#but the order of each playlist is important to each AU's narrative

[heathercubedfic]

odd numbers x

thank you heatherrr btw everyone shut up and read recurrence. heather wrote that. it's fab. sound of the summer

1. give short descriptions of all your current WIPs.

atla - sokka is suspicious of zuko when he first joins their group, idiots to lovers ensues. 1400 out of an estimated 3000-5000 words.

thg - longform piece following johanna mason from her games through to the end of mockingjay. in very early planning stages

h*rry p*tter - an old drarry soulmates au, 1400 words, shelved permanently. might try to rework the soulmate concept for another fandom and pairing.

yugioh - gen ghost hunting au, in which yami bakura is ryou's demon bodyguard, yugi is a psychic, and atem is his guardian angel. 8300 words, needs heavy revision

ouran - tamakyo zombie au. 5900 out of an estimated 12,000+ words, needs heavy revision

ouran - tamakyo, what i have jokingly titled "why does tamaki call you babygirl". 800 words of fragmented scenes, needs work

ouran - kyoya and renge bitching at each other. 300 words, more of a scene than a fic, needs work

3. what makes you love writing?

i think i write because it's an elaborate version of playing pretend, but instead of stuffed animals i play with blorbo from my shows.

5. what do you think is the most important part of writing?

i think i've answered this question before with "research", but now i would say intention. like, being intentional about what you say and how you are saying it, to what effect, etc.

7. what books have shaped the way you think about writing the most? why?

the hunger games trilogy and the ballad of songbirds and snakes, because it only gets better when i come back to it as an adult, now that i can adequately understand the rhetorical and narrative devices at play.

the works of vladimir nabokov and ernest hemingway have also influenced the way i look at writing. nabokov is meticulous and hemingway is succinct, so both of them measure their words heavily in order to give the right effect. reading them has made me more deliberate about my creative choices.

9. what are you best and worst at when writing?

i think i'm consistently strong at dialogue, but pacing is my achilles heel. that was always the number one critique i got in workshop, i never know intuitively where to pick up or slow down.

11. give three songs or images that fit [WIP].

we're gonna go with the johanna fic bc i have a playlist that has fueled so much of my obsession

good lie by sammy copley

fire by kimya dawson

that unwanted animal by the amazing devil (!!!!!!!)

13. describe your writing style.

the characteristics that get brought up the most are my sense of humor, voice, and character work, which are obviously what i focus on, but i'm not sure how i would go about describing those any further without sounding like i'm totally up my own ass about it.

15. what do drafting and revision look like for you?

i don't usually do drafts for fanfiction. revision usually consists of me coming back to a project repeatedly to tweak things and rework ideas that i've grown sour on.

17. how do you determine what mood each project has?

basically whatever i feel like writing at the time. the mood and vibes come with the initial idea far more than any plan for a plot does. heather cubed was primarily comedic because i wrote it for fun, but progressed to be (even if only slightly) more mature and heartfelt as i got more sentimental about the project, despite the absurd plot.

19. do you plan out your projects? if yes, to what level? how well do you stick to your plans?

i plan bigger projects like heather cubed, but my shorter pieces are played pretty much entirely by ear. it's easy for me to get stuck in the planning stage though, so that's why heather cubed is my only multichapter story.

my plan for heather cubed was mostly a list of plot beats to incorporate, but i strayed from that sometimes if it felt more organic to go a different route. i also had a running list of jokes i'd try to incorporate, if i saw or overheard something funny and didn't want to forget, like the mattress store phone call.

21. what are the most important facets of creating a character, to you?

voice is always number one on my list, but i've been trying to get better at zeroing in on character motivations. without a plot, your story is driven by your characters, and i do a Lot of character studies. so it needs to sound like them, and the psychology needs to track.

#h^3 author blab

[alfredolover119]

zukka fic rec list (post-canon)

howdy! i’ve been collecting zukka fics i like since uhhh june and now i am sharing my lists with the world. i’m splitting it into three posts so it hopefully wont be too long. this is the second one: post-canon fics! the other two will be canon era and modern au. [side note!! if youd like a specific type of rec list,, i.e. soulmate au, fake dating, ambassador sokka,, hmu and i’ll post a list !!]

within this post, the fics are in word count order! also, if you’d like a soundtrack for your reading, i might recommend my zukka playlist :^) happy reading!

speak ill by @moonsongdotmp3

-4111 words, teen

-developing/established relationship, ozai hate <3

"I hate your dad so much,” Sokka considers for a second. He tries to mix it up as often as he can when they play this game. “That I have considered starting an official petition begging Aang to reconsider his commitment to nonviolence.” // It’s quiet for a beat. He’s afraid he’s miscalculated, but Zuko laughs, broken and sincere. // (Or: 5, 8, 15 years after the war, Sokka talks shit about Ozai.)

