#this helped me churn out the chapters as fast as i needed for my deadlines

[fairyhaos]

CRAZY GOOD WRITING TIP: if u have a plan down (or a vague outline/ idea in ur head) but you just can't seem to write fast enough, set up your phone and record a hyperlapse video of ur screen as you type. every time i swear it makes my brain suddenly have the energy to get words out super fast

#IM NOT KIDDING. THIS WORKS EVERY FUCKING TIME. #i might mot always have the time to swt up my phone this way but when i was writing this suuuper duper long fic (164k words hahah) #this helped me churn out the chapters as fast as i needed for my deadlines #also u get a cool timelapse vid of the words zooming by on ur laptip acreen haha #yena talks

[professorspork]

I hope this doesn’t come across as like a pushy “update pls” I promise that’s not how I mean it. I’m curious at what point you feel like a multi-chapter fic is ready to post? Do you write it in its entirety and then edit chapters in between updates, write and edit it in its entirety, write most of it and continue writing the rest between updates? I’m very curious about your process since you’ve been writing some monster word count fics

I really appreciate you asking!

The short version is that I've learned over time that what works best for me is completing a work in its entirety before I start posting; above all I like posting on a reliable schedule for my audience, and I simply do not write quickly enough (or coherently enough) to do that any other way. There are a lot of reasons for that and I WILL ELABORATE ON THEM AT LENGTH:

I have several multi-chapter WIPs from the Glee days-- when I was in college-- that I never finished because I'm a delicate hothouse flower when it comes to maintaining hyperfocus, and I found a new fandom to be in before I could complete them. Back then especially, I was much less disciplined about writing sequentially: I would write parts of the story wildly out of order, focusing on whatever interested me most at the time. That means my hard drive is a graveyard of unpublished content, which sucks-- not only did I never give my audience the resolutions they were looking for, but I never got to receive feedback on parts of the story I was really proud of. I found that really dispiriting.

Going to grad school for screenwriting really helped me focus on telling a story in order, because there is literally no other way to write a screenplay than one scene at a time; it's far too reliant on momentum and consistency to jump ahead to "the good bits" and come back. I also did several projects-- writing my multi-chap Frozen&Tangled polyamory epic for a friend's birthday; pre-writing all my 2015 Cartinelli Week one shots far in advance so I knew they'd be perfect come posting day-- where I had a deadline I wanted everything Done By, which got me in the habit of writing to completion before posting. It wasn't something I thought I was going to be capable of because I'm like Tinkerbell, Finn, I need applause to live feedback is incredibly motivating to me, but having the ability to go back and change things in chapter 2 if I realized they weren't adequately setting up what I wanted to do in chapter 5, or whatever, proved to be just as powerful a motivator in a different way-- it meant I could tell the stories RIGHT, if I took my time with them. I also learned to get at least one cheerleader I could leak snippets to as I went, so that I still got the dopamine hit of the feedback even though I'm ages away from posting for real.

I also found that, as a reader, I always really appreciated when authors could stick to an update schedule so I could look forward to new chapters like I would episodes of television. It's not a standard I expect from anyone, but it is something that makes me really happy-- and the two ways to do it are to either write fast enough that you're just constantly churning out new content (not an option for me, especially on the occasions when I'm actually employed and can only write on weekends) or to pre-write and then slow release. it gives me a feeling of... mastery, I guess? Like "hey everyone here's a gift I'm giving you," as opposed to writing and updating when I can, which makes me feel like I'm always chasing something (BEING chased by something?) and risking losing my audience/my own fickle concentration if I were to wait too long.

My "ONLY post after everything is done" rule is a new one, because I burned myself on rely on certain certainties, the last D/s epic I wrote (lmao can you tell this topic interests me). I worked on that for a year and was 132k in with no end in sight when I started posting, but I was part of a Kristanna discord at the time, and I wanted to seize the audience I had before it disappeared-- which is always the danger of movie fandoms, which never have as much staying power. I had hoped that because I had such a big buffer I could keep writing ahead of the updates as they came up from behind, but I tapped out at 172k when I finished the end of an arc. That kills me, because I have SO MUCH unreleased content for that story which will never see the light of day, because-- again-- I'd let temptation win and wrote ahead to The Juicy Bits instead of forcing myself to go in order.

So, two things I've learned:

Only ever outlining the juicy bits that come late in the game, instead of lovingly finessing their every word, is a great way to trick motivate myself into continuing to write in order so that I can GET to the juicy bits, full stop; if I don't exorcise them they keep haunting me and that helps me stick it out until the end

By holding stories back until they're complete, I give myself the ability to complete them because I'm able to dig myself out of holes I've written myself into. In the old days, if I got stuck because I realized the real root of my issue had come chapters earlier and that's why it's not working now, I'd just... be stuck at that wall, unable to move forward, and that would be that. The idea of going back and editing a published story for narrative content is mortifying to me and something I personally could never do, so-- this way I'm giving myself more tools and options, so that I can tell the story I want to tell and tell it right.

In terms of my actual process, I tend to work like this: my most productive time is when my ADHD meds are at full power, so in an ideal world I am writing new content from like 10am to 3pm or so, getting as far as I can in New Content. Evenings, when I'm no longer in Hyperfocus Productivity Mode, I'll go back and reread things-- sometimes chapters from much earlier-- both to entertain myself and to make edits and changes. Often, that's just moving words around here and there for cadence and flow; rarely, it's adding whole new moments or thoughts to the chapters. I try to write In Order as much as possible, getting chapters beta'd as they're completed. I'm a nitpicky perfectionist, so keeping a hold on my early chapters until everything is posted means I can change them over and over and over again without anyone knowing but me, which I love-- and those changes are getting made right down to the wire. even when the fic is "complete" and I'm "only posting" I'm still making edits; some of people's absolute favorite parts of Newsbees were added literally the night before, when it was the "get everything into AO3 and do the final pass for typos and formatting" stage. Like, Penny writing sudokus on the fly for Ruby at the hospital? Ruby thinking in Adam Font? Those were 11th hour strokes of genius.

So yeah-- that's a very long-winded way of saying that I've found writing to completion first not only makes me more likely to actually finish my WIPs, but it makes my WIPs BETTER because it gives me far, far more time with them. I know it's not something that works for everyone, but in terms of my own sense of like, duty and responsibility and goal-setting, it keeps me on track without risking Guilt completely paralyzing me-- which is what happens when I post as I go and then get interrupted.

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY RAMBLE.

#on writing

[studythenight-away]

Hello! As finals season (aka 5-research-papers-due-in-a-week season) dawns on many of you, I thought I would share the process I used to write papers in college. This made writing long research papers much less daunting (but can also work on shorter papers). I really hope this helps some of you who feel stuck. Especially during these ridiculous times, when you're stuck at home and might have other uncontrollable factors affecting your mental health, a clear framework of what to do could be helpful. Good luck, my friends! You got this.

About me

I graduated college in 2018 with degrees in Political Science + International Studies and will be starting law school this fall. I wrote nearly 20 15 to 25-page papers, never earning below an A. I loved researching about my topics but hated writing. It's tedious, takes so much time, and everything I write sounds bad at first. Plus, I was a terrible procrastinator so most of these essays were written in under a week. Talk about stress.

Over time I found a process that worked for me, one that made churning out a paper seem straightforward, like going through a factory line rather than this terrifying concept of writing 10,000 words. It kept me sane without decreasing the quality of my work (or more importantly, how much I learned!) 

I'm thinking about making a short video to show this in action… let me know if that could be helpful!

Step 1: Research

How you organize your research is a key step in keeping you sane. Usually I'll have a pile of 20 books in my dorm along with dozens of JSTOR tabs open on my laptop, and that can get overwhelming very fast. Right now just focus on collecting ideas, not developing an argument or even an outline! As with most research papers, you could be starting with little to no background information on the topic, so it is still too early to be thinking about an argument.

Put all your research in one document

Open up a new doc: this will be the heart of everything. For a 15-page paper I usually end up with around 14-18 pages of typed research, 10 pt font, single spaced, tiny margins. This seems like a lot, but essentially all I do is type up anything I read that seems relevant to my topic, so luckily this step does not require that much brain power. Just type type type!

Use the table of contents

Find the chapter(s) that are actually relevant instead of skimming through the whole book. Time is of the essence here!

Use Zotero, cite right away

You can also use easybib or whatever you're used to, but keep track of your sources. I like Zotero because I can keep a log of all of my sources and copy the footnote or bibliography version whenever needed. Before you even begin reading, cite the source and copy it into your research doc. This will save you so much time later when you have to put in your citations in the actual paper. 

Here is an example of what my research doc looks like:

Full citation is my heading for each source just so it’s crystal clear

I ignore all typos (I don’t think there are any in this part though, go me!) because my head is buried in the book just trying to get all the info down

I always start with the page number so I know what to cite when I go back

Create a shorthand 

While typing up research, you might think of something that the author didn't talk about that you'll want to write in your paper. Or perhaps a few sentences already start to form. Put them all in one place, with your research, so you know what source you'll have to cite to then lead into your idea. I type "!@#" before anything that is strictly my own idea so I'm never confused. It's fast and stands out.

This is an example: the two bullet points above are evidence from my source, which made me think of this argument I could make, which I noted with “!@#”

Step 2: Read Your Research

Now that you have all your information, go back and read through it all. Every time you read about a new theme/person/event, write it down somewhere. You may come up with a list of 20+ different ideas in your research. No matter how small, as long as there is something about it, write it down. Each of these mini themes is going to end up being a paragraph in your paper or combined with another mini theme. 

Once you’ve made your list, look for larger overarching themes. In the paper I’ve shown you, I had mini categories like “political party x” “religion” “labor groups” “little organization” and “hierarchy.” When I looked back I though, hey these are all groups and how groups are working together, so they each became their own mini paragraph under the subsection of “Alliances.”

As with most research paper structures, I try to find three general themes/subsections (like an extended version of that 5-paragraph essay we wrote in middle school). It makes the paper less messy and also makes sure I’m not covering things that are beyond a reasonable scope.

During this step, you are also searching for your thesis. It won’t be your final version. As you fill in your outline in the next step you may make slight changes. But this is definitely when you start thinking about it.

Step 3: Outline

We’re ready to outline! Once I’ve collected all my different themes and organized all my subsections and paragraphs, it’s time to fill in that outline. I start a new doc just for the outline and take advantage of google doc’s headings function to make a clear document outline.

Here comes the fun part, I read through my research one more time, this time copy and pasting all my research into each section of the outline. The document outline in google docs makes this easy because I can just click on each subheading to get me there (super helpful when you’re dealing with 15+ pages of research).

Here is what it looks like:

Let’s say I need to add something to my outline about labor groups. Boom, labor groups. Also, the typos are really abound here haha

Step 4: Write the Paper

Okay, I get it, easier said than done. BUT! You already have everything set up. Your outline is essentially just a list of your paragraphs and all you have to do is paraphrase, cite, and create a topic sentence. And that’s how you should think about this: you’re essentially transforming bullet points into sentences and adding footnotes. 

In high school my English teacher introduced us to Sh*tty First Drafts for creative writing, but honestly the same applies to research papers. Sometimes I’ll even have phrases like “wait no that’s not what I meant but basically...” and when I go back to edit, I realize that what came after “but basically...” is fine! And I keep it. So just start typing.

How do you cite while you write? Because we’re trying to get a constant stream of writing going, inserting proper footnotes after each sentence you type is too bothersome. I usually split screen with my outline and my paper so I just copy and paste a few words from my bullet point into my footnote, like so:

(This is from a different paper about cluster munitions.)

Step 5: Edit the Paper

I work best when I print out my first draft and make all edits in red pen. I feel more productive and can visually see where I want to move sentences and what I need to change. The more red there is the better I can feel the paper getting. (Whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter. We’re trying to stay motivated here!) When it’s all digital I don’t really see the progress. Plus, once I finish all the red, I get another moment of passive brain work, where all I’m doing is transferring edits rather than thinking. And at this point in the process, that kind of relief is much welcomed. 

The good thing about this process is there’s not usually a need to cut entire paragraphs or pages because the paper you end up with is just a formalized version of your outline. Because you started with such a detailed outline, the cutting and editing now is just to refine your word choices and get rid of the “but basically”s. You’re almost there!

Step 6: Replace your citations

Now it’s time to go back and replace your footnotes with actual citations. Zotero makes this easy because in Word you can just insert and add the page number, and it’ll automatically do “Ibid.” for you when needed. Ctrl+f in the original research doc to quickly find the source.

Step 7: One More Read-Through and Submit!

Congratulations!! You’ve got a fully-researched and well-backed paper! Of course, even though the process is straightforward, it’s still a lot of work. In ideal situations I would start researching two weeks before the deadline, but if need be, I believe I’ve done this all in three miserable panic-filled days as well. 

Please message me if you have any questions at all! I really hope some of you find this helpful! Good luck!

#studyblr #college #university #writing #essay #study tips #studytna #original #research #research paper #study #student #school #you can do it!

[saiilorstars]

The Girl in the Forest

Chapter 28: It's You and I

// Story Masterlist //

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x OFC

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

Requested tag: @queenmj10​ @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @perfectlystiles

Chapter Summary: Dahlia plays her final card to win over Klaus who will then bring in a reluctant Maleny. But hey, at least she's back in her original body, hopefully this time it'll stick.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

In her apartment, Amarrah passed the pages of Abigail Rowan's spell book silently, still searching for a spell to help Maleny. She was sat on the couch chair beside the longer couch...where Cami laid unconscious from Elijah's earlier attack. With the help of Alton and Yamilet, they had carried the blonde vampire, along with the coffin holding Maleny's body, to Amarrah's apartment. It had been several hours since the daggering of Klaus, and frankly there was a large question of what to do next.

"You don't have drinks," Yamilet walked out from the kitchen with Alton moments after, "You're French - why don't you have drinks?"

Amarrah raised her look from the spell book, unamused by the woman's antics so far, "Because all I've done since I've gotten to this Quarter is perform spells for vampires. Forgive me if my grocery shopping is a bit lacking."

Yamilet rolled her eyes and plopped down on the smaller couch across her. Just then, Cami began to stir and slowly woke up. Her eyes scanned the immediate area and when it appeared she was confused, the others gently spoke to her.

"Hey," Alton helped her sit up straight, "Do you remember what happened?"

For a moment, it seemed she was going to say 'no' but when her eyes narrowed into a deep glare Amarrah knew she was remembering it all. "It's okay, Cami," Amarrah leaned forwards, "Let it out, it can't be easy to-"

"Screw him!" Cami erupted into loud, angry shouts as she jumped to her feet, "He actually snapped my neck! I can't believe it!"

Yamilet looked upon the blonde in mere amusement, although she did have some sympathy for the woman. "Honey, I learned the hard way that family only uses people." She was completely outraged with the Mikaelsons, or specifically the eldest of the siblings and the mother. To work for them nonstop, going against even your own boyfriend, only to be snatched and used for a wicked revenge plan was an understatement for a "stabbed in the back" statement. It angered her more that the two responsible for losing her body were already dead and not by her hands. "Unless you're one of them, you're dispensable."

"This wasn't any normal back-stab," Cami stopped pacing to take a deep breath, needing to calm down. She straightened and looked around for something.

"It's okay, we brought Mal's body with us," Amarrah assumed that was the blonde's concern. She assumed after what happened last night, Cami would not want to go anywhere near the compound. Alton and Yamilet were then called upon to help move the body out of there at once. Neither of the three remaining Mikaelsons had a word to say about, all feeling terrible for the consequences of their actions...yet not enough to undo it.

"Okay," Cami took another breather, her hands running in her hair while she thought, "Mals' body is here, you've got the spell book…"

"If we could get the spell we need we could have Mal back," Amarrah lightly smiled.

"Yeah, and then she'll wake up to see the giant betrayal her so-called family committed against her boyfriend," Yamilet scoffed and slumped back against the couch.

Amarrah playfully glared at the woman, "You know, I liked you better when you weren't in control of the body."

Yamilet rolled her eyes, "It's only the truth and you all know it. Think about it, do you really want to bring back this Maleny right when her family is quite literally at the brink of war?"

"Yes," Cami firmly replied not even a second afterwards, "Because no matter what they would never hurt her. No, she needs to be here so she can set things straight. And besides, if we don't bring her back who will?"

"What do you mean?" Alton frowned at that.

