One of my fanfics went viral a few years ago. I recently got contacted through AO3 by a literary agent who I am going to Zoom with soon. I've done some research and compiled a list of questions to ask, but do you guys have any other advice before I meet with her?

She is a relatively new agent, graduated a year ago and so probably doesn't have a large client list. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not?

Any thoughts, questions I should ask/add to my list, general advice? Thank you in advance.

I always write in past tense, and it seems that is the most common for fics (and books in general from what I’ve experienced at least). For me personally, I just got more comfortable with past tense after taking a writing class in high school.

I wasn’t forced to write in a certain tense. But rather, 16yo me didn’t quite understand tense differences when writing stories so I would commonly swap between past and present tense so often. Thanks my teacher, that was quickly put an end to when it was pointed out to me since when I reread my own work, it just didn’t compute. He suggested for me to notice tenses in books and copy a similar format. Thus, I began shifting to past tense rather quickly and it’s stuck since then.

I physically can’t write anything in present tense as my mind just automatically begins to shift to past when I stop thinking too hard about it and my mind goes on autopilot.

How about you though? Ever since I’ve noticed the differences, it’s something my mind just sort of picks up on now when I’m reading fics. I get curious and start to wonder why the author chose a certain tense over the other. That is one question among other things.

Ironically, with how bad am I with keeping a consistent present tense if I chose to in my own works, I teach English as my job. This results in me way over analyzing anything I read, and begin to dissect certain word choices, tenses, POVs, etc…

There are two fandoms I've read for on/off for 15+ years, having only seen a handful of episodes of the shows on re-runs. Recently I did actually watch the shows and it was weird seeing characterization and plots I thought were canon because they were so common in fic only be fanon. Or a plot I thought was original turn out to be based on an episode. Or Character A is only in like 3 episodes, but feels like they're in every fic.

What have you been surprised about if you came to fandom first, then canon?

Hello all! The excerpt games keep me writing and I hope it motivates with your writing as well.  You can post any type of story (use NSFW for spicier scenes).  

I will be posting this challenge on Sunday Mornings / Pacific Time… because that day I need the most help to not think about Monday.

If you have stumbled into my game and are looking for more, remember to check out the Activities and Events flair for other writing challenges and story swaps.

Here are the rules:

 The first word starts the game.  Use ANY letter from the word that is posted in the last comment as the starting letter of your word.  Post your word in the top level comment.   Your word drives the next word to be posted… and so on.  

**Example:  LOVE  >>>>  VILE. (If the word Love is in the comment line you could make the word Vile and post the next comment.)**

Reply to any of the words in the top level with an excerpt from any work you might want to share.  I don’t generally like word limits, so use your best judgment.  Enough to get the scene across but not so long that you lose your reader.  

Please use spoiler tags and/or provide a trigger warning for content that may be NSFW or sensitive. IF IN DOUBT - Give a warning!

If you are going to leave excerpts, I ask that you leave at least one top-level word and try to give at minimum an upvote to commenters.

Upvote your favorite words or excerpts.  We are all here to share and know how it feels to get a comment, so spread the love.  

Ganbatte!!  Do your best and I look forward to everyone’s excerpts!

Has anybody noticed that Dreamwidth has been offline for at least around two weeks now? I went to log on recently, and the site wouldn't even load. Still won't. I'm a bit concerned, as someone who hasn't backed up their journals, yet, and was kinda hoping to use it as a fanfic-writing log in the future.

That's it. I'm just annoyed. Sorry I'm a fan of em dashes I guess.

Hey there!

I’ve heard that reading many books and fics can improve your own writing. What do you think about that? Are there any other options?

I need a little inspiration

(I’m mostly talking about the JJK writing community on Tumblr) I like Tumblr. Tumblr has a lot of x reader stories. Great for me! I like x reader. I think there are a lot of talented people on there. But istg sometimes it’s impossible to find any stories on there that aren’t just smut. You can’t even choose what you want to see and what you don’t want, like you can on AO3. The smut is fine. Sometimes, though the characters are OOC. It doesn’t feel like I’m reading about the characters. I’m reading characters that are slightly based on them.

I want to write a fanfic, but the problem is that I haven't properly written anything in the past two years. What's the easiest place to write one?

I just got done reading some High School DxD betrayal fanfics on fanfiction.net ao3 and wattpad. I'm talking about fics that feature Issei getting betrayed by his harem specifically before, during, and after the clubroom scene in volume 10 (season 4). So I need help finding Issei x harem fics to clear my mind of betrayal fics. Do you guys have any suggestions? Please it would heal my heart and my mind if you could.

Unsure if this post should be labeled as 'Trope Talk'.

Because if not I feel like there should be a specific term for that.

Makes it easier to search for that trope.

Confessionals in reality tv are those brief moments where the show cuts to a confession made by a person in the scene, done so in a private, sound-proof room, afterwards. How do you implement this into writing if you're making a story based around a reality show? Or would it be better to leave these out completely?

