#hey thanks for the shoutout even though i haven't updated that in a while

[bi-bats]

3, 13, 23, 31, & 40 for the ask game? no pressure to answer all of them

adjflaskj hey Waffle I'm definitely going to answer all of them bestie!! I love when people want to know things about me lmaooo

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

For everything I write, it starts with an idea. Usually a trope or a quote or a conversation will inspire me and I'll go "that would make a great fic!" and then I inevitably start thinking about the most dangerous question, "where would I even start writing that?" And then I inevitably start writing the first chapter of the fic. Right after that, I usually write part of the climax of the fic, which will be re-written no less than 8 times when I get to it, but that comes later. After I have those pieces, I start padding in ideas around that and working out the plot usually by talking about it with people. I'll start noting down scenes and ideas, and this is where the process veers depending on the kind of fic I'm writing.

For a multi-chap, I usually sit down and work out the plot. I'll figure out the scenes I want to happen and in what order, at least for the major beats of the story. Sometimes I'll work out all the tiny details, sometimes I'll just cover the main things I know need to happen, and usually this is where I bring my corkboard into it.

For a one shot, I'll just throw the scene ideas at the end of the WIP file and figure out the order/work them in later. Usually along the way I come up with snippets of dialogue that I want the characters to say to each other in various scenes and I'll throw them in the snippets area (each fic has one).

Once my idea is worked out, I start writing the fic. I actually have to write from start to finish. I have to begin at the beginning and work my way through in order, or else I start repeating things and losing threads because I can't keep track of what's been written vs. what's in my head. The best analogy is that it's like making a braid for me: I have to have all of my strands laid out so I can work my way through to the end piece by piece.

Eventually, I'll have all of my words down for a chapter or the piece and I'll give it a re-read or three for editing, and then I'll send it to a few people I know for betaing or cheerleading (shoutout to @lovetimdrake, @chipmunkery, and @cassiopeiagamma (batsgf) for being the usual ones to put up with me!! go follow all of them if you don't already). After that, I'll usually post it within a few days! I usually give it a final pass before posting to see what tags I should add and catch any last editing things, and then I send it off!

Note: with the damitim fic I don't post as soon as I finish a chapter. I like having the padding of the next two chapters being ready to post and the chapter after that partially written before I post the next update, since I haven't actually finished working out the plot beyond the rough things I know need to happen in the next few scenes and some major story beats (solving the Bruce lost in time problem, Damian and Tim's relationship, etc). That story is an exception to the rule though, because it is pouring out of me without permission.

13. What's a common writing tip that you always follow?

I actually don't know if it's a common tip but it is excellent advice that I received from Chibi while working on Pieces of Me (Pieces of You), which was trying not to start a sentence with the same word as the last one.

Holy shit. That changed my life. My writing reads so much more interestingly now and I could NOT for the life of me figure out what it was that bothered me in previous fics when certain paragraphs felt clunky or whatever and adkjlfajsdlk the biggest thanks to Chibi for that advice!!! (side effect of that is that I hate everything I wrote before that piece, but something something I've grown as a writer)

23. Best writing advice for others?

honestly, some of Chuck Palahniuk's writing advice changed my life when I stumbled across it as a late teenager. So this link right here, and then also learning how to plot was make-or-break for me as a writer. My work was fine, but directionless and I could never finish a story because I didn't know how. So read Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell.

That, and listen to advice from other authors! I highly recommend the podcast No Write Way with V.E. Schwab (one of my favorite authors, and the podcast I got the book rec for plotting from).

And read. Reading more will make you a better writer through osmosis and I'm not joking about that.

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

This is actually complicated because I can't separate them in my head. The plot is the characters. The characters are the plot.

Technically I guess I start with the characters and turn it into a plot, but there's always a kernel of plot in there to begin with!

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

ASKDJFALKSDJF ANYTHING LITERALLY ANYTHING AS LONG AS IT'S CREDITED AND I GET TO SEE IT, I WOULD LOVE IF SOMEONE MADE FANART OF MY WORK I'D ACTUALLY BE SO FUCKING EXCITED THAT I INSPIRED SOMEONE LIKE. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. AKJFAKLFJA.

Okay. Now that everyone knows that they have blanket permission to make fanart of my stuff: Now Kiss would be fun at just about any point, but the moments that stand out to me are when they're sitting with each other on the roof, the morning they wake up on the couch blushing, or the scene where they're lying in bed and looking at each other right before they get together.

Or of course, the DamiTim fic. I'd lose my shit over a shot of Tim sitting on Damian's couch from Damian's POV, or a shot of Damian walking out of the elevator carrying Tim. Or them on the motorcycle. Or another scene during the smut that shall name unmentioned because someone specifically mentioned to me that they might do it.

And actually about five other scenes from chapters I haven't posted yet.

Thank you for the ask bestieeee 💖💖💖💖💖 this was a lovely distraction 💚

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