Cami sighed and stepped back from the couch, once again picking up a slow pace, "Well, the way the Mikaelsons work is they prioritize. Klaus and his paranoia was the biggest problem right now...so they took him out," she shook her head, "Dahlia's deadline is the next thing, meaning," she looked at the trio sadly, "Mal's the last of the priorities right now."

"You think they would forget about her like that?" Amarrah quietly asked, almost appalled at the idea.

"Answer me this," Cami turned to them again, her hands behind her back, "Have they even mentioned bringing their brother Kol back yet?"

The reality hit Amarrah and Alton fast and both sighed. If they didn't work to get Maleny back, then she really wouldn't be back until the whole Dahlia fiasco was completely finished.

They couldn't wait that long, and they wouldn't.

~ 0 ~

Dahlia resided in an unknown crypt of the Quarter's cemetery, preparing for a spell no doubt as she mixed several ingredients inside a cauldron. She dipped her hands into the cauldron full of blood and slowly mixed in the ingredients. The red pendant necklace in which she'd trapped Maleny's soul was now tied around her neck, glowing.

"We define ourselves by our family. From birth, we share their names, entrust them to protect that which we hold most dear. We value them above all others, and yet we are inevitably forced apart. Promises are made and left unkept. Children, in particular, turn their backs on those who raised them, seeking lives of their own. The bond of family is not a bond forged on choice. In fact, some would see family as a terrible burden," she smiled wickedly ahead, expecting some sort of response.

"And you tell me this as a lesson of some sort?" came the bitter, sassy response of Maleny. She stood several feet away from Dahlia, though visible only to the witch. "A lesson where I'm supposed to repent for ever sticking by the Mikaelsons?'"

Dahlia slowly got up and turned to the blonde, "Because of them you are now in my hands," she reminded, gesturing to Maleny, "With one word of mine I can destroy your soul and finally put your dusty old life to sleep for eternity," Maleny gulped, momentarily quiet against the threat. Dahlia went on, "You're only here by my gracious hand, don't forget."

"...and you clearly want something from me," Maleny spoke up again, her voice bearing a hint of more visible fear, "Or else you wouldn't have interfered with my spell."

Dahlia mockingly laughed and turned back to the altar, "Oh I saved you before you really harmed yourself. The spell would not have worked."

"It too would have," Maleny declared sternly, but Dahlia just laughed again, "We had everything we needed. The spell was handed to us by your sister, Esther, before she died."

"And she clearly had to have written the large amount of energy it required, no?"

"Of course, but my friends were more than capable-"

"Your two weaklings of friends?" Dahlia rolled her eyes, "The girl can barely handle herself and the other does not have the skill needed. You would have doomed yourself, Maleny. I saved you."

"Don't pull that crap on me," Maleny crossed her arms, "Get to the point instead. What do you want from me? And fair warning, if it involves harming my family, you might as well kill me."

Dahlia evilly smiled before glancing over her shoulder, "Oh, I should probably mention that your 'family'," she created air-quotes, "has already begun crumbling down with betrayal. You may not be so inclined to defend them when you know."

"Know what?" Maleny stepped towards the woman curiously, detecting a hint of satisfaction from the woman and that, honestly, made her stomach churn.

"Niklaus has been daggered by his family with a dagger made by your very own witch friend," Dahlia turned around to the wide eyed, gaping blonde.

Slowly, Maleny began shaking her head, "No, n-n-n-no...you're lying. You're-"

"I'm not, and you'll see that after I talk to him," Dahlia promised with a pointed finger at Maleny, another arm gestured to the altar, "You see, the spell I'm creating is to speak to him and make an ally of him."

"You're out of your deranged mind if you think he'll accept," Maleny declared, though she was a little nervous of what tricks Dahlia could be trying to pull on Klaus. If he was daggered by his family, then he would wake in terrible fury...fury that would drive him to make awful decisions.

"And, I'm sorry," Dahlia's voice brought Maleny back to the present. She was once again facing the alter, now on her knees and her fingers bloody from the cauldron.

"Sorry for what?" Maleny dreaded to ask, knowing nothing good would be coming out of the woman's mouth.

"You won't be a part of this conversation," Dahlia mumbled a couple of spell words, and though Maleny missed it, her eyes rolled back as the spell began to take effect.

"Stop!" Maleny exclaimed and rushed towards the witch, but it was too late. The witch dropped to her side on the ground, unconscious. "Dahlia!?" Maleny tried shaking the woman awake but her hands made no contact. She couldn't feel anything.

With a defeated sigh, Maleny dropped to the floor herself, leaning against the altar. She pulled her knees to her chest and tilted her head back. She would have to wait...wait and see what her fate, along with the Mikaelsons' would be after Dahlia's 'talk' with Klaus.

~ 0 ~

Rebekah impatiently waited in the St. James Infirmary, where no magic would be able to hurt her, for Marcel. She didn't like being the weakling in her family, but until she managed to de-link herself from the kids Eva Sinclair used for her plan she couldn't jump bodies. So, when she saw Marcel dragging Vincent into the place she was more than urgent to get things started.

"Woah!" Vincent grumbled as Marcel pushed him forwards, "You could have just sent me a text, you know."

Rebekah tilted her head, lightly smiling, "Well, then you wouldn't have answered and only hid from us. And seeing we're a bit short on helpful witches, we couldn't take that risk. I need you to de-link me."

In any other case, they would have asked Amarrah for help, but seeing she was against them at the moment, and Davina having no knowledge of such spells, they wered forced to get Vincent.

"Get on it," Marcel ordered Vincent.

"This kind of dark magic?" Vincent gawked, scratching his head, "It's tricky. Alright? I can reverse-engineer Eva's work, but it's gonna take some time," he glanced at Rebekah, "And you're gonna have to do your own magic!"

Marcel rolled his eyes, "She's not exactly a pro."

"Well, she is exactly in the host body of the witch that's at the center of the link. Besides, I've done my last bit of magic. Now, I wanna help the kids, but after that? I'm done. No more witch business."

"Fine! Get it done," Marcel repeated before addressing Rebekah, "I'll touch base later."

But Marcel only made it a couple of feet when Vincent shouted, "And when we're done? We're all done! I'm not your witch for hire!"

~ 0 ~

"Yeah, Amarrah, I'm on my way back," Cami assured the French woman through the phone, simultaneously sifting through a couple of her family's dark objects in her home.

They had agreed she would go and collect the ones that would possibly help bring Maleny's soul into another inanimate vessel much like Dahlia was using to keep her in. While she looked through objects, Amarrah would try a locator spell on Dahlia. The woman was now in the Quarter and thus much easier to find, considering her deadline was coming up rather fast.

Cami had managed to locate a box that could possibly help them. However, she was interrupted by a knock on her front door.

"Call you back, Ams," the blonde hung up and stuffed her phone back into her jeans pocket before going to answer. The person on the other side was the least person she wanted to see in the world. "And just what the hell do you want, Elijah?" she tilted her head, feigning thoughts of his intentions.

Elijah was equally as uncomfotable as she was, but the problems at hand demanded he forget his own issues and went straight for the solutions. "You don't have to speak with me-"

"Good," Cami grinned and moved to shut the door when Elijah put a foot in between it and the doorhinge.

"-but you do have to help," he finished with a small sigh.

Cami had a good laugh, "Right. I have a lot of things to do, actually, so if you could just go…"

"It's serious, Camille," his sharp, almost scolding tone, angered Cami.

"I assure you what I'm doing is just as serious," she snapped, stepping forwards, "I'm trying to bring my cousin back from the clutches of Dahlia. You do remember her, right? Busts her ass to help you and your family all the time?"

Elijah sighed again, "Of course we mean to help Maleny. But right now, she would agree Hope is the priority."

"And I agree with her, we all do," Cami assured, "So you go do that and leave me the hell alone so that I, along with Amarrah, can help Maleny."

"We need your help as well!"

Cami rolled her eyes, "About what, Elijah? Cos it turns out I don't know much about this Dahlia plan as I thought I did before getting my neck snapped."

"I'm truly sorry about that," Elijah meant to touch her but she stepped away, warning him with the door should he try it again, "I know you must be angry about it-"

Cami's light scoff made him stop, "I was in the beginning, but if you think that's what I'm angry and upset about then it just shows you still don't know me. Just tell me what you want so you can leave."

"It seems that Niklaus' distrust of Freya wasn't entirely misplaced. Freya wants to use Hope to lure Dahlia into a trap," after hearing that from Elijah, Cami was speechless with horror.

"That's...that's horrible!"

"I have another idea," Elijah began again, "Perhaps we can use something else to ensnare Dahlia. I was hoping your dark objects would generate power to create a decoy for Dahlia."

"Okay…" Cami stepped back and turned to the many boxes she had piled around, "...yeah, I can see that working. Dahlia is using Hope as the new beacon for her salvation, but I think I may have some things that could help," she walked towards the needed boxes.

"Thank you," Elijah honestly said as he watched her pick up a box.

"I'm only doing this for the little girl, Elijah," she warned and returned holding the box, "I've learned to love that girl as much as you all have. But that's it. You can take that to Davina who will also probably help if you tell her it's for Hope," she pushed the box to him for him to take, "And also, I should mention that Klaus didn't kill Aiden."

Momentarily confused, Elijah narrowed his eyes at her, "What are you talking about?"

"Before you and your family rudely came in to dagger him, he confessed to Amarrah and I that he didn't kill Aiden. He just took the blame because of some insane dictator-edict about making people fear him."

Although horrified to know they had wrongly accused Klaus, Elijah shook his head, "Nevertheless, had I left Niklaus standing, the very army protecting Hope would have revolted."

"I should be more surprised that this is what you've decided, but I'm not," Cami swallowed hard, "But I should warn you of the wrath he will unleash because of this," and although she was still heavily angry with Elijah, she was still scared of what Klaus could do to him when he was undaggered.

"I am more than aware, believe me," Elijah assured, "But until Hope is safe I cannot undagger him."

"That's on you, then," Cami crossed her arms, "Now can you please leave? I have many things to do."

Elijah nodded, resigned to her anger as he knew he had it very well deserved. "Thank you, and...I'm sorry."

"So am I," Cami whispered and stepped back inside her house, shutting the door and locking it. She breathed in a shaky breath, intending on calming down. She couldn't get emotional, not when, as she had said, there was plenty of important things to do.

~ 0 ~

Klaus didn't know what was worse, still being daggered or being forced to witness Dahlia's memories. Dahlia led him through the solitary woods, no doubt about to show him another memory of his young mother, Esther, betraying Dahlia.

"Very cliché," Klaus remarked about the entire show he was witnessing, "Tell me, did you inspire the witches of Grimm lore? Enslaving young children in a hut on the edge of a dark forest? I suppose you plan for this to be Hope's fate. And yet you foolishly think you can make an alliance with me?"

Dahlia seemed to take offense as she snapped back, "I did not enslave Freya or Nicolas, I kept them from those who abuse our craft, demonized us... and, most importantly, I shielded them from themselves."

The scenery before them changed so that there was a wooden table covered in different herbs and plants. Beside it was a small fire, and around it all were trees with hanging dolls. However, the scene was not part of Klaus' attention - it was the young, teen-looking boy standing in front of the table. While the teen's back was to him, Klaus easily identified him as Nicolas, his son. Without thinking, he stepped towards the scene, almost forgetting it was just a memory and that he wouldn't even be able to touch nor talk to his son.

"Nicolas!? Nicolas!?" he then heard Freya's distinct voice calling. Out came the blonde witch rushing towards Nicolas, "What are you doing out here?"

Nicolas had been holding his hands together in front of him, eyes shut, as he whispered words of a spell. Even when Freya came to him, he didn't stop.

"Nick, stop it," Freya watched the wind pick up around them, "You're gonna hurt yourself…"

"I don't care!" Nicolas suddenly shouted, startling Freya. "I want to find my mum!"

Dahlia sighed at the same time Freya did, making Klaus look at her, "For the entire time I had that boy with me, he only ever uttered two sentences to me: 'I hate you' and 'I'm going to find my mother'."

And although Klaus had several, probably many insults to give to the old witch, he returned his attention to Nicolas. He was studying the teen's features, down to the very last strand of dirty blonde hair on his head. Freya was right, as had been Maleny, Nicolas did look very similar to him.

"Nick, stop this!" Freya was still ordering her nephew. The small fire Nicolas had beside the table grew larger, a dangerous size that even Dahlia had come out to see.

"Nicolas!" she came running towards the teen and violently shook him to snap him out of the sell. She snatched from him the herbs he held between his hands, "Where did you get the yarrow flower?"

Nicolas didn't say anything, only maintained a deep glare on the woman. Dahlia then glanced at Freya for the explanation.

"I did not…" she shook her head.

Dahlia groaned and threw the petals to the side, "You cannot go past the stream, it is too dangerous!"

"I don't care!" Nicolas erupted into yells, "I don't care about your idiotic boundaries! I don't care what punishments you create for me! I simply do not care! And frankly, I don't care for you! Have you ever thought I may want to encounter another person besides you and my aunt? Perhaps my mother? My-"

Dahlia forcibly grabbed his hands, "People are frightened of that which they do not understand."

"I would rather take my chances with them than spend another minute here!"

As the scene progressed, Klaus watched with a hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips. It was more proof that Nicolas was truly his son, and Maleny's. The snaps were of hers, and the booming shouts were his. A perfect blend. A perfect blend that he and Maleny didn't get to see because of Dahlia.

Klaus was brought out of his thoughts at the harsh sound of screams. They belonged to Nicolas who was still furious as ever against Dahlia. There was a strong wind that suddenly picked up around them, clearly due to Nicolas.

"Dahlia…" Freya breathed in evident fear, even taking steps away.

"Freya, leave," the older witch urgently ushered the blonde to leave, "Nicolas, control it. Control yourself!"

Nicolas clasped his hands over his head, the overwhelming power hurting him. As the blonde grew stronger, blood ran down Nicolas' nose. Soon enough, he began coughing up blood as well.

"Focus!" Dahlia ordered repeatedly but things only got worse. Dead starlings along with crows dropped from the sky as if it were pouring rain.

Nicolas dropped to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs as the pain literally felt like bricks pounding down on his head. Dahlia did the same and took him into a hug, still mumbling to him the orders to focus on his control. Slowly, the wind began dying but Nicolas was still shaken up and trembling as his power settled down.

"Sing with me. Calm your heart," Dahlia grabbed him by the head, beginning the familiar tune and soon joined in by Nicolas himself.

Dahlia glanced at Klaus to see he was completely horrified by all that he saw. "Your son had no control over his power. And with his ridiculous temper it was worse."

Although shaken, Klaus didn't fail to throw the blame on her, "You rapidly aged him in a year, after you'd stripped him from his mother."

"A mother who hadn't been there for a over a year," Dahlia calmly reminded him, "And it was not due to my age spell. First-born witches in this bloodline possess devastating power. But do you see…?" she walked towards her younger self and Nicolas, gesturing to their tight embrace, "Freya has painted me to be a thief who enslaved her and Nicolas. But the truth is I helped Nicolas - I saved him," Klaus scoffed, rolling his eyes. Dahlia persisted in her declaration, "If it hadn't been for me arriving to take him your son would have been thrown into the same cycle his mother was forced into. Or worse, he would have been sacrificed completely and died. You may not admit it, but I am the reason Nicolas lives to see the day. Because of me, you will get to see him again."

Although he would never openly admit it to her, Klaus accepted the truth. With Maleny gone, and he unaware of his existence, Nicolas could have easily been killed or cursed. Still, that would not change the fact Dahlia was the enemy hell bent on stealing his other child for revenge. She was the enemy...and she needed to die.

~ 0 ~

Cami wandered through the cemetery searching for Davina in order to get more help for Maleny's cause. However, she stumbled across something far more different instead.

Maleny was still sitting on the ground, against the altar, when she spotted Cami hurrying in from the entrance. "Oh my God," Maleny quickly got up just as Cami came to a stop beside Dahlia on the ground.

"Oh my God," Cami breathed in shock at the sight of the old witch. She was clearly under the influence of a spell.

"You can't hear me...nor see me," Maleny realized sadly, "But I'm right here…"

Cami's eyes were drawn to the red pendant necklace on Dahlia's neck. She gasped, "Mal…" she bent down and with a shaky hand reached for the pendant.

"Cami, don't…" Maleny watched the entire thing in terror. She didn't know when Dahlia would wake up but she certain didn't want to find out when Cami was right there.

