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AO3 Writer

@pinemai

⟣ . ` ~ (LotR, LiS, HP, Twilight, ST, etc) ~ ` . ⟢ Requests welcome! (@pinemai)

New year writing goals

  • Trying to write more often is self-care. We write because we love it. Let's not make it a chore.
  • There is more to writing than getting words on the page. Research, plotting, outlining, daydreaming, making moodboards... all that is writing.
  • Not being able to write some days is NOT failure. Breaks are essential to refill your creative energy. Maybe just listen to your writing playlist and relax a bit or read a book or watch a show that inspires you.
  • Word counts are not absolute. If you realize you can't achieve your word count in the set timeframe, revise it. It's NOT failure, it's being efficient and aware of your own energy.
  • Be kind to yourself. Not finishing your goal is okay. Just engage with your creativity. Your mental health is more important.

Let's repeat this energy for 2022!

2023, here we go!

Enid (after the fight with Crackstone): You seem tense. How about we talk about the emotions we’re feeling as a way to de-stress.

Wednesday: I want to stab another coloniser.

Enid: I appreciate the effort. But that’s not an emotion. That’s more of an action. An emotion is something we feel on the inside.

Wednesday: I feel…

Wednesday: Stabby.

Enid:

Enid: You know what? Sure. Good job bestie. I’m proud of you.

Enid: Do you wanna make out?

If you're writing, and you aren't the kind to outline and plan, that's cool. Even if you're the kind to not even know the vague direction you're going, that's still cool.

But you should jot down some rules. Both for the characters and the story. Rules at the level of separating basketball from hockey. That's how broad I mean.

Just take a sec after you write the first part. Take a moment after you've realized that, oh, this is going to continue, and jot some things down. Again. High level. It's not about limiting yourself. Its just the guardrails on the road. I read a crap ton of fic by authors who do not have a plan when they start. I don't need them to tell me that they're pantsing it. I knew.

You don't need a full outline, or even tentpoles, but if you take a second to think through where the guardrails are, it makes your life, and your story better.

Go into the new year aware of the fact that you don't need to know HTML in order to post on AO3. If you select the Rich Text button, you'll get a visual editor instead.

The visual editor allows you to add text formatting (bold, italics), images, and links at the touch of a button. It also allows you to see that formatting right there in the text input form without needing to preview it first.

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Do you ever remember an unfinished and abandoned fic from years ago which touched you so deeply that it still sometimes resurfaces and lingers in your mind?

And you’re just like, dear unknown author, i hope you are doing well, wherever you are. It wasn’t finished but i loved it, thank you for your words.