@the-wip-project Day 39

@the-wip-project Day 39

What kind of traits make a character interesting?

I've read a bunch of answers to this question, and like @sayonaramidnight, multi-layered, complex, conflicted characters are the most appealing to me. Especially if this complexity is non-apparent from the start. It automatically pulls me to the edge of my seat, expectant of the moment when they'll jump that plot-cliff. I'll be ready jump with them!

One collateral answer could be this, I live for the moments when this character is making THE DECISION™. The one that's going to flick the first domino of the series and trigger the course of actions they didn't know they needed. It might come with some collateral damage, some violent life-changing upheavals, heart-breaks, the end of important relationships even.

Such decisions require a determination that doesn't come easily for some types of characters. It can take a few chapters to bud and grow; it also can the spur of a instant. In any case, it's a beautiful thing to witness, as a reader and as a writer (*sniffles* proud) But the courage that comes thereafter to face the consequences is what makes a character a hero to me!

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Park Jimin (BTS)/Original Character(s), Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Park Jimin, Kim Seokjin | Jin/Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin, Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin, Park Jimin (BTS)/Everyone Characters: Park Jimin (BTS), Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Taehyung | V, Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Namjoon | RM, Jeon Jungkook, Original Characters Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion, Explicit Sexual Content, Sex Intervention, Oaths & Vows, BTS as Greek gods and goddesses, Polyamory, Arranged Marriage Summary:

Since the disappointing loss of the Trojan war, Jimin’s sexual appetite has admittedly been a little more voracious than usual. Still, there’s nothing wrong with getting some good dick in. It shouldn’t be an issue.

His husband and best friends apparently disagree. They take it upon themselves to trap him to his marriage bed mid-affair and bind him just as tightly to a no-sex vow for three months. But even beaten, Jimin doesn’t go down so easily. Will his tenacity win out or will his friends finally succeed in getting through to him?

OR

A retelling of Greek mythology inspired by the tale of Hephaestus trapping Aphrodite and Ares during sex and having the other gods and goddesses come in to laugh at them, except it’s a well-intentioned intervention instead and the only one laughing is Jin at his own jokes. The story follows Jimin as Aphrodite as he struggles with a sex addiction and navigating his relationships old and new.

Canon laws change (and nobody tells me)

@the-wip-project Day 33

What kind of gestures are your characters often using?

When I read the question today, the answer had been immediate. "Of course, they both typically do this and that!", all the more so since these gestures come directly from canon and it is commonly expected to see them appear in fanfic. Not that it is a hard rule, mind, but still, they do appear on a regular basis (besides, I find these gestures lovely and so in-character that I transpose them into my writing without a second thought)

And yet, I should have had this second thought because, as I was looking for this canon material to complete this post and hand in my homework like the serious girl I am, I've come to realise that these gestures have become rarer in canon! Like, whaaaaaaatt 😲? Where's my favourite tongue-in cheek?

One of them is famous for rolling his tongue against his cheek to show a certain degree of confusion, to the point of annoyance even. He can also be caught rubbing his nape whenever he's embarrassed or flustered .

The other character also does something out of reflex (which the other character never fails to make fun of) in the way he brushes his hair back and parts it sideways. He's also often caught licking his lips all. the. time.

I still use these gestures in my fics, but maybe it's a sign that I should let them go...

That's the ONE worthwhile revelation of the century!

250 words = 1 book page

OUT: I wrote only 1,000 words today :/

IN: I wrote FOUR whole pages of my book! ♡

Out-of-body experience

@the-wip-project Day 43

How often to you switch WIPs and do you think that’s a good thing to do?

I've read a few answers to the question to help my line of thought get straight, because if I had to take the idea more literally, as if the black-hole of my brain, I'd say ALL THE TIME! Taking a step back to think about that aspect of the writing process is actually quite scary because there's hardly any spare time when I don't think about my stories. Either I do something that occupies my brain (my teaching job is quite demanding in that respect), either I think about my stories.

The reason they occupy my mind so often is mostly because over time, it's become a coping mechanism of mine. When I'm stressed out, anxious, worried, depressed, I've learned to divert my darker thoughts to more positive and productive directions. And my wips help LOADS in that! It doesn't always bring satisfaction with the actual writing that should follow (like @sayonaramidnight, I also wish thoughts could type themselves out directly, though I'm considering voice-recording them as they come idk), but at least the creative process isn't smothered under piles of emotional or psychological luggage.

Havins two wips actually out there on ao3 is a new thing to me. So I haven't quite examined the way I switch from one to the other. The first wip is already a certain size (15 chapters - 180k) and generally made of long chapters so they take more time and research, which is why I tend to prioritize it for now. Also because I'd feel bad for some faithful readers who are really looking forward to what's going to happen next.

That being said, I also write the scenes once they are neat and clear in my mind, which can take time (and a lot of daydreaming or distraction). These scenes however, may also require that I anticipate and think about the rest of the plot to some extent (which takes even more time, and even more daydreaming). But as soon as every major element is on the go, I sit down to write them and type them as they come. This may lead me to write a chapter, and start the next in the following days.

But both stories constantly overlap in my mind, that's certain.

@the-wip-project Day 32

What’s your favorite trope you’re not writing and why?

I don't think I have a favorite trope overall, whether in reading, or (even less) in writing. My reading depends on my mood of the day, so I've covered a large variety of tropes that I thoroughly enjoy. I figured some that I don't particularly like, so obviously my writing is going to stay away from those.

There are some tropes that I really like but would not try out (like royals au for instance), for the simple reason that, so far, no idea of a plot, or a prompt, has emerged in my mind. But I wouldn't go as far as saying that I will not write any at all. Mafia au are also really cool, but complex to set up. I'm not sure my imagination is as flexible as it needs to be to imagine a world of crime and violence (graphic or not).

But now that I think about it, no trope is as intimidating as canon compliant. I'd be too afraid to mess things up, while I love reading about it. Some writers are exceedingly good at it!