But Cami ripped the pendant from Dahlia's neck and cheered, "Oh you're coming with me, Mal!" she stood up and looked around, suddenly seeing the altar, "Ew…we should go, before Dahlia wakes up. I'm sure she won't mind me taking you, Mal."

Maleny scoffed, "No, I mean, she clearly went through the trouble of intercepting the spell for you take me away."

Cami quickly sped out of the crypt, forcing Maleny to disappear and consequently follow.

~ 0 ~

Freya was up in her bell tower performing a locator spell that would find the whereabouts of Hayley in the bayou. She was startled by the presence of Amarrah.

"I'm not here by choice," Amarrah laid the truth, "I'm here because I need information on the pendant you wear," she pointed to the blue pendant necklace wrapped around Freya's neck, "For Maleny."

Freya shifted and pushed some hair behind her ear, "I promised Maleny I would return her to her body, and I do intend on keeping my word-"

"Yes, before or after you kill your loony aunt?" Amarrah strode into the room, half irritated, "Must I remind you Dahlia controls the soul? You don't know if we might need her-"

"You won't," assured Freya, but it wasn't enough for Amarrah.

"Thing is, I no longer trust you or your family. Actually," Amarrah bitterly laughed, "Right now, I would trust Klaus a hundred times more than all of you put together."

Freya sighed, "I'm sorry you got caught in the crossfires, but it was necessary to dagger Niklaus, he would have gotten us killed for sure."

Amarrah rolled her eyes, "Look, I don't care anymore. I only came for information."

Freya looked past the French woman to Elijah who'd appeared at the doorway. Immediately she forgot Amarrah's request and warned Elijah, "I have located Hayley, and I strongly advise you not attempt to stand in my way."

Amarrah glanced back at the suited Original, "Great, two more Mikaelsons' than I needed."

Elijah addressed far nicer than received, "Tell Camille her objects did help us. We'll be using a golem for a decoy," his eyes then darted above her to Freya, "Niklaus' paintings contain Mikael's ashes and the soil. Go to the compound."

"You cannot stop me from getting that baby," Freya warned him again. She didn't want to actually hurt Hope, they only needed to use her as bait against Dahlia.

Elijah disregarded her warning and informed her, "You begin the spell. Prepare the battlefield. I'll bring Hope to you."

Amarrah was horrified to hear such a plan between the family. As Elijah left, she turned back to Freya, "You people are awful - and I thought that way before any of this happened."

Freya sighed, "We won't let Dahlia anywhere near Hope. We only mean to use her as bait to lure Dahlia into a boundary that would render her mortal."

"Clever," Amarrah remarked, mildly impressed, "but that doesn't change the fact you're all evil betrayers."

Freya turned around to the table behind her and gathered up small books, "These are the ones that could help you with Maleny."

"Thank you," Amarrah took the books, displaying a light surprise in her face.

"We may be indeed evil betrayers, but I do genuinely love Maleny and only want her to be safe and back in her body," Freya softly said, "I hope you find what you're looking. And, when this is all over, I will help you sincerely."

"Well, I hope you make it out alive to do so," Amarrah responded with and turned to head out.

~ 0 ~

"So," Klaus took several steps around the now empty woods as Nicolas and the younger Dahlia had made way for their cottage, "Do you intend on receiving a 'thank you' from me because of what you did to my son?"

Dahlia stood across him, watching him carefully, "I would be lying if I said 'no' but I also know that's not how you work so I'll just cut straight to the point."

"Please do," Klaus sarcastically smiled, motioning her to do so.

"I propose a deal in which both sides would win," Dahlia stepped forwards, "I need to rid myself of this slumber spell and at the moment Hope is the only witch with the power to do so. You," she gestured to him, "want to find your eldest child and bring him home. I can make that happen, so long as you allow me to link myself to Hope in order to break the spell."

"And so you would have open range on Hope's power," Klaus scoffed at the terrible idea, "Guess again."

"No, no, I only mean to link myself to Hope for a short period. She's not the first of her generation, Nicolas is," Dahlia smiled wickedly, "And like it or not his power owed to me. He needs me, and when he gets back I will only channel what is necessary from him...while also continuing to train him."

"My, my, that does sound tempting," Klaus said, although whether it was true other yet more sarcasm Dahlia wasn't sure.

"Think about it," Dahlia gestured, "Although, your time is short and really, there is nothing to think about," she waved a hand towards him and suddenly the memories were over.

Klaus awake with a deep gasp inside the coffin his siblings had placed him in. He chucked the golden dagger to the side and scrambled out of the coffin, though his legs weren't quite to the challenge just yet. He was still weak and in desperate need of blood to replenish himself. Still, he needed to leave and figure out what had happened in his absence.

~ 0 ~

"And you just found it!?" Amarrah held up Dahlia's red pendant necklace, still gaping at how Cami had been able to find it so easily.

"Dahlia had it around her neck so I just took it," Cami sighed, once again pacing back and forth.

"And you didn't think to kill the bitch?" Yamilet walked in from the kitchen holding a glass of wine. She flashed a smirk to Amarrah, "Good news, I bought wine now."

Amarrah rolled her eyes, "Of course you did."

Cami stopped pacing to answer Yamilet, "I couldn't have. Dahlia's protected by that immortal slumber spell. If I did anything she would've killed me the moment she woke up. I had to leave her there."

"But that's okay because you took the most important thing," Amarrah gently placed the necklace on the table side of the couch, "Now at least we have a chance at helping Mal."

"We have the body, we managed to get the spell books and the pendant," Cami smiled proudly, "Let's get to work, ladies."

~ 0 ~

Elijah and Rebekah gathered in a lounge room to hear a rather devastating voicemail from Hayley. Unbeknownst to them, Klaus was also listening in from outside.

"Elijah... I'm calling to say goodbye. Hope and I... we can't be part of your family anymore. All Hope's life, her family has tried to destroy her. That can't be my little girl's story. Family is supposed to love you. Even if you take down Dahlia, Hope would still be Klaus' daughter. She'd inherit a thousand years of enemies, all his anger and rage... I don't want Hope to be a Mikaelson, all the pain that comes with that name... She doesn't deserve that. Goodbye."

Klaus was beyond reason to hear his daughter was being taken from him. This was why Elijah had daggered him!? That would not be how the story ended. He would not lose his second child, not if he had anything to say about that.

~ 0 ~

Dahlia was in a near similar rage as Klaus was, but hers was directed towards the thief who'd taken her pendant off her neck. While she left a new spell working on the altar, she performed another one to see who had entered the crypt beside her. After a moment though, she heard someone else coming.

She smiled upon seeing Klaus stumbles his way inside, "I knew you were the smartest of your siblings. There's no brute Viking blood in those veins. I'm glad to see you made the right decision."

"You're gonna have to do one more thing for me to truly accept," Klaus warned her, masking the anger he held inside, "Maleny, you took her - I want her back, and I want her now."

If he had come in earlier Dahlia would've felt a little nervous, but now that she had an idea of where the soul of the lost woman was, she merely smiled, "Lucky for you I have a pretty good guess where is right now. But you will have to acquire strength for you to retrieve her. Shall we?"

"You need to hurry, Hayley is attempting to flee with my child," Klaus made way to sit down across her.

Dahlia scoffed as she mixed her fingers in the cauldron of blood, "They won't get far," she assured.

Her spell caused a rather violent crack of thunder above in the sky, specifically the bayou. There was no way Hayley would be able to escape anytime soon.

~ 0 ~

Dahlia watched Klaus place Maleny's empty body over a sacrificial table inside the crypt, mildly surprised at the upmost gentlest way Klaus dealt with the blonde woman. After having him feed all morning on various tourists for strength, the change was by far drastic.

"Did you bring it?" she inquired soon after the body was put down.

Without looking away from Maleny, Klaus pulled out the red pendant necklace of Dahlia and held it out. However, when Dahlia reached for it he jerked it back. He have her a sideways glare, "If you do anything to prevent her from returning to her body I will tear you to pieces myself."

Dahlia took the threat with a mere nod and finally took her necklace. She turned for the altar that was now altered to fit Maleny's spell. "Such measures you go for that woman," she remarked casually.

Klaus passed a hand down Maleny's hair, "She's the only one that ever stood by me, in all her lifetimes."

Dahlia dipped the pendant into the cauldron, glancing over her shoulder, "And are you so sure she would continue to do so even after she learns of your alliance with me?"

"Yes. She wants Nicolas just as much as I do, and she wants Hope to be safe as well," Klaus spared her a momentary glance, "She'll do it."

"If you're so sure," Dahlia mumbled before speaking at normal volume, "Step back, I'm about to begin."

Klaus hesitated a minute, knowing the complete risk he was taking. But time was running out and Amarrah, although powerful in her own way, compared nothing to Dahlia's skills. Taking a breath, he took steps away from the body and allowed Dahlia to take over.

Dahlia held the pendant over Maleny's body, circling as she chanted her spell. The pendant glowed a crimson red, growing stronger the more Dahlia chanted. Like a horror movie, Maleny gasped awake at the same time thunder rumbled. She sat upright with a terrible yelp, as if being attacked. It didn't get better when she saw Dahlia right in front of her.

"Dahlia!"

Klaus sped up to her, at the same time pushing the old witch away, "Mal! Mal! It's okay! Look, it's me!" he grabbed her head, forcing her scanning eyes to land on him, "It's me, you're gonna be fine now, I promise you."

As everything settled inside her mind, she released a breath, "Klaus? What happened? One moment I'm at Cami's, and the next moment you come in and steal the necklace and my body…" her eyes moved past him to Dahlia, her tone turning distasteful, "...for her?"

"You saw?" Klaus asked, glancing back at Dahlia for an explanation.

"The soul was able to portray itself outside the necklace," she shrugged, "Only visible to me of course."

"Lucky me," Maleny threw her a glare, "I would have rather been completely trapped inside a two inch necklace thank see you all the time."

Dahlia looked at Klaus instead of responding to the blonde, "She's a lovely one, there. We have work to do," she seemed to be turning back for the altar when she feigned a surprised gasp and faced the pair, "And if you were thinking about double crossing me, Niklaus, you may want to hold off for now."

Klaus saw the devilish smile the woman had specifically for Maleny and frowned, "What did you do?" he didn't think twice before speeding the woman against a wall.

Dahlia remained at ease and simply reached for a nearby herb with thorns. She pushed Klaus away from her and gestured to the root and her palm then gently pricked her skin.

"Ow!" they heard Maleny yelp from her spot on the table. Klaus turned around to find the blonde staring at her palm that now had a small blood circle...just like Dahlia did.

"You linked yourself to her!?" he angrily turned back to Dahlia, "I warned you-"

"It's a one-sided link. Anything that happens to me will happen to her. It's simply an insurance for me that you won't try to pull one over me," Dahlia crossed her arms, "She'll be fine, and once I can link myself to Hope's power Maleny will be free."

"What did she just say about Hope!?" Maleny had completely disregarded about her linking and focused on the delirious idea of Dahlia linking to Hope, "You're gonna what!? Klaus, is there something you want to tell me!?"

Dahlia smiled calmly, "I should let you two have word, I'd rather none of this couplish stuff come out at the wrong time and cost us the child."

Maleny watched the woman head into a small side room in horror, "Cost you the what!?" she hopped off the table, ready to go after Dahlia.

"Maleny!" Klaus grabbed her from behind, yanking her away, "We have to talk…"

Maleny pushed him away, getting riled up with him as well, "What are you doing? What am I doing here!? What is going on!?"

"Shh, shh," Klaus tried to calm her but she swatted away his hands.

"Don't shh me!" she exclaimed, now warning him with a finger, "Do not ever 'shh' me!" she stepped closer to him, "I don't care if you're a legendary hybrid I will make you regret that."

"MALENY!" Klaus finally lost his patience and shouted, startling the blonde quiet for a minute, "You have to do as I say for this to work…"

"I'm honestly afraid to listen," Maleny crossed her arms, "I know you're angry for what your siblings did to you, so I imagine your next actions will be painful and pretty gruesome."

"Mal," Klaus rested his hands on her arms, "I have a plan that can save Hope and bring back our son, I promise."

"But with her?" Maleny whispered, fearing Dahlia could be overhearing.

"For the time being, yes," Klaus nodded, moving his hands to cup her face, "But you have to do exactly as I say. And I'm sorry, but there's already one complication."

Maleny searched his eyes for any glint of deceitful hints, but once again for her they were truthful. She walked away from him, trying to think for a moment. "You're not an idiot-" behind her, Klaus playfully rolled his eyes, "-so there has to be something to this." She turned sideways, her face displaying the weariness that was slowly filling her up from the inside. "Will it really bring back our son? And keep Hope safe?"

Klaus walked up to her again, confidently nodding. He laid a hand on her cheek and looked her directly in the eyes. "I promise you it will. And we will put this curse of yours to an end for good."

"Prioritize me last please," she whispered, "I want my son. And I want Hope. I want them both in our home, getting to know each other and living peacefully like they deserve."

"All of it will happen, Maleny, but do you promise to listen to me?"

"I do...but you should know by now I am probably your weakest link in this plan-" she truthfully tried to warn him but Klaus chuckled. "You should get your family and-"

"You are my family," Klaus had lost his playfulness and spoke with the utmost honesty. He cupped her face and gave her that crooked smile she came to love so long ago. "Out of everyone you are always standing beside me, never giving me a reason to doubt you. You are my strongest link. You're my motivation."

Maleny felt she was blushing like a teenage would after hearing all that. "Pretty words, Mr. Mikaelson...I think I may just accept..."

Klaus' lips stretched to smile wider. "My love, we have a lot of work to do."

#ocappreciation #the originals #klaus mikaelson #fd: the originals #klaus mikaelson fics #klaus mikaelson imagines #the originals imagines #the originals fics #oc: Maleny Rowan #fic: the girl in the forest

[gerrydelano]

I keep going to write stories, listening to songs that inspire me but... but I just sit there getting emotional about the stories and not writing them. How, HOW, do you get to 43 pages? Any hinters? This isn't meant to be pushy btw, it's okay if you don't want to answer, I love your blog!

oh. oh g-d i’m sorry to be misleading that’s how long my PLANNING document is KJDHKJDSK that’s just the outline! 

…which. i now see may actually make this look even worse oHGHG. sorry! 

this isn’t pushy, dw, i’m just. when it comes to stamina and page count, my personal standards are deeply skewed, so i’m not sure i’m the best person to ask? i did surprise myself, though, and finally came up with a list, so i hope this helps some!

first off, like. when i say my perception is deeply skewed, i mean it. i actually really damaged myself very badly when i churned out 390 pages in 10 weeks during the Great Manic Episode Of 2019, so anything i do now never feels #Enough even though i know that was. a superhuman feat that required literal months of recovery lol. 0/10 recommend.

so my advice is this!

do not stress yourself out! take it easy.

ride the wave, man. just go with the flow! find your personal schedule and just, write when you can, whatever comes to mind.

don’t hold yourself to unrealistic deadlines. deadlines have helped me to motivate myself, but they also stressed me out; if deadlines help you to keep a goal in mind, by all means, go for it! but do NOT put your health at risk just to meet a deadline writing a fic or something, it is not worth the brain pain that’ll come with it. your readers can wait! you are more important.

do what makes you comfortable and happy, don’t base your creative process around what other people might be expecting from you, don’t do it for anyone but you.

don’t compare yourself to other writers. certainly don’t compare yourself to me; i’m a statistical outlier and i should literally NEVER be counted.

(really, though. one of the worst habits i have is comparing myself to other writers and feeling guilty and jealous every time someone either churns out something really long or really fast, because i feel like i should constantly be doing Better than i am doing. it’s all bullshit, babey!!!! don’t let yourself fall for it when your brain starts telling you that type of shit. your accomplishments are special and impressive and if you’re proud of it, that is ALL that matters!)

plan things out in a way that works for you. make an outline that suits you and is accessible and easy to follow! it doesn’t have to look like my example ones (which i show in this response about how i plan my projects), it needs to be YOUR speed and YOUR style and you have to be able to actually USE it. get creative! have fun with the outline.

seriously, my 43 page long outline is going to help me write the 32+ chapter series. i would not be able to do THAT without the outline. make OUTLINES.

separate things into documents and like, keep notes in the document underneath what you’re writing so you can see it/cross out whatever you cover as you cover it. that helps me visually!

i find that i CAN’T write if i’m sitting right next to ren because i get paranoid, and i can’t write when there’s music or TV on. however i CAN write in places like cafes and dining halls where there’s ambiance and foot traffic? though that’s not super applicable during quarantine times, it’s definitely something to keep in mind for the future. find settings that make you comfortable and help you focus! 

for me, the hardest part of writing is sometimes just. figuring out that first sentence. i’ll have a whole outline but until i come up with that hook, i’m LOST and i’m staring at my doc for days. once you come up with that sentence, take the fuck OFF and RUN just GO GO GO find your rhythm and your tone and stick with it!

don’t be afraid to just write without editing as you go, like. i’m an animal (read: evil awful demon) so i get real pedantic in the moment and honestly when me and ren beta each other’s shit it’s just us screaming at the content we hardly EVER actually EDIT each other’s stuff, so everything of mine is virtually 100% unedited hgjhvkbjn.

