Fanfic Stuff - Tumblr Posts

i hate how modern culture has kind of…pushed its narrative on fanfic. like, authors aren’t writing fic to be a product. they’re not writing it to please the public or make a profit off of it. they’re writing it for themselves and because they enjoy making people happy and sharing their stories with others. they’re not obligated to listen to any sort of suggestion/criticism/complaint/etc. because their fic isn’t a product. it’s not something you can rate. give kudos and leave a comment if you like it. scroll if you don’t.

Yeah sure we’ve all binged a long fic, but have you ever read a WIP and followed someone’s life?

Tidbits of information - (“I graduated today!”) - and small joys (“It’s my birthday!”) and you get to be there to say “This chapter made me cry, happy birthday, thank you for gifting us this”.

I remember reading this fic of someone at the end of high school, older than me then. They seemed infinitely wise, spoke of their future career and getting into the college they wanted. I remember them posting on days they felt like nothing could bring them down - and on days the whole world did and it’s the aftermath of a hospital visit. Cancer, I think it was, their father. I got to the end of the story, I know their father was fine, but also they got to finish their WIP. I graduated three years later than them, still dutifully wrote thank you notes in every comment. I wonder if they remember me, or just the collective of people reading the story as it updates.

Four years ago I was into my first year of university, my first year of figuring out being out in public spaces. I made excuses as to why my name didn’t match my paperwork and read a fic on the train, the same five chapters over and over again for the next years as I thought the story abandoned. It updated this week after such a long hiatus, I left another thank you comment.

There’s an author I love, they update their stories like a clockwork. When they don’t, I check their blog, just to see if their doing alright, not because I feel like they owe me, just to ensure whether I better get out my laptop to write that really detailed university level essay chapter analysis to get them smiling when their day sucked.

And then, once, when I was 17, I read a fic that hadn’t updated in over a decade. I wasn’t even in primary school when it started posting. On the last chapter, I left a comment that, in retrospect, was horribly rambly and most likely full of grammar mistakes. The author replied and though I couldn’t see their face, I thought of them crying. They were married now, had children, and hadn’t thought about this fic in years. They went through their files again, found another half written chapter and an outline. I got two new chapters to read that year.

And then, recently, someone told me they got back into writing original fiction because of my comments. I get to read nearly weekly chapters.

I love binge reading a finished fic, but nothing is ever going to top the feeling of anticipation of waiting for a chapter, the pure joy when someone tells you I was done with this, but you made me think of it again, so this is for you.

Anyway, I think we should romanticize reading WIPs more, growing up alongside the authors writing the stories we love.

you ever read a fanfic and just sit back and think…someone wrote something THIS good… and then just….published it on the internet….for free…..

🥲

If you’re reading this: this is your sign that your WIP is worth writing, is worth the effort, and that you are doing great. Keep going, take breaks, reflect. But do not lose sight of how far you’ve come on this project! You can do it!

Looks vaguely threatening. It looks like it's either going to murder you in your sleep or in broad daylight in public.

Found family, but with the thickest layer of racial context in it. That's it, that's the trope.

Thank you to fic writers for telling the stories that canon didn’t tell.

Thank you to fic writers for giving minor characters a voice.

Thank you to fic writers for expanding these worlds that we love so much.

Thank you to fic writers for sharing your talent, your ideas, and your words with us all.

Thank you to fic writers for your hard work, commitment, dedication, time, energy, and compassion.

And thank you to the readers who make it all worthwhile.

Commenting on fics I like is very difficult, because as a writer I want to take the time to write a detailed comment describing all the little things I liked, how they developed the story, and the bits about their characterization I especially enjoyed.

As a reader, I just want to take their face firmly in my hands, lean in close, and say ‘THAT WAS SO GOOD’ while maintaining steady eye contact until they truly understand.

“you shouldn’t like that character because they’re a terrible person”

look my guy i pulled this character right out of the dumpster fair and square and i’m keeping him

on one hand there’s the fic i should be writing, on other there is the fic i want to write… and then there’s me, not writing anything.

fanfiction is so wild cause im like…..ugh im not in the mood to read a book…..i’ll just read an 82k word fic instead……

“But what can you actually DO with a degree in [insert subject here]?!”

Write fanfiction with a high degree of accuracy in a very specific field, next question.

When their kid gets abducted, it’s up to their guardian angel, the monster under their bed, and their favorite stuffed animal to save them.

PLEEEASE found family prompts between a person in their late twenties and a teenager

“sometimes I’m not sure which one of us is the adult here”

adult giving teen college survival tips

adult using outdated slang, realizing it annoys the teen, and making a point to use it as often as possible

“that’s lit fam” “PLEASE STOP YOU SOUND LIKE A GRANDMA”

the duo getting mistaken for twins and being like ????

“so can you like, teach me how to do taxes?” “I’M THE TEENAGER HOW WOULD I KNOW” “idk u said you were a business major”

regular hang-outs at starbucks and/or obscure local coffee joint of your choice

adult picking teen up from various events for a long time before they learn that teen actually has a driver’s license and just wanted an excuse to hang out with them to be lazy

“oh, you have [professor]? I had them when I was your age. they pretend to be super strict but they accept late work for full credit”

doing things they’re considered “too old” for (trick-or-treating, jump city, ect.) as a pair because people judge less when you’re not alone

honestly just a lot of young adult shenanigans

i used to be soo much more nervous about writing bios and backstories but now im just like

me: This new story idea is narrating itself excellently in my head. Let me go open a fresh document and type all this up.

also me:

also me:

also me:

me: but the words are in my head

me: why are the words not on the screen

So I wrote a Fellowship of the Ring parody script when I was twelve and I just.....

I can’t handle this....

one day I’ll finally write that ridiculously elaborate fanfiction that I’ve been carefully constructing in my daydreams for months and then you’ll be sorry. you’ll all be sorry.

Hello! I’ve been reading your fanfic ‘The Weathervane Always Points Home’, and I like it a lot! I’m waiting in the wings for the next chapter lol 😂 but it’s a great story, and well worth it.

Ahh, thank you so much! I've been having a ton of fun writing it, and it means so much to hear that other people are enjoying it too!

Oh boy, I owe everybody an apology for that—I have been terrible at keeping to a decent update schedule, especially over this summer. I haven’t been very active here, either. 😂 Sorry for the wait! Real life got kind of hectic lately, and I've been a little hard-pressed to find time to write when my brain isn't too tired to do it well, lol. If it's any consolation, one of the reasons it's taken a while is that the next chapter is SUPER long and packed with a lot of character study. (And friendshippy fluff, because I have a TOTAL blast writing for these guys and don't know when to stop. XD) I'm pretty much just stuck on the ending? I try to make sure my chapters end on a cooler note than they started, and my draft document is lagging something awful when I’m that far in. This thing is literally a 17k chapter and it’s ridiculous. I could just split it into two, but it’s not really written to be two chapters. I'm hoping to have it and a few other things up ASAP!

Thank you so much for the ask! It always makes my day to hear that someone's enjoying my stories! <3

(For those of you who aren't familiar with my fics, you can check out my AO3! They're mostly for Tangled: The Series right now, with others coming. Lots of others coming. Bewarb!)

This is me right now, I’m finally getting there!!

*writing 5k of lead in to get to the original idea that kickstarted this fanfic*