Friends Don’t Let Friends Fake Date Each Other by @d-naggeluide

-5349 words, general

-fake dating, coming out, kinda crackfic

Toph demands that Zuko fake date her. This goes just about as well as can be expected. Sokka steps in to show them how it's done, and this goes a bit better than expected.

Oh, How We Find Our Way by @donvex

-6043 words, teen

-bed sharing, hurt/comfort, domestic fluff

In which Zuko doesn’t sleep nearly enough once he takes up the throne, and Sokka isn’t having it. And maybe they get to fall in love on the way, as a treat.

(let me be) there for you by @bisexuallsokka

-8471 words, teen

-friends/idiots to lovers, mutual pining, getting together

Sokka pulls out a clean piece of parchment and starts to write: Reasons Why Sokka Would Be A Great Bodyguard for Lord Zuko // He smiles in satisfaction at the title. Seeing it in writing only makes him feel more confident in this brilliant, two-minute-old idea of his. Zuko is one of his closest friends, and Sokka is a great fighter, he would be the perfect bodyguard! He has the entirety of his trip in the Fire Nation to prove it to Zuko. This is going to be a piece of cake.

This Isn’t My Idea of Fun by @khaleeseas​

-8921 words, explicit

-royalty/moon spirit!sokka, childhood friends to lovers, no war au, mutual pining, fluff and angst

If you asked Zuko, he and Azula saw far too much of Chief Hakoda of the Northern Water Tribe’s children growing up. It wasn’t until they were older, and Azula pointed out that - duh - their families were trying to set them all up, that he realized why. // He was told by his mother to be polite. These people were their friends and allies, and though their nations were as different as they came, harmony between nations was the most important thing. // It wasn’t his fault the Chief’s children were so annoying.

the thing about dancing by anodymalion

-9713 words, teen

-trans sokka, family angst

The first time a attendant spills Zuko’s tea and doesn’t immediately fall to her knees, begging the Fire Lord’s forgiveness, it is not anger but a resounding warmth that fills his chest.

Will You Fake Date Me (But This Time For Real)? by AlyssiaInWonderland

-10520 words, not rated (teen, i think)

-fake dating, mutual pining, idiots to lovers

Zuko is determined to convince his Uncle that he is not, in fact, pining after Sokka. // Sokka is desperate to convince Katara and Aang that he is not, in fact, pining after Suki. // When Sokka's scheme to avoid pity means Zuko and him must fake date for an entire diplomatic event, shenanigans, realisations and confessions ensue.

i could (never) give you peace by @zukkababey​

-10540 words, mature

-ambassador!sokka, friends to fwb to lovers, angst with a happy ending, miscommunication

Zuko almost said it. He almost said the words I think I’m in love with you, but he choked them back down at the last second. // Zuko would never be able to be what Sokka wanted. They might have needed each other during the summer, when two boys with too much weight on their shoulders found comfort in each other in the only way they knew how. // But now Zuko was Fire Lord, and Sokka was leaving.

Operation: Get the Fire Lord a Boyfriend by @rejectscanon 

-10679 words, teen

-established relationship, attempted matchmaking, fluff, hurt/comfort, 5+1

5 times the people of the Fire Nation tried to get Zuko and Sokka together, and 1 time they realized they already were.

a study in matchmaking by @verdanthoney​

-12218 words, general

-friends to lovers, mutual pining, idiots in love, bg bakoda and kataang

Zuko and Sokka try to play matchmaker, but things don’t go exactly as planned.

Always read Your Peace Treaties Carefully by preciousbunnynoiz

-14039 words, teen

-arranged marriage, miscommunication, found family, fluff, non-linear narrative, angst with a happy ending

Zuko and Sokka have been engaged to be married since the peace talks. Only they were the only ones who didn't know. // Everyone else thought they not only knew but that they had already been dating the entire time. // This is also news to Zuko and Sokka who have definitely NOT been dating but maybe they aren't as uninterested as they are protesting.

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by @meliebee​

-18767 words, teen, major character death (NOT ZUKO OR SOKKA OR ANY OF THE GAANG)

-found family, slowburn, fluff and angst, hurt/comfort, mutual pining

Ten months after Zuko is crowned at seventeen, he faces his first coup.

All the Little Things by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning

-23575 words, general

-fake dating, friends to lovers, mutual pining, bed sharing, fluff, miscommunication

Sokka receives an offer of an arranged marriage from the Northern Water Tribe. On the one hand, accepting would strengthen ties between their tribes. On the other hand, Chief Arnook has suggested Hahn as a potential match, and Hahn sucks. But with the future of the Southern Water Tribe Reconstruction project relying heavily on the good will of the North, Sokka doesn’t know how to say no. // (Katara doesn’t have to deal with this. Katara is dating the Avatar.) // Zuko has a solution. Sokka just wishes he’d realized he was in love with the Fire Lord before he agreed to pretend to date him.

isn’t this the vision that you wanted by @goldrushzukka​

-34633 words, teen

-pining, matchmaking, coming out, friends to lovers, bed sharing, internalized homophobia

Firelord Zuko - ender of the Hundred Year War, ruler of the Fire Nation, payer of respects and reparations - takes advice and counsel from representatives of every nation, division, and specialty. // But teenage boy Zuko - friend of turtleducks, wielder of fun looking swords, stumbler over words and feet in the presence of cute boys - only listens to two people, and they are conspiring together to ruin him.