DO NOT DO THAT! do not be us!!!! we are bad examples!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

seriously, just write EVERYTHING that comes out and come back to it later, don’t judge yourself as you’re doing it just live in that moment and pop it out and THEN go back and fix it. 

really, i am assuming most people are not off the rails like us and would greatly benefit from giving themselves some breathing room. don’t be afraid to produce drafts before you worry about the Final Version. no piece of writing is ever actually finished. there is ALWAYS something to change.

forgive yourself. be proud of yourself. be kind to yourself. encourage yourself. LOVE your work. ENJOY what you’re doing. don’t punish yourself while trying to do what you love. if you set a standard and don’t meet it, forgive yourself and try again.

honestly, a good tip i saw once was “set a standard that would be almost IMPOSSIBLE to NOT meet, and you’ll end up going above and beyond that just because you want to.” like instead of telling yourself to write 500 words a day, tell yourself you’ll write 100. or even less, like 75! because i can guarantee you’ll get going and word count and realize “oh shit, i hit 200 without realizing? y’know, i have enough energy to keep going!” and it’ll be a really nice way to kind of train yourself into feeling a LOT more accomplished than you might if you said “i’m gonna write 1000!” and only wrote 230. 

length wise, for me, it’s just. i really do have Can’t Shut The Fuck Up disease. i have… terrifying stamina when i really get in a zone, which usually requires literally being manic, or it being between the hours of 3-7 in the morning. neither of which are ideal conditions! don’t be like me, i really am off my shits like 90% of the time. i have no real advice because i don’t know how i manage it most of the time, i really do just get an idea and just go.

so, that part is a personal thing that i can’t help you with. the best i can do is advise you on how to cultivate your own setting that is comfortable and conducive to your personal creative process!

wow look at me i sound so smart 😊

anyways

just, do not do not do NOT compare yourself to other people that may be the most important piece of advice in that list up there i can tell you right now it’s a surefire way to really hurt yourself and damage your art so just make sure you are setting your own pace and doing what you love FOR YOU okay! okay i hope some of this helps jgvhbknkm good luck also thank u ilu!!!!

#as a sidenote i just found out tsp is currently about 187 pages long. that is. so sad LMAO #r.writes #writing tag stuff idk! #anon #asks

[fairstarlights]

​Crowns and Thorns

Chapter Summary: Virgil’s first day of work doesn’t go exactly like he expected it to.

Chapter Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 2,060

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

-- Chapter 6 --

By Monday, Virgil was feeling right at home in his new place. He had gotten plenty used to tea now and eating a bit better than he used to, thanks to the food that was given to him over the weekend. Even though he was still a little upset about Roman, he was actually coping pretty well. Keeping busy was the easiest way to keep the nerves at bay. 

Today was an official work day and he was currently putting on an outfit that was picked out for him that weekend. Specifically the black one with the purple accents and trimmings. Virgil slung his messenger bag, with the required documents inside, over his shoulder and looked himself over in the mirror. He nervously adjusted his clothes and sighed.

“I hope I leave a good impression.” This was his first time going to the castle and potentially meeting King Thomas, he didn't want to look stupid. He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe I should have gotten that hair cut.” Ugh, he didn't have time to deal with that right now. Grabbing the card that would let him in and out of the castle, Virgil left for the castle.

He bought a muffin on his way because old habits die hard. Roman used to make them for him all the time and were always delicious. It was a fair deal because Virgil would grow the ingredients himself, without magic most of the time. These muffins were great, don't get him wrong, but his magically grown ingredients and Roman's own magic made the perfect recipe for the perfect muffin. Before he can think too much about the lack of magical properties his current muffin had and made him lose his appetite, he shoved the rest of it into his mouth. He is grace.

As Virgil approached the castle gates, he noticed guards idling near by and chatting among themselves. He imagined Roman being among them one day and his stomach churned uncomfortably. No! He had to focus on his work. He approached the guards and held out the card for them to read. One of them curiously took the paper and... then laughed?

“You have to be kidding right? We haven't been informed of any new messengers.” Must to Virgil's horror and shock, the guard tore up the card and threw them into the air. He had a smug air about him. “You'll have to be more clever than that. Now stop bothering us and go find an actual job.”

“No, Logan and Patton gave me-” Virgil's words got cut off and he leaped back a few steps as a sword was suddenly pointed at him along with a glare.

“I said get lost, boy.”  

Virgil glared right back, he held up his hands as he backed up before turning around and walked off. Shit. What was he supposed to do now? He can't just not deliver. Logan and Patton would get angry for investing into him and then thinking he wouldn't do the job. He could be reported to King Thomas and executed since he was technically working for him. Shit shit shit. He stopped walked and thought about a way to somehow get a hold of Logan or Patton. 

People moved around him as he stood in the square, someone bumped harshly into him and he went to lash out but the person seemed to have disappeared into the crowed. City people were assholes. That was the least of his worries right now, because he still had to get into the castle. 

He looked around for anything that might give him some sort of answers but all he saw were people and the tree's that surrounded the area. That was all- wait- wait! He shoved his way through the crowd towards the trees and quickly stepped into them once he was finally able to make it without people trying to fight him for shoving them aside. He had a job to do!

Going in a bit further till he couldn't see anyone anymore, he headed towards the castle. He rushed through the tree's, weaving as fast as he could. Luckily he was small and light, it gave him extra agility and speed. Whatever he had, he had to meet this deadline even if it killed him. 

Well, no, he wouldn't risk his life to get some paper to these people. Yet, as he approached an unguarded part of castle that was shrouded in trees and looking up at it, he realized he was thinking of just that. He felt the stone wall in front of him and ran his fingers over it before digging his fingers in and positioning his feet, he hoisted himself up and managed to stay attached. Win! 

He slowly scaled the castle walls while mentally telling himself not to look down because he could imagine falling to his sure death. Not that breaking into the castle is a death sentence in itself. He hesitated at the thought and his fingers started to slip. He grabbed harder and kept climbing, if he stops then that's just another death sentence.

The top was starting to become visible. He latched onto the top and lifted himself up to peer over the top. After looking around and coming to the conclusion that no one was around, he climbed to the top and sprawled out on the solid ground, panting. He needed to work out more, this was not what he signed up for. After a few more minutes of rest he sat up and looked around. He was near a door and deemed that way too risky, if he just waltzed on in and was immediately caught, then it would be harder to talk his way out of it than if he was already in and walking around.

After checking his surroundings, Virgil spotted a spot over the roof that told him that a window was near. He climbed over the side and dangled his legs before swiftly turning himself around and hanging off the top. He dug his feet and his fingers back into the wall and scaled over to the window. Once by the ledge he stepped onto it and rested his fingers against the window for balance. 

Once he was sure he was stable he sighed and rested against it. Wrong move because the window gave way, opening so that he tumbled inside. He wasn't hurt, but that could have gone so much worse. Like someone being in the room while he stepped into the window ledge. He rotated his left shoulder and winced, shit, he might have torn something.

What took his attention away from his shoulder was the sound of footsteps. Adrenaline kicked in and he looked around the room. It was a bedroom. He took a dive under the bed and pressed himself against the wall just as the door opened. Virgil held his breath as the person walked around, grabbed something on the wardrobe, and turned to walk away, but paused and took a step towards the bed before hesitating and then turning away, walking out and closing the door behind them. Virgil let out a sigh and put a hand over his racing heart. Gods that was close. He crawled out and dusted himself off, it was very dusty under there.

Virgil made his way to the door and pressed his ear to it and waited to see if he heard any sort of noise. It was strange that there wasn't, he half expected the castle to be busy at all times, but maybe it was later than he thought and it was nearing lunch time. That would make him roaming the halls look all that much more suspicious.

 “I'm going to have to just wing it.” Like he had been this whole time? Or was that all just really bad and dumb luck combined. It was almost scary how easily he actually broke into the castle. The woods were scary, sure, but leaving it unguarded like that made it that much more prone to being infiltrated. If he were more experienced, he probably could have done all this much easier! He pulled the door open with confidence fulled purely by anger and took a right, hoping that it was the right way.

As he made his way down the hall he heard voices ahead and scanned the area, no place to hide. Except... he did a stealthy climb up to the second lowest rafters of the ceiling and waited till the people passed. Then Virgil got a better sound of the mysterious voices. It was Logan and Patton. They were flirting. Of course they were. Ugh. They were going to pass right under him soon...

“-and you looked so cute with all that flour in your hair.” Patton giggled.

“I am not cute, I believe you claim that title, my dear.”

“If that's what I am then what are you- wait- that's not how that- EEEEEK!”

While Patton and Logan were conversing, Virgil had lowered himself onto the lowest rafter and waited until they were close enough to jump off of it and land in front of him. He did land on his butt, but he still managed to time it right.

Virgil looked up at Patton and Logan, who were looking at him with shock. Mostly Patton, who looked like he was just told that his pet died. Logan composed himself faster and let go of Patton, who he had shielded behind his back. Or maybe Patton hid there himself, he didn't exactly land gracefully enough to be able to see it himself.

“H-” Logan started but Virgil held up his hand.

“Side of the castle, part that is hidden in the tree's is completely guarded. I climbed up, broke into a room and then hid in the rafters until you came by.”

“Oh honey, your shoulder!” Patton said after a few minutes of taking it in. His shoulder? Virgil moved it and winced.

“I think I landed on it earlier, I'm fine.” Patton went to, most likely, protest that he wasn't fine but Logan spoke first.

“Despite your injury, I would say that you passed your test with flying colors.”

“Test?” Virgil asked as Patton helped him up.

“Yes. You see, we needed someone who was agile and had quick thinking skills to be more than just a delivery person for the castle. You see, that title is just a cover for what we really need.” Virgil guessed that by the look on his face that Logan knew he needed to explain further. “We need spies, Virgil. We've tried testing others, but they failed to do anything within the bounds of what you were just able to do. Which is impressive just to give us a few scrolls.” Logan raised a smug eyebrow and Patton was smiling his innocent smile, which Virgil was learning that it was very deceiving.

“If you would like to know more, then please follow us. I'm sure King Thomas would like to meet you and fill you in himself.”

A test? Spy? Meet the King? “Holy shit.”

“Language.”

“English.” Virgil responded sassily back to Patton, who just giggled.

“If you're done, we have somewhere we need to be.” Logan said as he turned around and started back down the hall, Patton quickly catching up to him. It a took a few seconds for it process as Virgil stumbled to catch up with the two, now less obvious, love birds. Soon they reached a door and Logan knocked three times. “If that's you Logan and Patton, please come in.”

Virgil's mind halted as he registered the Kings voice and thought of booking it as Logan turned the door handle. His hand was grabbed and Virgil looked to see Patton's hand. “Breathe, kiddo. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.” After doing a few rounds of that with Patton's coaching, he noticed that Logan had yet to open the door. He hid under his bangs in embarrassment and Logan waved him off.

“It is natural to be nervous.” Logan smiled a little bit and Virgil nodded, indicating he was good. He did one more round as Logan finally pushed the door open.

-- Fic tag  --

@laytonsartblog,  @ambrechandra, @for-real-fandom

#sanders side fic #sanders sides fanfiction #virgil sanders #ts virgil #logan sanders #ts logan #patton sanders #ts patton #roman sanders #ts roman #logicality #prinxiety #sanders sides #my work #pls leave a comment #plsssssss

[ladylynse]

I don't know why, but I often feel like I'm not writing enough and it stresses me out

Hey, Anon. You’re not alone, and your brain is lying to you when it says you should be writing more, at least if it’s fanfic and not something you’re being paid to do. I know that doesn’t help much, but it’s the truth. Everyone writes at a different pace, and how fast you write will change depending on what’s going on in your life, not just how excited you are for your own story or how well you know where it’s going. 

I also look back at the fics I haven’t updated in half a year, the collab I haven’t touched in years months, the sequels that never came to fruition, the ideas I want to write but still sit unwritten or languish partly finished, even the three sentence fic requests that sometimes sit in my inbox for days or weeks, and feel like I’m not writing enough. Like I’m disappointing other people. Because I’m not fast enough, or that if it is fast-ish, because it’s not good enough, or because it just doesn’t meet their expectations (or I don’t think it’ll meet people’s expectations). And sometimes I let that get to me, and I just get worse. It gets harder to write, the words just aren’t there or don’t fit, or the scene doesn’t work or the characters are too OOC or the plot idea sounds much worse than it first did, and I typically remember every bad review I’ve ever gotten and start to think they’re right–even when the good reviews outweigh the bad.

Don’t get me wrong. Positive feedback is a wonderful thing. But as much as having other people express excitement/joy/tears/anticipation over whatever you’ve written or are writing helps immensely, that won’t give you more time to write, or make you mentally refreshed enough to be able to plan/think/write coherent sentences (let alone edit them), or give you the energy to even contemplate writing if you’re exhausted. 

And–especially if you are talking fanfic–every person who just demands an update and doesn’t say anything else about your work seems to add to the burden. And that burden makes it harder to even start when you do have time and technically could be writing. Because there are expectations, and now there’s also guilt, and when you’re forcing yourself to write, you hate every word put down, and you call yourself a bad writer. A bad person, maybe, if you’re prone to extrapolation and your brain has a tendency to believe the lies you tell yourself when they serve to wear you down.

But you’re not a bad person, and you’re not a bad writer.

You just need a break.

If you’re trying to write because you think you have to, not because you want to, then you need to stop for a while. You need to allow yourself time to recharge. Because if you’re not having fun, if it’s too much like work and you’re just failing each self-imposed deadline and beating yourself up over it, you’re only making things harder for yourself. And if you ever hit a point where you feel like you’re just churning out fic after fic or chapter after chapter and you’re burning out and no one (or very few) seems to appreciate it, instead just demanding more? You need to take a step back. You’re not a machine. You shouldn’t treat yourself like one or let other people treat you like one.

Writing fanfics should be a hobby, something you enjoy. It shouldn’t be something that causes you stress, and when it is, you need to take it out of your life for a bit. That probably sounds counter-intuitive when the stress is over not writing enough, but in reality you’re probably stretching yourself too thin and placing unrealistic expectations on yourself, and you need to take a step back in order to see that.

If you don’t have any idea how much of a break you need but you suspect it’s not a short one, throw up a note in your profile and/or in the summary of your WIPs to let people know you’re going on hiatus for a bit. The vast majority of people will understand, and you owe nothing to the few who don’t. (You owe nothing to anyone, really, because you’re doing this for free, but a note is nice for the rest of the people so they don’t wonder if something terrible happened to you.) You aren’t a lesser person or a lesser writer for taking a break you need. It’s more important that you take care of yourself first. And it helps, or at least it’s helped me in the past.

And when you do get back to writing? If you get back to writing? Try to fight the temptation to compare yourself to others, especially in terms of update speed. Some people write their entire fic before they post it. Some people plan their entire fic before they write it. Other people happen to have a lot of time on their hands. Others don’t have a lot of time but choose to spend most of what they do have writing. Everyone’s different. You need to figure out what works for you. If you find you work better with a set update schedule because you’re better when you have a deadline, great. But if you’re late, try not to feel too guilty. Life happens–even if it’s in terms of a wonderful distraction from writing as opposed to being super busy with important stuff. If you’re better off writing a few chapters before you ever post one, and you always try to keep ahead of yourself as you’re writing so you have a buffer for posting when you don’t have time/don’t feel like writing, that works, too. If it’s completely sporadic, everywhere from multiple updates in a week to months of radio silence? That doesn’t make you a terrible writer. Anyone who likes your story enough will wait for you. (A couple of stories I’d reviewed and followed back in 2012 were updated and completed last November after six years of no activity from the writer whatsoever. It was wonderful. I hadn’t thought they’d ever get finished, and I’d been resigned to that fact but happy to get as much of the story as I did, so I was absolutely delighted when they were finished and made a point of telling the author as much.) 

