pssst come ‘ere

waiting in deep suspense

Psst you ready here comes the secret

Here it comes

I am also very curious about this secret

Your time spent enjoying the creative process is infinitely more valuable that any final project you create. So stop putting yourself down for never finishing or posting those WIPs because every moment you spent creating something you loved is a moment not wasted. Your progress and talent is measured by your passion not your number of posts.

This post went from 3k to 7k overnight and that just goes to show how many of you need to hear this so make sure you don’t ever forget it

fanficmemes:

Hey did you ever finish writing-