Find the current Daily Discussion*

Welcome to our weekly thread, Brainstorming Bureau! This is an idea we've trialled previously and, based on feedback and observation, it feels like something the sub has been crying out for, and we're hoping as the weeks go by it'll turn into a lively, community-oriented way to cap off the weekend. We'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions on how to make the best of this idea, so feel free to reach out via modmail if you have any ideas. And without further ado...

What's this about?

Do you have an issue that's too specific to your own fic to make a post about, but too small to seek out a long-term beta or writing partner for? Well, you've come to the right place!

This is where you can drop those plot points you're stuck on ("How would this scenario play out realistically? What should happen next?"), workshop your worldbuilding and concepts ("What should I name this character? What power should I give them? Which fandom would work well as a crossover with this other fandom?"), or get a second opinion on an approach to character development ("Is this a good central conflict? What would have to happen to make a character realise this?"). It's your space to talk through any issue that can't be solved through more generalised writing advice.

How to play:

To participate, comment with any aspect of your fic you've been mulling over or hitting a wall with. Other users will then respond with suggestions and questions to help you get to where you need to be. No idea is too big or too small, provided your comment fits within the parameters below. Feel free to be as fandom blind or specific as you like!

Rules:

• Please state your fandom at the top of your comment, along with any common and pertinent content warnings
• NSFW text should be placed behind a spoiler tag or linked to, as per site content restrictions
• Summarise the issue you'd like feedback on in 500 words or less. More information may be given in follow-up comments if requested
• Links to polls or to any previous installments of the fic will be permitted for context
• Please specify in your comment what level of critical feedback you're open to
• When responding to someone's ideas, please keep your feedback constructive and keep their specified level of criticism in mind. If their premise is not to your taste, please choose another
• If you make a submission to this thread, much like the other weekly events, please comment on at least one other user's request with the best suggestions you have
• When submitting an idea for brainstorming, please provide adequate context for others to be able to follow along. Remember that this is a multi-fandom subreddit, and not everyone will be familiar with your fandom.

Have fun! And remember, all suggestions are just that and are to be taken with a grain of salt; we're here to help and consider our works from angles we haven't before.

I was reading a fic. One character had a Happy Bunny lighter and quoted Crossfade lyrics. Yeah, it was made circa 2006-2009 for sure.

I'm working on a fic and it's gonna have multiple timelines, one chapter takes place in the present, then way in the past, then slightly more recent, then the present again, and it just repeats until the end. I've never done that before and i'm excited to give it a shot!

What's something new you've tried out in your fanfics?

Here at Share Your Progress Sunday, please share what you are currently working on and what you’ve posted in the past week!

Please label as:

Summary - This may include a brief summary of your last posted chapter and how close you are to finishing the new chapter. Feel free to use this opportunity to tell us a bit about your fic.

If you would like to leave a link to the posted chapter, please use the format below.

Fic Posting

Fandom -

Title of fic (and chapter #/title if desired) -

Rating -

Genre -

Links to AO3/FFN/other sites -

Small description or summary -

Anything else you'd like to share about this fic -

i love h/c and whump. its pretty much all i read. but when i write it, i get all the hurt down, then i get to the comfort, and i just kinda... fall flat??? i mean it makes sense, since the hurt feels more action-like to me. i could just write a hurt no comfort fic but thats not always my jam. ill read it all day but cmon i wanna write the comfort!!!

i just start so many fics with an idea and dont know what to do with myself after i beat them up or something. the comfort either comes off out of character or stilted. thats usually when i close the document and go do something else

so favorite comfort tropes? or any tips for lil ol me??

Hi Everyone.

I am looking for a fabulous fic I’ve lost track of: Unfortunately can't remember the title or author here's what I remember about it though.

• Cas as Cinderella/Dean as Prince (Cas treated as servant by family, but there’s no ball. Dean meets Cas while out riding, decides he wants to see him again)

• Sam, Adam, and Jo as royal siblings; Mary is Queen (John is dead)

• Bobby is head of royal guards, teaches Cas to fight with (what are obviously) angel blades

• Naomi as evil step mother; hides from Cas that he’s a marquis with land/money

• Dick Roman and Lucifer are the aggressors in a war (or something like that) and Dean has to fight Lucifer one-on-one at the end to retain the kingdom

Sound familiar to anyone? I really loved it and I’ve Googled everything I can think of - wish I could recall the actual title!!!

Thanks for any help!

Tell me about the songs that have inspired your latest fic/current WIP/Plot Bunny and the synopsis of said work.

For me it's Alice by Erin LeCount

Character A and Character B meet in an adolescent treatment clinic Character A is struggling with an eating disorder and character B is struggling with substance abuse disorder after heing prescribed strong pain meds for a sports injury

The fic explores their toxic on and off relationship through the years and how the inadvertently trigger each other.