And me, personally? I’m a lot slower than I used to be. I used to be able to churn out about a 4 K chapter a week. Now I can’t, and I feel bad about that. (I feel very bad when I think about those months-between-updates fics.) But my life circumstances have changed–I really don’t have as much time as I used to and sometimes I find it a lot harder to write than I used to (emotionally, I mean)–and I’ve changed as a writer. I try to give myself credit for the fact that I keep going, but sometimes that still doesn’t feel like enough. And that’s when I need to remind myself that I’m not who I used to be, and I’m not that person whose fic I’m following who faithfully updates every Saturday, and that I’m doing this because I love writing, not because I owe people updates. 

You’re you, Anon, not anyone else, in your own unique circumstances, and you don’t owe people updates, either. And you certainly don’t deserve to be causing yourself additional stress over not being able to write enough. There is no enough, no magic word threshold that you should be reaching in a certain period of time (not when you’re doing this for free, anyway). Enough is as much as you feel you can do, however much that is and however much that changes from week to week, month to month, and year to year. Enough is as much as makes you happy or makes you feel that you’ve achieved something. (Sometimes, I’m prouder of a single sentence (or, let’s face it, half a sentence) than three paragraphs or three pages, even if they all took the same amount of time.) Enough is not stress and guilt and desperation and self-hatred; enough is enjoyment.

#ladylynse #asks #writing #that...was a longer response than I thought it would be when I started #Anonymous #long post #at least if the read more doesn’t show up

[lady-charinette]

The Cute Suspect Chapter 4 - Adrienette AU Cop!

Chapter 4

“Miss Dupain-Cheng? I’m Captain Bourgeois, your new babysitter.”

Marinette swallowed, eyes locked onto cold blue ones, “Babysitter?”

The blonde flicked her hair over her shoulder, the sudden slam and locking of the door making her wince, “Precisely, I’ll be making sure you behave while officer Agreste is at work.” Without any hesitation, the woman took off her shoes and hat, before guiding Marinette by her elbow towards the living room.

Marinette clumsily followed, frowning at the slight pressure on her elbow, but begrudgingly following to not aggravate the female policewoman. It was obvious she meant business and Marinette was never one to mess with the law.

Well….until…that incident.

Marinette was deposited on the couch, while the captain strolled into the kitchen. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Plagg watching her, he seemed relaxed enough, but not overly affectionate as he was towards his owner or Marinette.

The captain stopped beside the black cat, scrunching her nose, “Someone needs a bath.”

Plagg hissed, but it was no serious threat, his tail was still relaxed, back not hunched and he promptly walked over to Marinette, who gently scratched his head. He laid down near Marinette’s feet, as if to guard her against the blonde woman.

Marinette wondered what relationship the woman had to Plagg, to Mr. Agreste in general. He called her a friend, but she seemed so casual in his home, as if she knew exactly where everything was, as if she practically lived there.

As it turned out, she did. The blonde woman opened cupboards and drawers Marinette hadn’t explored yet, effortlessly taking out ingredients, utensils and setting up water to boil.

The sleeves of her uniform were meticulously rolled up, folded, before she set to work on the cutting board.

The minute Marinette’s chains rattled when she wanted to stand up and ask if she could help, the rhythmic sounds from the knife hitting the cutting board stopped and the woman’s back grew even more rigid if possible, her head tilted so she caught a glimpse of the suspect from the corner of her eyes.

The dark-haired woman froze, feeling like a deer caught in headlights, before her trembling lips finally stilled enough to speak, “Uhm…do…do you need help-“

“No, thank you.”

The answer was curt, sharp and painless.

The woman suspected this was how the rest of her day with the captain would go.

Mr. Agreste mentioned the woman was a friend, how could such a kind man like him possibly be friends with someone like her?

“Ice queen.” Marinette’s thoughts halted abruptly when the captain moved her head, as if actually hearing her thoughts, before she dumped what looked like chopped up vegetables into the pot filled with water.

Exhaling in relief, Marinette felt her body sag back against the couch. She saw Plagg jump onto the empty spot next to her, cuddling up to her side and purring contently, his head resting on the side of her stomach.

Marinette petted his head, feeling slightly more reassured about her situation, it remined her of Tikki nuzzling her to comfort her whenever she had deadlines to meet or an overload of work on her designs.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng,” the authoritative voice caused Marinette to straighten automatically, “Have you or have you not been responsible for the robbery at the store?”

She didn’t expect the straightforward question, weren’t police officers supposed to interrogate her first? Maybe use sly tactics or intimidation or a play with words to butter her up? Did only detectives do that?

She swallowed, stiffening, lips set into a thin line.

She wouldn’t, she gave her word.

After another moment of silence, captain Bourgeois finished cleaning the knife and cutting board and set it aside, stirring the pot, not once turning to face the suspect, “I see.” She paused briefly, as if thinking, “Armed robbery gets you either three years in jail or up to eight in repeat and especially violent offenses. According to the background check we did of you, you’re not a repeat offender, which will lessen your sentence. Your sentence will also be lessened if you confess the identity of the other offenders involved.”

Marinette sat still, listening to the captain recite it so easily, like a bullet from a shotgun, quick, precise, fast. Her stomach churned, she couldn’t rat out the others, but she was the only one caught, she would be the one sent to prison. What would maman and papa think? What of her job at the designing company?

A shaky breath left her lips, feet nervously shifting against the carpet, “I-I know what you’re doing, I won’t tell anything.” She didn’t dare look at the woman’s back, least she turned and pierced her soul with those icy eyes.

The captain huffed, but gave no other reaction to her statement, except, “Suit yourself, Miss Dupain.”

Something hardened within Marinette and she spoke through grit teeth, a fierceness to her voice that wasn’t there before, “It’s Dupain-Cheng, Miss Bourgeois.”

“That’s Captain Bourgeois, to you Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

Despite her harsh tone, there was a small smile on the blonde’s lips.

Adrien’s eyes scanned the information written on the piece of paper, lips captured between his teeth as he calculated the distance between the precinct and the address.

“Hey! Heading out?” Wayhem strolled by with a fresh stack of papers in his hands, probably another case, or research materials for an old one.

Adrien smiled weakly, “Yeah.”

The brunet rose an eyebrow curiously, “Hey, what’s up Mr. Sunshine?”

Adrien sighed, leaning his head back against his chair, “You think she’s involved beyond a reluctant accomplice?”

Wayhem glanced at the paper in his friend’s hand, before he gaze swept over the files of the recent robbery and he stuck his bottom lip out, “Well….hard to say. Do you have evidence denying it?”

The conflicted look on his face told Wayhem all he had to know, “So, what makes you so sure she was forced to tag along? I mean, she still refuses to say any names, right?”

The blond straightened in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, “Yes, but… she’s not in our files, not even for a speeding ticket. She never did any sort of offense in her life, suddenly diving headfirst into robbery doesn’t seem logical. Not to mention, what would drive a young woman such as her to do this? She seems jumpy, a bit clumsy and nervous, not exactly the usual profile of the people we throw into the cell.”

Wayhem gave a loud, drawn out sigh, getting annoyed looks from some of their colleagues, Adrien smiled apologetically at them and they turned their heads to concentrate back on their work, “Maybe it’s just an act? To get you off her trail?”

Adrien shook his head, “I don’t think so, earlier this morning, when I surprised her in the kitchen, she was like a scared deer. A seasoned criminal would react differently, or at least someone who’s committed a crime before. Also, I gave her enough openings to surprise me or just attempt to escape. She took none of them, I don’t think she even noticed any of them. She could’ve attempted to flee when my back was turned, try to break the window during the night, anything. She didn’t do anything Wayhem, she behaves like a scared civilian held hostage.”

Wayhem pursed his lips, rubbing his chin, “Hmm….there’s that.” His eyes narrowed suspiciously, “Wait, how is Plagg reacting?”

Adrien shrugged, “Plagg loves her. He showers her with affection. Hasn’t hissed even once. He didn’t even react in the morning when she was in the kitchen and I asleep. He was laying right next to me, as if we were alone.”

“Fur standing on end?”

“Nope.”

“Did he try to bite her when she got near his cheese stash?”

Adrien gasped, “Not once! Not even once, Wayhem! He has his cheese stash in multiple places, right? She walked near it at least several times, but he never reacted.” The man ran his hands down his face in frustration, “She must be innocent Wayhem!”

The brunet looked exasperated, “But-but why?! Ugh, there’s nothing going on! I need her to be a little guilty just to spice things up a bit!” he pouted like a child, “Just imagine, handsome cop living with dangerous criminal? Hunk of a cop forced to share living quarters with deadly woman looking to slit his throat-“

Adrien pushed his overzealous face away from him, expression flat, “First, stop describing me so weirdly. Second, she’s barely an amateur criminal. Slitting my throat? She jumped when I opened the door, I can’t imagine her sneaking around anywhere with a dagger in her hands.” The blond stood up, grabbing his jacket off his stool and putting it on.

Wayhem followed him towards the exit, gesticulating wildly with his hands, “You know how female criminals can get, no hate, but they often employ charm and the innocent, defenseless act to fool. It happened before Adrien, we have a few psychopaths in the cell for that you know.” He would need to be an octopus to be able to count how many times they’ve arrested females, and males, who employed various practices of deceit and false charm to get their way out of a jail sentence.

“You know, it’s always the quiet ones!” Adrien leveled Wayhem with a half tired, half amused look.

“Yeah…I know, Wayhem.” With that, Adrien left through the double doors and towards the elevator, an amused smirk on his lips from recalling memories of Wayhem a few years ago, the quiet, shy recruit who was scared of everything and anything.

————

12 Rue Gotlib, 21st arrondissement

Adrien looked at the paper in his hand, before he looked upon the building he now stood in front of.

It definitely was the same address.

Pocketing the piece of paper, Adrien made his way inside.

The bell chime above his head alerted the patrons within of his arrival. Almost immediately, a shorter woman of Chinese descent greeted him with a bright, warm smile, “Welcome!”

A tall, large man emerged from behind what Adrien deduced was a kitchen, waving friendlily at him, “Good day, young man!”

Adrien paused, inhaling the sweet scent of baked goods and the warm, inviting atmosphere around him.

He had expected many things, a small apartment, a rundown, cheap building, a small house, anything.

What he hadn’t expected was to run into a bakery, much less one of the best ones in Paris.

Adrien put on a friendly smile, tone polite and soft, “Bonjour.”

Thanks for reading and I’m sorry for the short chapter!

@mariladrichatinette

#adrienette #ml #ml fic #miraculous ladybug #adrien x marinette #cop!adrien #Criminal!Mari #Cop!Adrien & Criminal!Mari AU #ml au #adrienette au #fanfiction #posted on AO3 and FFnet

[rainaweather]

Hello! As finals season (aka 5-research-papers-due-in-a-week season) dawns on many of you, I thought I would share the process I used to write papers in college. This made writing long research papers much less daunting (but can also work on shorter papers). I really hope this helps some of you who feel stuck. Especially during these ridiculous times, when you’re stuck at home and might have other uncontrollable factors affecting your mental health, a clear framework of what to do could be helpful. Good luck, my friends! You got this.

About me

I graduated college in 2018 with degrees in Political Science + International Studies and will be starting law school this fall. I wrote nearly 20 15 to 25-page papers, never earning below an A. I loved researching about my topics but hated writing. It’s tedious, takes so much time, and everything I write sounds bad at first. Plus, I was a terrible procrastinator so most of these essays were written in under a week. Talk about stress.

Over time I found a process that worked for me, one that made churning out a paper seem straightforward, like going through a factory line rather than this terrifying concept of writing 10,000 words. It kept me sane without decreasing the quality of my work (or more importantly, how much I learned!) 

I’m thinking about making a short video to show this in action… let me know if that could be helpful!

Step 1: Research

How you organize your research is a key step in keeping you sane. Usually I’ll have a pile of 20 books in my dorm along with dozens of JSTOR tabs open on my laptop, and that can get overwhelming very fast. Right now just focus on collecting ideas, not developing an argument or even an outline! As with most research papers, you could be starting with little to no background information on the topic, so it is still too early to be thinking about an argument.

Put all your research in one document

Open up a new doc: this will be the heart of everything. For a 15-page paper I usually end up with around 14-18 pages of typed research, 10 pt font, single spaced, tiny margins. This seems like a lot, but essentially all I do is type up anything I read that seems relevant to my topic, so luckily this step does not require that much brain power. Just type type type!

Use the table of contents

Find the chapter(s) that are actually relevant instead of skimming through the whole book. Time is of the essence here!

Use Zotero, cite right away

You can also use easybib or whatever you’re used to, but keep track of your sources. I like Zotero because I can keep a log of all of my sources and copy the footnote or bibliography version whenever needed. Before you even begin reading, cite the source and copy it into your research doc. This will save you so much time later when you have to put in your citations in the actual paper. 

Here is an example of what my research doc looks like:

Full citation is my heading for each source just so it’s crystal clear

I ignore all typos (I don’t think there are any in this part though, go me!) because my head is buried in the book just trying to get all the info down

I always start with the page number so I know what to cite when I go back

Create a shorthand 

While typing up research, you might think of something that the author didn’t talk about that you’ll want to write in your paper. Or perhaps a few sentences already start to form. Put them all in one place, with your research, so you know what source you’ll have to cite to then lead into your idea. I type “!@#” before anything that is strictly my own idea so I’m never confused. It’s fast and stands out.

This is an example: the two bullet points above are evidence from my source, which made me think of this argument I could make, which I noted with “!@#”

Step 2: Read Your Research

Now that you have all your information, go back and read through it all. Every time you read about a new theme/person/event, write it down somewhere. You may come up with a list of 20+ different ideas in your research. No matter how small, as long as there is something about it, write it down. Each of these mini themes is going to end up being a paragraph in your paper or combined with another mini theme. 

Once you’ve made your list, look for larger overarching themes. In the paper I’ve shown you, I had mini categories like “political party x” “religion” “labor groups” “little organization” and “hierarchy.” When I looked back I though, hey these are all groups and how groups are working together, so they each became their own mini paragraph under the subsection of “Alliances.”

As with most research paper structures, I try to find three general themes/subsections (like an extended version of that 5-paragraph essay we wrote in middle school). It makes the paper less messy and also makes sure I’m not covering things that are beyond a reasonable scope.

During this step, you are also searching for your thesis. It won’t be your final version. As you fill in your outline in the next step you may make slight changes. But this is definitely when you start thinking about it.

Step 3: Outline

We’re ready to outline! Once I’ve collected all my different themes and organized all my subsections and paragraphs, it’s time to fill in that outline. I start a new doc just for the outline and take advantage of google doc’s headings function to make a clear document outline.

Here comes the fun part, I read through my research one more time, this time copy and pasting all my research into each section of the outline. The document outline in google docs makes this easy because I can just click on each subheading to get me there (super helpful when you’re dealing with 15+ pages of research).

Here is what it looks like:

Let’s say I need to add something to my outline about labor groups. Boom, labor groups. Also, the typos are really abound here haha

Step 4: Write the Paper

Okay, I get it, easier said than done. BUT! You already have everything set up. Your outline is essentially just a list of your paragraphs and all you have to do is paraphrase, cite, and create a topic sentence. And that’s how you should think about this: you’re essentially transforming bullet points into sentences and adding footnotes. 

In high school my English teacher introduced us to Sh*tty First Drafts for creative writing, but honestly the same applies to research papers. Sometimes I’ll even have phrases like “wait no that’s not what I meant but basically…” and when I go back to edit, I realize that what came after “but basically…” is fine! And I keep it. So just start typing.

How do you cite while you write? Because we’re trying to get a constant stream of writing going, inserting proper footnotes after each sentence you type is too bothersome. I usually split screen with my outline and my paper so I just copy and paste a few words from my bullet point into my footnote, like so:

(This is from a different paper about cluster munitions.)

Step 5: Edit the Paper

I work best when I print out my first draft and make all edits in red pen. I feel more productive and can visually see where I want to move sentences and what I need to change. The more red there is the better I can feel the paper getting. (Whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter. We’re trying to stay motivated here!) When it’s all digital I don’t really see the progress. Plus, once I finish all the red, I get another moment of passive brain work, where all I’m doing is transferring edits rather than thinking. And at this point in the process, that kind of relief is much welcomed. 