(do you take this jerk to be) your one and only by @jatersade​

-55855 words, teen

-enemies to friends to lovers, (not actually) unrequited love, slowburn, sharing a bed, alternate universe, arranged marriage, huddling for warmth, fluff

Under the leadership of Fire Lord Iroh, the Fire Nation has made every attempt to restore peace and make amends for the harm they inflicted during the Seventy-Year War. Their newest proposal is a literal proposal: a marriage to unite the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes. // The Fire Nation offers Prince Zuko’s hand. // The Water Tribes offer Princess Yue’s. // Sokka is apparently the only person in the world who has a problem with any of this.

Wooing the Water Tribe by @dameferre​

-56839 words, teen

-didn’t know they were dating, i mean IDIOT idiots to lovers, ambassador!sokka, mutual pining, himbos istg

Zuko is courting Katara, and with every passing day finds new and insane ways of showing that he would quite literally move the spirit world and earth to make her happy. // In hindsight, it probably would've been better if Sokka had realised he was in love with Zuko at literally any time before this. Or preferably, never fallen for his best friend in the first place.

In the Soft Light by @voidcenturyscholar and @romancedawning​

-83901 words, teen, graphic depictions of violence

-moon spirit!sokka, ambassador zuko kinda, hurt/comfort, slowburn, pining, canon divergence, miscommunication, sickfic, huddling for warmth, angst with a happy ending, enemies to lovers, underage drinking

As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him.

#zukka #zuko #sokka #atla #avatar: the last airbender #fic recs #zukka fic recs #fanfiction #rec list

[alicehattera03]

Do you have any writing tips for amateurs?

I..I too am an amateur though...I think..Anon are you saying my writing doesn’t make me look like one..LE GASP anyways LMFAO onto the question!!!

- If you feel like drafts are for you, use them like you’re playing cards! Every one of them has something you can use and you can interchange them throughout! If you feel like drafts aren’t for you and see everywhere that everyone’s saying drafts are love drafts are life, ignore it and go with your gut and go slay with that no draft post!! 

-Research if you’d like to make it accurate as possible(such as for medical, historical, etc au’s) or you can totally wing it, it’s all up to you, the writer! There are lots of websites that can help you on your journey! 

- You don’t have to write in order!!! I know lots of writers may say it’s best to do so to keep yourself from getting mixed up, but it’s again, not for everyone! Write out of order, or plan as you go, just make sure to keep tabs on where you are and you’ll do fine!

- Characters!!! Let them have a personality! Or character traits that are unique to them!! Or ask yourself, what would they do if they were in that situation? I know it’s show not tell for most of the story line but sometimes showing is also good for both the writers and the readers to flesh out their creative thoughts!! 

-Dialogue~! Truthfully, I don’t use much dialogue so I might not be of much help, but realistically, make sure it’s important to the scene when you decide to include it. Make it easy to follow and let it convey to the readers what’s going on by telling instead of showing! Let each character have a particular voice, don’t make them all too similar or it throws off the reader if they can’t tell who’s who apart just by their dialogue. Tone comes into play here, and lots of other places, so keep that in mind! 

-Action-wise, no one has to make their story all about the action lmao, have a plot point in mind when you start, it could be a twist for an ending/middle, or it could be a cliffhanger that keeps your readers hooked, or even introducing a main character just because. Understand that you, the writer, has to know how to get from point A to point B and so on and so forth, otherwise you risk losing your reader! If the setting changes too fast, make the character follow along, aka I move this piece to A character will run to A in the scene. 

- Ask yourself or a beta(if you’d like to find a beta, unlike me who is un-betad we die like Caesar) whether the scene you’ve written is necessary for the continuing plot/narrative that’s moving along. Remember, you can make as many edits as you want, even after it’s been published(unless you’re actually being published, then well, your editor will pick them out for you ahaha)

- Using cliches? They’re good! As long as it isn’t something overly dramatized that would make any reader go, “OMF again??? Why can’t I read something new/better?” But then again there’s the argument, “Two cakes are better than one” and I wholeheartedly agree because who doesn’t want two cakes???

- MUSIC dear lord if this isn’t important IDK what is..but it could be something disregarded but moving along, I find that playlists or spotify or whatever you use can help get writers in the “mood” for writing and it draws out their creativity. It can be something like a show playing in the background or ambient noises, ASMR vids, whatever can help, CAN. 

That’s the end!!! Thank you so much for your question, dear Anon!!! <333

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