The good thing about this process is there’s not usually a need to cut entire paragraphs or pages because the paper you end up with is just a formalized version of your outline. Because you started with such a detailed outline, the cutting and editing now is just to refine your word choices and get rid of the “but basically”s. You’re almost there!

Step 6: Replace your citations

Now it’s time to go back and replace your footnotes with actual citations. Zotero makes this easy because in Word you can just insert and add the page number, and it’ll automatically do “Ibid.” for you when needed. Ctrl+f in the original research doc to quickly find the source.

Step 7: One More Read-Through and Submit!

Congratulations!! You’ve got a fully-researched and well-backed paper! Of course, even though the process is straightforward, it’s still a lot of work. In ideal situations I would start researching two weeks before the deadline, but if need be, I believe I’ve done this all in three miserable panic-filled days as well. 

Please message me if you have any questions at all! I really hope some of you find this helpful! Good luck!

[rosalietodd013]

Forever (Part 10): Good Enough

Summary: The reader gets help getting back to the person she once was and there is a family renunion on the horizon.

Warnings: Depression, Fear, not much else

Words: 3,992

Catch Up on the rest of the story: Part 1 HERE, Part 2 HERE, Part 3 HERE, Part 4 HERE, Part 5 HERE, Part 6 HERE, Part 7 HERE, Part 8 HERE, Part 9 HERE

A/N: So I think a week went by before I noticed that in the previous chapter I didn’t put up a deadline for the poll. I think my original thought process was a month to make sure everyone got their votes and opinions and questions in, but because I didn’t clarify and because I need some to get my head together with the next couple of chapters, I’m gonna say August 31 will be the final day to put in votes. I know that’s a long time to wait, especially without an update in so long, but I need to make sure everything is in order and that I meet my requirements for the rest of the story. As always, if you have comments, questions, concerns, or anything else, just let me know. Enjoy…

Song title: This chapter is based off the song Good Enough by Evanescence for reasons that are explained in the first chunk of this chapter and have been explained in some detail in previous chapters. You’ll understand when you start reading.

“How did you find me?” I ask though I knew he had been here for a while, and it’s kinda hard to believe that he is here.

He doesn’t do what I expected him to do. I expected him to start yelling at me about how stupid and dangerous what I did was. For him to scold me on how there were hunts that could have been solved and people who could have been saved with all the time it took him to look for me. Maybe throw something with the famous Winchester temper. But he doesn’t do any of that. What he does actually surprises the hell out of me.hunts that could have been solved and people who could have been saved with all the time it took him to look for me. Maybe throw something with the famous Winchester temper. But he doesn’t do any of that. What he does actually surprises the hell out of me.

“I missed you baby girl.” He says, pulling me into this bone crushing hug that feels so warm and emits more love than I have ever known him to show. It makes me realize just how much I’d missed him too.

“I missed you too Daddy,” I say with tears streaming steadily down my face.

Dad acts entirely out of character but at the same time just like himself the first little while that he’s here. He avidly checks to make sure I’m ok when he pulls away from our hug, patting me down and running a few subtle tests to make sure I’m not hurt or some monster. Classic Dad. He also does a minor sweep of the cabin to make sure the place I’ve been living in for the past nine months is safe.

I roll my eyes at that. Like I would have actually stayed here all this time if I knew it wasn’t safe. He taught me better than that. But he doesn’t act like it.

“Where’s Dean?” I move over to the couch as he glances at the sigils all over the kitchen and living room. “And you still haven’t told me how you found me.”

“When your brother and I realized you were gone, we thought that monster had taken you, so we finally tracked down the bastard and killed him. When we realized that he hadn’t taken you, we tried to track your phone, which the GPS was conveniently off for.” He shoots me a look that makes me avoid eye contact. “We got it turned back on though and found it two miles from Bobby’s place. He told us he’d only seen you for a second, weeks after you’d disappeared and had stolen one of his cars. After that, Dean and I split up so we could cover more ground. We knew there weren’t many people you trusted, so I called them all.”

By this time, Dad had come to sit on the loveseat across from me. Apparently satisfied with what he’d made of the sigils, he had grabbed a beer for him and a water for me from the fridge, taking a sip before continuing.

“I ran through the names relatively fast, none of them having heard of you, so I figured you wouldn’t have gone to anyone because you knew they’d tell me where you were. I was stumped for about a week, Dean not having heard from you either. Then it dawned on me. You just needed a stable place, not with people necessarily. So I checked my list of safe houses as far away from California as possible because you would want us to take a while checking the other states looking for you.Three of them were on the East Coast. One in Lincolnton, North Carolina, one in Dahlonega, Georgia, and this one. Didn’t think I knew about this place huh?”

I must have a shocked or confused look on my face due to his question. Yeah, I stole this address off his list to make sure he wouldn’t find me. So how did he?

“I remembered all the states and addresses Angelina gave me (Y/N), and I called her to confirm that this one existed. What you did was smart, but not clever enough. I’ll always find you (Y/N), you and your brothers. It’s my job to protect you all and keep you safe and together as a family. Even if you don’t want me to.”

The isolation I have had from most people, especially my father, must not have been the best for me because I can feel myself getting angrier and angrier at his words. Usually, I can handle most of the things my dad says because I am with him and hear it regularly, but not now. I’ve spent too much time away from him, and now it doesn’t take much to set me off.

What the hell was he even talking about?

“You wanna keep us safe and together? How well is that going for you right now Dad? Because in my opinion, you suck at it. When Sam left, Dean and I went to go make sure he was ok. You ran away to do God knows what God knows where for a whole night. And after that, for months you and Dean got your asses handed to you by literally every monster you faced and were too fucked up in the head with grief to realize that you hadn’t even finished entire hunts. You say you wanna keep us safe and together yet you denied me the chance at training, so I had to do it with Bobby, and you never went to try and remedy things with Sam. How does that keep us safe and together Dad?”

I’m standing over him, yelling because I haven't been this emotional in a while and need to vent.

“I made mistakes in the past (Y/N). Regretable ones. Letting your brother walk away was one and keeping you from the field was another. The time you, Dean, and I spent hunting as a family was a time I spent realizing just how much you needed this to heal and how great you were for the job, with or without the training from Bobby.” He says earnestly, not making a move to stand, knowing how on edge I am at this moment. Winchester temper, remember? Not always just a boy thing. “But I also realized just how lost you were getting in what we were doing and how much of yourself you were losing because of what happened. I started treating you like this was what you needed when it was really what I needed. But I wanna help you now–”

“Help me? How are you gonna help me? How Dad? Because you have no idea what I’m going through or how I feel right now. I keep beating myself up because I know I’m not him. I’m not strong enough or smart enough b-because I’m n-no-ot him.”

By this point, I’ve fallen to my knees in front of my father, bawling my eyes out at the admission and the fact that I’m tired of being angry and too ashamed to do anything about it.

“I’m sorry I’m not strong enough Daddy. I didn’t mean to disappoint you. I just w-wanted to be good enough. For you and Dean and I just–”

“You are (Y/N). You are not a disappointment, and neither of us is Sam or Dean. I can’t be disappointed in you if you managed to save mine and Dean’s asses time and time again or managed to lose me for nine months or stand up for your brother when I was being too much of a coward to tell him that I was proud of him.”

At this, my head shoots up from its place on his knee to stare at him shockingly through puffy red eyes.

“When I finally got over everything, I started driving by Stanford periodically to check up on him. I wanted to know that he was alright, but also to see him have the life that I always wanted for him. For all of you. I wish I could go back in time and take back what I said, but I don’t know if he would have changed his mind anyway. He was strong in his own way, and so are you. I’m not gonna leave you baby girl. I’m gonna help you get back on your feet like I should have back then.”

“But how?”

He smiles down at me and kisses my forehead.

“One step at a time.”

And he was right. It took me a while to get back to being a fraction of the girl I once was, with his help of course.

At first it was a real struggle to leave my room for breakfast because I was so mentally and emotionally drained.

“(Y/N), you have to eat something. You’ve lost too much weight as it is.” We’re sitting at the breakfast nook in the kitchen. Well I’m sitting. Dad is standing on the other side of the counter with a cup of coffee in his hand and a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him, same in front of me.

I have to have lost thirty pounds in these past few months up here by myself. I rarely found the urge to eat or drink anything; I didn’t have anyone to force me to until now.

“You don’t have to eat it all if you don’t want to. At least eat the toast and drink the orange juice.” He tells me almost pleadingly, and this is a side of my dad that no one has ever seen. Well I have on occasion, but my father has never been the type to beg for anything from anyone, so I feel a little worse for putting him in this position.

I take small bites of my toast until it’s gone and eat half a piece of bacon with even fewer eggs before picking up my glass of orange juice and heading to my room.

“(Y/N) ple–”

“I just want to get back in bed.” I say without turning around. The little bit that I ate will likely do me good later on, but at the moment my stomach is churning in the worst way.

Dad doesn’t try to stop me as I go, but I can feel his eyes boring into the back of my head, sadness and grief likely shining in his green eyes. This fact causes tears to well up in my eyes as I close my door, the sound echoing throughout the silent cabin.

Exercise helps, I know. It’s the getting out of bed to do anything that is the problem.

Dad is entirely understanding about this and doesn’t push me to do more than I can at the moment, which is still interesting to me. When I was younger, I used to watch him push Dean past his limits constantly and eventually Sam as well. It’s really weird to have him baby me when he hasn’t shown that he is capable of such a thing in the past.

If only he had been this understanding with Dean, always forcing him out of the motel room at the ass crack of dawn without so much as a cup of coffee to start his day. I know that he was training him to be able to protect not only Sam and I, but also himself, but he was a real hard-ass most of the time. Those that know him might have a hard time believing that John Winchester would coddle any of his children because they’re having a slight separation that kept them in bed for weeks at a time.

And they would be right not to believe it because he isn't doing that exactly. Coddling might be too strong a word. Aiding and comforting might work better. At least out loud. He’s encouraging me closer and closer to the door and the outside world, till eventually, I get there.

And I can say that being outside again feels amazing.

For the first few days, we just sit on the porch and listen to nature. The wind blows steadily most of the time, causing my greasy (H/C) hair to blow all over the place. Dad does his best to keep it down but doesn’t succeed, which causes me to laugh.

He laughs too and tells me how happy he is that I’m opening back up, and that makes me smile up at the sky because that makes me happy too.

Over the next few weeks, I attempt to get back in the swing of things. The two of us go running every morning and talk about anything and everything. Dad calls Dean periodically to let him know that I’m ok and to give him his own hunts.

At first, I know that Dean should be aware of where I am and what I’ve been doing because he probably wants to see me for himself, but then I realize that I’m not ready to face him yet and Dad sees this. So he just gives his eldest son periodic updates on my progress and assigns him his own hunts.

One day just after Dad hangs up with Dean, I ask him a question that has been plaguing me for a while.

“So how did you manage to part ways with your beloved Impala?”

He laughs at my question. “ I was wondering how long it would take you to ask.” He looks at his truck out the wall of windows just beyond the kitchen and living room. “Like I said before, Dean and I parted ways to cover more ground in order to find you. He wasn’t taking the bus, and I needed to know he had a reliable ride, so I gave him the Impala and bought myself the truck. I was planning on giving her to him for his twenty-fifth anyway. He just has to take care of her.”

“You know he will. His ‘Baby’ means too much to him. You know he’s been lusting after her since he was like nine. Even I could see that, and I was a three year old. You and Bobby drilled the love of cars into him early. What’d you expect?”

“If only that could’ve worked with you and Sammy–”

I see that he realized his mistake when my brother’s name passes his lips. He learned pretty early on not to mention Sam while we were here –the first time I said his name for Dad to hear since he left was the day he got here, and that was an accident –even before I left. He knows what happened isn’t something I’m just gonna let go anytime soon. The only way that’s gonna happen is if I confront him, and we both know that’s not gonna happen. Ever.

“It’s fine Dad. I know.” I try to ease his worry as he gazes at me apologetically. I just want to move on now. “So you said you found a hunt before Dean called? What’s that about?”

Dad stays with me until I’m able to work and function well enough by his standards on my own – not exactly where I was before but damn near it. We train, go over lore, he took me on a few hunts in the state, and sometimes we just talk. He arrived on a hot and sweaty summer day in July, and he leaves on a cold, frigid day in October, and I really don’t want him to go.

“Do you have to go? Why can’t I come?” I ask as he loads his bags into his truck and turns to face me.

“Because there is a hunt in Texas that Caleb has called me to help him on.”

“Well, I can go with you. Help ou–”

“No,” He says sharply in that ‘not up for discussion’ tone of voice that causes me to shut my mouth instantly. “I need for you to meet up with Dean in a few weeks and who knows how long this hunt is gonna take.”

At the mention of Dean’s name, I look at my father pleadingly, not ready to face my brother yet, but he doesn’t seem to care.

“It’s not up for discussion (Y/N). You still need someone with you, not that I don’t think you can handle yourself, but you and your brother should be together. And besides, he needs help.” He places a hand on my shoulder when my facial expression doesn’t change. “Look, you two have to make amends and work together which is why I’m giving you a few weeks to get yourself together and prepare yourself.”

He pulls me into a hug, and I crush him to myself, desperately not wanting him to go.

“Please don’t leave me,” I say into his chest, my voice wavering slightly.

He kisses my forehead and pulls me back far enough for me to look into his eyes.

“You’ll see me again soon. Talk to your brother (Y/N), it’ll be good for you both. He hasn’t been doing very well in your absence, so he needs this. You don’t have to do it for yourself. Do it for him, and maybe sometime along the way you will find closure too.”

Dad’s right. I need to talk to Dean, but I also need to figure out what I’m gonna say. I ask Dad, but he just kissed my forehead once more and got into his truck with a smile, calling, “You’ll figure it out baby girl.”

So helpful Dad.

That was two weeks ago. I haven’t heard from him since then except for a letter that tells me to head to some town in California. Jeranimo? Jericho? Something like that, but I still don’t move to leave.

I know that Dean will likely be there – Dad said that I would have to meet up with him in the coming weeks, but I didn’t think it would be so soon – and I don’t know what I’m gonna say to him. I should apologize for everything I said the last time I saw him on top of leaving without a trace, but I want him to also. Knowing Dean, he’ll be too proud to do that though. Both of us were in the wrong, and we need to move on, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to.

I love my brother to death and would do anything for him, same vice versa, but I don’t know how this is going to affect our relationship on top of me leaving. Dad was cool with everything that happened between us, but I feel like he’s obligated to forgive me for that because I’m his daughter. Dean, on the other hand, doesn’t have that same obligation.

All these thoughts are running through my mind as I drive the two days to Jericho in the newer version of the Jeep Cherokee that I borrowed from the garage. The whole ride, the butterflies in my stomach, get more and more agitated as I dread the thought that my eldest brother might hate me.

When I arrive in town, I soon come to realize that the case has already been solved. I ask around about strange occurrences and new comers, and I overhear a couple cops talking about how a pair of brothers who had escaped police custody, and me being the nosy Winchester that I am, listen a little closer. Discreetly.

Apparently, two men went missing from town not too long ago who had been arrested for impersonating federal agents and harassing one of the locals. At first, I want to believe that it’s a coincidence, but then one of the officers mentions the name ‘Winchester.'

Well shit.

Wait, does this mean that Dean went to get Sam from Stanford since Dad and I were MIA? I mean it could be Dad and Dean working together, but they don’t look that similar in age. Not at all actually. Plus Dad would have told me in the letter if he would have been in Jericho when I got here, and I haven't seen any signs of him at all since I’ve been here.

Does that mean that Sam’s hunting again? How long have they been doing that together? Why would Dean do that to him? Why the hell would he even agree?

There are so many thoughts and questions running through my head at the moment that it’s making me dizzy. I rest my head against the steering wheel of the Jeep and trying to catch my breath from the sudden dizzy spell.

“Breathe (Y/N),” I tell myself. “Dean wouldn’t do that to him and he sure as hell wouldn’t agree.” Would he?

Dad said that Dean’s been different since I left. What if he was so lonely and scared that he got Sam from school after Dad left too. But what I can’t seem to wrap my head around is why Sam would leave his perfect life with his perfect girl for this? One stupid hunt or God knows how many more. It just doesn’t make sense.

I need to know what’s going on and why even if that means that I have to do something I never imagined myself doing.

So I’m back on the road two hours later to a place I hoped to never see again.

Stanford University. If it really was a one-time thing, then that’s where they’re headed.

I’m immediately drawn to the building that’s surrounded by fire trucks and police cars when I arrive. Apparently, there was a fire in one of the buildings recently. Like the firehoses are still getting the last of it put out recent.

I roll my window down and ask one of the bystanders what happened.

“One of the student’s apartments caught fire, but the police don’t know how. She apparently didn’t make it out.” The girl seems genuinely distraught by the news. “She was so nice.”

“You know who it was?” I ask, perking up a bit more at the hint of new information.

“Yeah she was in my Lit 104 class. Her poor boyfriend came home after being out on some trip all weekend with his brother I think he said, and arrived just when the fire started. Police ruled him out as a suspect because some of the neighbors saw them leave and go back in right as the fire started. His girlfriend’s name was Jessica Moore, by the way.”

As she speaks, the information sounds too familiar, and when she says Jessica’s name, an intense feeling of grief washes over me. After that, I pretty much zone the girl out.

Jessica was dead? And Sam found her just before their apartment caught fire. That sounds eerily familiar.

At that moment, I see the Impala drive by, Dean in the driver’s seat and Sam likely the dark silhouette next to him in the passenger’s seat with grief just as likely etched onto his face in the shadow of night.

I don’t hesitate as I follow the boys down the road.

They stop at a motel that looks eerily like the one Dean, Dad, and I stayed in the last time I was here. They get out of the car and go into one of the rooms, but I sit there for a while. I’m thinking about everything that could happen if I go up and knock on that door. All of the thoughts end in me either kicked out or someone bleeding badly. Eventually, I clear my mind of those pessimistic thoughts, or at least push them as far back in my mind as they will go which isn’t far but is out of the forefront of my mind, and muster up the courage to get out of the Jeep and walk up to the door I saw them go into not ten minutes ago, knocking on the door firmly.

Not fifteen seconds later, the door swings open revealing my eldest brother with a gun pointed in my face, but I don’t flinch.

“Hi, Dean.”

Part 11

Tags: @sharethelovebeauty , @pretty-fortune

If you want to be tagged in this story or any of the others in my masterlist, just let me know. I also do forever (not the story this time) tags.

#supernatural #SPN #pre series #stanford sam #sam x reader #Sam X OFC #dean x reader #Dean x OFC #sam winchester angst #john winchester x reader #sister!reader #sister!winchester #wincest #Sam Winchester Fanfic #sam winchester fanfiction #reader #reader insert #john winchester #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #winchester x reader #angst

[ruthlesslistener]

Tips for fic writers: consistancy and update schedules

So, if you're a generally disorganized writer like me, you've probably always marveled at those fancy big-shot fanfiction authors who have a consistant update schedule going that they're generally good at keeping track of, and you've always wanted to learn how to do that, especially if you have a busy life with a shitton of work in it, either from school or otherwise. Well, I'm still not quite sure how those people do it (33k chapters every two weeks?? Do you guys have lightning-fast typing or something???), but here's a couple of tips that I've found help make for a better update schedule. 1. SET A DAY OF THE WEEK THAT YOU WANT TO UPDATE ON. -For me, it's a Saturday or Sunday, which are the days that are the most convenient for me to finish up and polish my chapters. Saturday is my day of preference to update on, but I've set a soft deadline on it and a hard deadline on Sunday, just in case I run into troubles and I can't finish by Saturday night. Either way, setting a deadline to your chapter (and sticking to it like it's a highly-graded essay) is often good motivation for churning out writing by the set publishing date. However you write it- either over the week or all in one go on Friday night- is fine, but you want to make sure you're done and edited by your hard deadline if you wanna stay on schedule. Unfortunatly, this doesn't help much with that monster of a first chapter, since you haven't yet started the race to progress the storyline until the first chapter is out. Sorry. 2. SET A WORD COUNT FOR EACH CHAPTER. -This is another motivator to write a decent amount of material before your deadline is up. Reaching for stop points in writing is another way to make it seem more achievable and manageable within your set time period. But make sure to set a goal that is reasonable! For example, my word-count limits are around the 3,000 mark for each chapter. If I'm under 3k, then I need to keep writing. If I'm over 3k, then I'm good to go, but if I need to add more to the story then I will stagger out new word-count limits based off on how much more material I think I might need, and so on. 3. START THE NEXT CHAPTER RIGHT AFTER YOU END THE LAST ONE. -For me, a writer who personally struggles with their beginnings, this method helps a LOT. I found that starting the next chapter right after you end the last one, when you're all warmed up and the sequence of events you want your story to take is still fresh in your mind is the best way to stave off writer's block when you're working on the next chapter. It also makes the flow better, too, because you don't have to reread the ending of the last chapter and try to figure out how to continue on into the next one when the previous happenings are right there in front of you. 4. KEEP IT ALL ON ONE WORD DOCUMENT. -This is a big thing for many, many reasons. One, because it abolishes that fear of that big blank white document that almost always occurs when you first start typing. Two, because writing is so much easier when all your previous chapters are just a scroll away for you to reference them. (And maybe cringe at, if your writing has impoved since the first few chapters.). Three, because it tricks your brain into thinking you've already accomplished more than you've done so far, so you have less stress when you're typing in a document full of text. And four, because it makes hiding any scenes of dubious content under a wall of text much more easy. 5. KEEP ALL THAT YOU WRITE. -Even scenes from the future timeline of the story. You'll never really know if you're gonna need them, and having big chunks of already-written text will prove invaluable if you hit a snag that you can't seem to work your way out of later on. Got a busy schedule or writer's block? Bingo, you can easily bypass that by just Frankensteining your available content together! Unless you're really really bad at editing it in, the readers wouldn't be able to tell the difference. 6. WRITE CONTINUOUSLY OVER THE TIME SLOT YOU HAVE BEFORE THE DEADLINE. -This is another big thing, too. Making use of the time that you have for writing-even disjointed pieces of text- will ultimatly provide you with more content than what you have just lying around, and any content is better than no content. Even if you're not quite in the mood to write- just go for it. Get the basics down while you have the chance, you can fix it up later anyways. 7. ALWAYS EDIT BEFORE YOU POST. -This one's just a no-brainer. Nobody likes a typo-filled chapter, especially you, because making mistakes, while a perfectly human trait to posess, are embarrasing. Throw everything together, take a nap, do something relaxing, then go back and read it again, through fresh eyes. You'll catch much more mistakes that way. Either that, or call a friend who has no problem with cleaning up your crap to beta read it for you, because an outside view is much more likely to catch errors you made while you were off in la la writer land. And that's just about it! Those are the tips I found were the most helpful with writing my fanfics and setting a semi-orderly update schedule with them. Of course, you can always customize these to the way you want- my preferences aren't always going to fit yours, and it's always best to be in your comfort zone when you're working on a creation of your own. But that's what I found the most helpful, and I certainly hope you can find help from this post if you're struggling with update schedules at all.

#writing #writing tips #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfiction writing #update schedule #books #novels #writing reference #writing help #fandom

[richardrobertsimsuccessblog]

How to Write Faster: 10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour

Yesssss!

The schedule gods have given you a break, and you have a rare hour to actually sit down and write. You could produce an entire blog post! An article! Maybe even a short book chapter! Your research is all done, so all you need to do now is write.

You apply ass to seat, fire up your laptop, start typing …

… and it’s like watching a video in slo-mo.

Once the hour is up, you do a word count — and let’s just say the final tally is less than impressive.

It’s time to pull you out of that rut. Here are ten ways to produce great writing in volume. Using these tactics, I can write a full 1,000-word article in under an hour; I bet they’ll speed up your output as well.

#1. Write Under Pressure (from Your Bladder)

When I’m on fire (or on a deadline) and don’t want to stop writing, I skip bathroom breaks until I’m done. Nothing speeds up your writing like knowing you’re on the verge of having a potty accident.

Being a 48-year-old woman, I have to pee every 30 minutes, so you can bet I’m writing scorchingly fast to make it to the next bathroom break; but if this isn’t the case for you, try quaffing a couple glasses of water before sitting down at your laptop.

Caveat: I am not a doctor and this probably isn’t the healthiest thing to do. In fact, I’ve heard of bladder infections being called “secretary’s disease” because they used to happen frequently to secretaries who held it in while they finished “just one more task.” Use this tactic at your own risk!

#2. Outwit Writer’s Block with This Old Journalist’s Trick

Instead of insisting that your facts and examples be all lined up before you put pen to paper, which leads to over-researching, try writing from your head. Get down what you know, and what you remember from your interviews — and drop in the term “TK” wherever you get stuck and need more information.

TK is journo-speak for “to come,” and it’s used as a placeholder for copy you’ll add later. The beauty of TK is that this combo of letters very rarely occurs in the English language — so once you’re done with your draft, you can do a search on the term in your word processing program and fill in the holes.

You’ll be surprised at how much you already had in your head, and at how much faster you can produce a piece of writing this way!

#3. Use Automation to Skip Two Million Keystrokes

Rewriting the same copy over and over, or playing the cut-and-paste game several times an hour, is a massive time suck. In the two minutes it takes you to type in your bio at the end of a guest post, you could have written the lede paragraph of a new post.

I use an app called TextExpander — which expands custom keyboard shortcuts into frequently used text — for common copy like my email sign-off, bio, mailing address, book titles, HTML codes, and words and phrases I use often in my writing. You can even use TextExpander abbreviations to insert images, the current date, and more. (Similar apps include TypeIt4Me for Mac and Breevy for Windows.)

As an example, when I type in “rren,” this pops up: The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success. That’s four keystrokes instead of 80!

TextExpander’s stats say I’ve saved myself from typing over two million characters, and have saved over 142 hours. Yes, that’s six solid days I’ve rescued from the abyss of needless typing.

One trick I learned years ago is to be sure the abbreviations you choose are letter combinations you won’t be using for anything else. For example, if you choose the word “address” to expand out into your street address, that will also happen when you write, “This blog post will address common time-wasters.”

Try repeating a letter at the front of the word instead. I use the combo “bbio” for my bio and “uurl” for my website URL.

Imagine how much speedier your writing will be if you can simply type fewer words!

#4. Turn Off the Squiggly Red Lines

You’re all in the zone, writing like your life depends on it — or like you have to pee really bad; see tip #1 — and suddenly you’re stopped in your tracks by a squiggly red line under a word. You pause to check it, and realize the program doesn’t recognize the name of that city in Germany you’re writing about.

So you right-click on “Nuremberg,” select “Add to Dictionary,” and …

… where were you again?

Your word processing program’s spelling and grammar checkers are just okay at checking spelling and grammar, but they are phenomenal at yanking you right out of your flow. I actually don’t mind the spell checker, but when I have the grammar checker on I find myself stopping every few minutes to yell, “Shut up, I meant to write it that way!”

Guess what? You have the power to switch off the checkers so you’re able to write without distraction. You can always run them after you’ve finished your writing if you need to.

#5. Invest in a Faster Pen

Like to write first drafts or take notes by hand? The Hack My Study site did a comparison on which pens are the fastest to write with.

Here’s a spoiler: Fountain pens are best for pure speed, but they’re also pricey and difficult to master. The next best option is a rollerball pen. These are less expensive, but they’re still fast because they create little friction on the writing surface.

The third best for speed is the gel pen, which is less expensive than the rollerball, and coming in dead last is the standard ballpoint pen — you know, the kind you pick up for free at your local bank or dentist’s office.

I can attest to the speed of the rollerball; a few years ago I decided to toss out every junky pen in the house and replace them with a few dozen of my favorite brand, the Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Ball Fine — blue for me, black for my husband, and red just because. That way, whenever I’m in the mood to write a draft or take notes by hand, I can reach into a kitchen drawer or my purse and be assured of pulling out a fast, smooth-writing pen every time.

Stocking up on quality pens is an investment (it costs around $20 for a 12-pack of the Pilot pen I use), but it’s worth it if it helps you write faster. Not to mention you’ll never again waste precious writing seconds furiously scribbling on a sheet of scrap paper to get the ink flowing in your cheap ballpoint.

#6. Do B-Minus Work

One of the chief habits that keeps you stuck in slow motion is editing yourself while writing. There’s nothing like agonizing over the perfect word in the middle of writing a blog post or article to keep you in perpetual “not quite finished” mode. (That habit, of course, is a consequence of perfectionism, another common bugaboo for writers.)

Value done over perfect and let the words fly. Give yourself permission to do B-minus work just to get the ideas down on paper, then go back and edit when you’re done. Chances are, you’ll discover your writing was pretty good to begin with!

The more you resist editing yourself as you write, the easier writing will become. The easier writing becomes, the more confident you’ll be. And the more confident you are in your writing, the quicker the process gets.

#7. Get Zen Before You Pick Up Your Pen

If your writing slows to a virtual crawl because you feel the need to check Facebook or answer an email after every sentence, you’ll love OmmWriter, a program that blocks out the files and applications behind the writing page to minimize distractions.

OmmWriter also offers a selection of calming background colors and music to keep you in Zen mode as you write, plus soothing sounds with each keystroke. I especially love the horizontal cursor (instead of the usual vertical blinking one) that seems to say “Write on” instead of “Stop writing!”

Ommwriter was free when I downloaded it several years ago, but is now a pay-what-you-want app; the average offering is $7.33.

#8. Stop Letting the Schedule Push You Around

Sometimes a little space is all you need to get perspective on a piece of writing that’s giving you fits, so you can get the words out faster.

An example: Last week I had scheduled myself to write an article for my website called “How Writers Waste Time by Saving Time,” about the dangers of cutting corners in your research and interviews. I eked out about 500 (crappy) words at a glacially slow pace before giving up; the article sounded more like a rant than a solid service piece, and I just couldn’t figure out how to fix it.

Then I looked over my ideas for future articles, and one called “Let Future You Handle Your Writing Problems” jumped out at me. I was inspired! I opened a new Word file, and that article — all 900 words — poured out of me in less than 60 minutes.

This week, I revisited the article I had been stuck on, and immediately saw exactly what the problem was and how to resolve it. An hour later, that article was done too.

If you have control over what you write and when you write it, this tip is for you: Stop being a slave to your editorial calendar. When you’re wrestling with a scheduled article or post, let it go. Scan over your editorial calendar and see if there are any post ideas that get you all fired up, and make the switch. You’ll find that the writing flows much faster that way.

#9. Play Games to Boost Your Words Per Minute

A big problem for many writers is that we think faster than we type. If your brain is churning out amazing ideas and perfect turns of phrase at a blazing pace, but you type slower than my husband trying to help me come up with a funny metaphor for something slow — you’ll finish out your allotted writing time with a only fraction of your page filled with, you know, writing.

Learning to type is a lot more fun than it used to be, with many sites offering free games, lessons, and tests to help you up your keyboarding speed. FreeTypingGame.Net has, among other goodies, a game called The Frogs Are Off Their Diet. A similar site, WordGames.com, offers hilariously titled typing challenges like Zombie Typocalypse and Type Type Revolution.

If you often find yourself writing on the go, seek out free apps that will help you learn to type faster on your smartphone or tablet. TapTyping is one example for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, and Typing Master is an app that works on Android devices.

#10. Gamble with Your Reputation

Feeling competitive? Challenge yourself to write your blog post, article, or book chapter in a (much) shorter amount of time than you normally would.

I did this once while working with a friend at a café and her jaw dropped open as she watched me complete an 800-word article in 30 minutes. (And yes, it was good!)

Even better, bet a friend something juicy that you can do it, or throw down the gauntlet on social media. The more people who see it and the harsher the consequences should you lose, the more likely you are to get those words down on the double.

On the low-pressure end, I also like to do mini challenges: I’ll see how much I can write in the five minutes while my tea steeps … in the two minutes before the microwave dings and my lunch is ready … while I’m on hold with AT&T before someone picks up. It’s incredible how quickly you can write when you have mere minutes to get it done.

Be More Prolific than You Ever Thought Possible

Fab news! It took me years to develop and learn these effective tactics for writing like a bat out of hell, but you can try them all on right now.

Feel free to combine tactics: Turn off the grammar checker, down a couple glasses of water, fire up Ommwriter, and use a text expander app to produce B-minus work.

Chances are you’ll boost your speed many times over, so you can do even more of what you love (hint: writing) every day.

Ready for the writing to simply pour from you? Set your timer and get started!

About the Author: Linda Formichelli has been a full-time freelance writer since 1997. If you’re marketing your butt off and getting nowhere, Linda’s theory is that it’s because you’re doing all the right things—and getting overwhelmed by it all. Instead, check out her upcoming Volume Marketing Challenge for Freelance Writers. During this fun, intense challenge, each week you’ll do the heck out of one type of marketing to reveal the one that will get you the most freelance writing assignments. Registration opens March 3!

How to Write Faster: 10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour

#Richard Roberts IM Success Mix #How to Write Faster: 10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1 #000 Words Per Hour

[annegalliher]

How to Write Faster: 10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour

Yesssss!

The schedule gods have given you a break, and you have a rare hour to actually sit down and write. You could produce an entire blog post! An article! Maybe even a short book chapter! Your research is all done, so all you need to do now is write.

You apply ass to seat, fire up your laptop, start typing …

… and it’s like watching a video in slo-mo.

Once the hour is up, you do a word count — and let’s just say the final tally is less than impressive.

It’s time to pull you out of that rut. Here are ten ways to produce great writing in volume. Using these tactics, I can write a full 1,000-word article in under an hour; I bet they’ll speed up your output as well.

#1. Write Under Pressure (from Your Bladder)

When I’m on fire (or on a deadline) and don’t want to stop writing, I skip bathroom breaks until I’m done. Nothing speeds up your writing like knowing you’re on the verge of having a potty accident.

Being a 48-year-old woman, I have to pee every 30 minutes, so you can bet I’m writing scorchingly fast to make it to the next bathroom break; but if this isn’t the case for you, try quaffing a couple glasses of water before sitting down at your laptop.

Caveat: I am not a doctor and this probably isn’t the healthiest thing to do. In fact, I’ve heard of bladder infections being called “secretary’s disease” because they used to happen frequently to secretaries who held it in while they finished “just one more task.” Use this tactic at your own risk!

#2. Outwit Writer’s Block with This Old Journalist’s Trick

Instead of insisting that your facts and examples be all lined up before you put pen to paper, which leads to over-researching, try writing from your head. Get down what you know, and what you remember from your interviews — and drop in the term “TK” wherever you get stuck and need more information.

TK is journo-speak for “to come,” and it’s used as a placeholder for copy you’ll add later. The beauty of TK is that this combo of letters very rarely occurs in the English language — so once you’re done with your draft, you can do a search on the term in your word processing program and fill in the holes.

You’ll be surprised at how much you already had in your head, and at how much faster you can produce a piece of writing this way!

#3. Use Automation to Skip Two Million Keystrokes

Rewriting the same copy over and over, or playing the cut-and-paste game several times an hour, is a massive time suck. In the two minutes it takes you to type in your bio at the end of a guest post, you could have written the lede paragraph of a new post.

I use an app called TextExpander — which expands custom keyboard shortcuts into frequently used text — for common copy like my email sign-off, bio, mailing address, book titles, HTML codes, and words and phrases I use often in my writing. You can even use TextExpander abbreviations to insert images, the current date, and more. (Similar apps include TypeIt4Me for Mac and Breevy for Windows.)

As an example, when I type in “rren,” this pops up: The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success. That’s four keystrokes instead of 80!

TextExpander’s stats say I’ve saved myself from typing over two million characters, and have saved over 142 hours. Yes, that’s six solid days I’ve rescued from the abyss of needless typing.

One trick I learned years ago is to be sure the abbreviations you choose are letter combinations you won’t be using for anything else. For example, if you choose the word “address” to expand out into your street address, that will also happen when you write, “This blog post will address common time-wasters.”

Try repeating a letter at the front of the word instead. I use the combo “bbio” for my bio and “uurl” for my website URL.

Imagine how much speedier your writing will be if you can simply type fewer words!

#4. Turn Off the Squiggly Red Lines

You’re all in the zone, writing like your life depends on it — or like you have to pee really bad; see tip #1 — and suddenly you’re stopped in your tracks by a squiggly red line under a word. You pause to check it, and realize the program doesn’t recognize the name of that city in Germany you’re writing about.

So you right-click on “Nuremberg,” select “Add to Dictionary,” and …

… where were you again?

Your word processing program’s spelling and grammar checkers are just okay at checking spelling and grammar, but they are phenomenal at yanking you right out of your flow. I actually don’t mind the spell checker, but when I have the grammar checker on I find myself stopping every few minutes to yell, “Shut up, I meant to write it that way!”

Guess what? You have the power to switch off the checkers so you’re able to write without distraction. You can always run them after you’ve finished your writing if you need to.

#5. Invest in a Faster Pen

Like to write first drafts or take notes by hand? The Hack My Study site did a comparison on which pens are the fastest to write with.

Here’s a spoiler: Fountain pens are best for pure speed, but they’re also pricey and difficult to master. The next best option is a rollerball pen. These are less expensive, but they’re still fast because they create little friction on the writing surface.

The third best for speed is the gel pen, which is less expensive than the rollerball, and coming in dead last is the standard ballpoint pen — you know, the kind you pick up for free at your local bank or dentist’s office.

I can attest to the speed of the rollerball; a few years ago I decided to toss out every junky pen in the house and replace them with a few dozen of my favorite brand, the Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Ball Fine — blue for me, black for my husband, and red just because. That way, whenever I’m in the mood to write a draft or take notes by hand, I can reach into a kitchen drawer or my purse and be assured of pulling out a fast, smooth-writing pen every time.

Stocking up on quality pens is an investment (it costs around $20 for a 12-pack of the Pilot pen I use), but it’s worth it if it helps you write faster. Not to mention you’ll never again waste precious writing seconds furiously scribbling on a sheet of scrap paper to get the ink flowing in your cheap ballpoint.

#6. Do B-Minus Work

One of the chief habits that keeps you stuck in slow motion is editing yourself while writing. There’s nothing like agonizing over the perfect word in the middle of writing a blog post or article to keep you in perpetual “not quite finished” mode. (That habit, of course, is a consequence of perfectionism, another common bugaboo for writers.)

Value done over perfect and let the words fly. Give yourself permission to do B-minus work just to get the ideas down on paper, then go back and edit when you’re done. Chances are, you’ll discover your writing was pretty good to begin with!

The more you resist editing yourself as you write, the easier writing will become. The easier writing becomes, the more confident you’ll be. And the more confident you are in your writing, the quicker the process gets.

#7. Get Zen Before You Pick Up Your Pen

If your writing slows to a virtual crawl because you feel the need to check Facebook or answer an email after every sentence, you’ll love OmmWriter, a program that blocks out the files and applications behind the writing page to minimize distractions.

OmmWriter also offers a selection of calming background colors and music to keep you in Zen mode as you write, plus soothing sounds with each keystroke. I especially love the horizontal cursor (instead of the usual vertical blinking one) that seems to say “Write on” instead of “Stop writing!”

Ommwriter was free when I downloaded it several years ago, but is now a pay-what-you-want app; the average offering is $7.33.

#8. Stop Letting the Schedule Push You Around

Sometimes a little space is all you need to get perspective on a piece of writing that’s giving you fits, so you can get the words out faster.

An example: Last week I had scheduled myself to write an article for my website called “How Writers Waste Time by Saving Time,” about the dangers of cutting corners in your research and interviews. I eked out about 500 (crappy) words at a glacially slow pace before giving up; the article sounded more like a rant than a solid service piece, and I just couldn’t figure out how to fix it.

Then I looked over my ideas for future articles, and one called “Let Future You Handle Your Writing Problems” jumped out at me. I was inspired! I opened a new Word file, and that article — all 900 words — poured out of me in less than 60 minutes.

This week, I revisited the article I had been stuck on, and immediately saw exactly what the problem was and how to resolve it. An hour later, that article was done too.

If you have control over what you write and when you write it, this tip is for you: Stop being a slave to your editorial calendar. When you’re wrestling with a scheduled article or post, let it go. Scan over your editorial calendar and see if there are any post ideas that get you all fired up, and make the switch. You’ll find that the writing flows much faster that way.

#9. Play Games to Boost Your Words Per Minute

A big problem for many writers is that we think faster than we type. If your brain is churning out amazing ideas and perfect turns of phrase at a blazing pace, but you type slower than my husband trying to help me come up with a funny metaphor for something slow — you’ll finish out your allotted writing time with a only fraction of your page filled with, you know, writing.

Learning to type is a lot more fun than it used to be, with many sites offering free games, lessons, and tests to help you up your keyboarding speed. FreeTypingGame.Net has, among other goodies, a game called The Frogs Are Off Their Diet. A similar site, WordGames.com, offers hilariously titled typing challenges like Zombie Typocalypse and Type Type Revolution.

If you often find yourself writing on the go, seek out free apps that will help you learn to type faster on your smartphone or tablet. TapTyping is one example for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, and Typing Master is an app that works on Android devices.

#10. Gamble with Your Reputation

Feeling competitive? Challenge yourself to write your blog post, article, or book chapter in a (much) shorter amount of time than you normally would.

I did this once while working with a friend at a café and her jaw dropped open as she watched me complete an 800-word article in 30 minutes. (And yes, it was good!)

Even better, bet a friend something juicy that you can do it, or throw down the gauntlet on social media. The more people who see it and the harsher the consequences should you lose, the more likely you are to get those words down on the double.

On the low-pressure end, I also like to do mini challenges: I’ll see how much I can write in the five minutes while my tea steeps … in the two minutes before the microwave dings and my lunch is ready … while I’m on hold with AT&T before someone picks up. It’s incredible how quickly you can write when you have mere minutes to get it done.

Be More Prolific than You Ever Thought Possible

Fab news! It took me years to develop and learn these effective tactics for writing like a bat out of hell, but you can try them all on right now.

Feel free to combine tactics: Turn off the grammar checker, down a couple glasses of water, fire up Ommwriter, and use a text expander app to produce B-minus work.

Chances are you’ll boost your speed many times over, so you can do even more of what you love (hint: writing) every day.

Ready for the writing to simply pour from you? Set your timer and get started!

About the Author: Linda Formichelli has been a full-time freelance writer since 1997. If you’re marketing your butt off and getting nowhere, Linda’s theory is that it’s because you’re doing all the right things—and getting overwhelmed by it all. Instead, check out her upcoming Volume Marketing Challenge for Freelance Writers. During this fun, intense challenge, each week you’ll do the heck out of one type of marketing to reveal the one that will get you the most freelance writing assignments. Registration opens March 3!

[alanajacksontx]

How to Write Faster: 10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour

Yesssss!

The schedule gods have given you a break, and you have a rare hour to actually sit down and write. You could produce an entire blog post! An article! Maybe even a short book chapter! Your research is all done, so all you need to do now is write.

You apply ass to seat, fire up your laptop, start typing …

… and it’s like watching a video in slo-mo.

Once the hour is up, you do a word count — and let’s just say the final tally is less than impressive.

It’s time to pull you out of that rut. Here are ten ways to produce great writing in volume. Using these tactics, I can write a full 1,000-word article in under an hour; I bet they’ll speed up your output as well.

#1. Write Under Pressure (from Your Bladder)

When I’m on fire (or on a deadline) and don’t want to stop writing, I skip bathroom breaks until I’m done. Nothing speeds up your writing like knowing you’re on the verge of having a potty accident.

Being a 48-year-old woman, I have to pee every 30 minutes, so you can bet I’m writing scorchingly fast to make it to the next bathroom break; but if this isn’t the case for you, try quaffing a couple glasses of water before sitting down at your laptop.

Caveat: I am not a doctor and this probably isn’t the healthiest thing to do. In fact, I’ve heard of bladder infections being called “secretary’s disease” because they used to happen frequently to secretaries who held it in while they finished “just one more task.” Use this tactic at your own risk!

#2. Outwit Writer’s Block with This Old Journalist’s Trick

Instead of insisting that your facts and examples be all lined up before you put pen to paper, which leads to over-researching, try writing from your head. Get down what you know, and what you remember from your interviews — and drop in the term “TK” wherever you get stuck and need more information.

TK is journo-speak for “to come,” and it’s used as a placeholder for copy you’ll add later. The beauty of TK is that this combo of letters very rarely occurs in the English language — so once you’re done with your draft, you can do a search on the term in your word processing program and fill in the holes.

You’ll be surprised at how much you already had in your head, and at how much faster you can produce a piece of writing this way!

#3. Use Automation to Skip Two Million Keystrokes

Rewriting the same copy over and over, or playing the cut-and-paste game several times an hour, is a massive time suck. In the two minutes it takes you to type in your bio at the end of a guest post, you could have written the lede paragraph of a new post.

I use an app called TextExpander — which expands custom keyboard shortcuts into frequently used text — for common copy like my email sign-off, bio, mailing address, book titles, HTML codes, and words and phrases I use often in my writing. You can even use TextExpander abbreviations to insert images, the current date, and more. (Similar apps include TypeIt4Me for Mac and Breevy for Windows.)

As an example, when I type in “rren,” this pops up: The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success. That’s four keystrokes instead of 80!

TextExpander’s stats say I’ve saved myself from typing over two million characters, and have saved over 142 hours. Yes, that’s six solid days I’ve rescued from the abyss of needless typing.

One trick I learned years ago is to be sure the abbreviations you choose are letter combinations you won’t be using for anything else. For example, if you choose the word “address” to expand out into your street address, that will also happen when you write, “This blog post will address common time-wasters.”

Try repeating a letter at the front of the word instead. I use the combo “bbio” for my bio and “uurl” for my website URL.

Imagine how much speedier your writing will be if you can simply type fewer words!

#4. Turn Off the Squiggly Red Lines

You’re all in the zone, writing like your life depends on it — or like you have to pee really bad; see tip #1 — and suddenly you’re stopped in your tracks by a squiggly red line under a word. You pause to check it, and realize the program doesn’t recognize the name of that city in Germany you’re writing about.

So you right-click on “Nuremberg,” select “Add to Dictionary,” and …

… where were you again?

Your word processing program’s spelling and grammar checkers are just okay at checking spelling and grammar, but they are phenomenal at yanking you right out of your flow. I actually don’t mind the spell checker, but when I have the grammar checker on I find myself stopping every few minutes to yell, “Shut up, I meant to write it that way!”

Guess what? You have the power to switch off the checkers so you’re able to write without distraction. You can always run them after you’ve finished your writing if you need to.

#5. Invest in a Faster Pen

Like to write first drafts or take notes by hand? The Hack My Study site did a comparison on which pens are the fastest to write with.

Here’s a spoiler: Fountain pens are best for pure speed, but they’re also pricey and difficult to master. The next best option is a rollerball pen. These are less expensive, but they’re still fast because they create little friction on the writing surface.

The third best for speed is the gel pen, which is less expensive than the rollerball, and coming in dead last is the standard ballpoint pen — you know, the kind you pick up for free at your local bank or dentist’s office.

I can attest to the speed of the rollerball; a few years ago I decided to toss out every junky pen in the house and replace them with a few dozen of my favorite brand, the Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Ball Fine — blue for me, black for my husband, and red just because. That way, whenever I’m in the mood to write a draft or take notes by hand, I can reach into a kitchen drawer or my purse and be assured of pulling out a fast, smooth-writing pen every time.

Stocking up on quality pens is an investment (it costs around $20 for a 12-pack of the Pilot pen I use), but it’s worth it if it helps you write faster. Not to mention you’ll never again waste precious writing seconds furiously scribbling on a sheet of scrap paper to get the ink flowing in your cheap ballpoint.

#6. Do B-Minus Work

One of the chief habits that keeps you stuck in slow motion is editing yourself while writing. There’s nothing like agonizing over the perfect word in the middle of writing a blog post or article to keep you in perpetual “not quite finished” mode. (That habit, of course, is a consequence of perfectionism, another common bugaboo for writers.)

Value done over perfect and let the words fly. Give yourself permission to do B-minus work just to get the ideas down on paper, then go back and edit when you’re done. Chances are, you’ll discover your writing was pretty good to begin with!

The more you resist editing yourself as you write, the easier writing will become. The easier writing becomes, the more confident you’ll be. And the more confident you are in your writing, the quicker the process gets.

#7. Get Zen Before You Pick Up Your Pen

If your writing slows to a virtual crawl because you feel the need to check Facebook or answer an email after every sentence, you’ll love OmmWriter, a program that blocks out the files and applications behind the writing page to minimize distractions.

OmmWriter also offers a selection of calming background colors and music to keep you in Zen mode as you write, plus soothing sounds with each keystroke. I especially love the horizontal cursor (instead of the usual vertical blinking one) that seems to say “Write on” instead of “Stop writing!”

Ommwriter was free when I downloaded it several years ago, but is now a pay-what-you-want app; the average offering is $7.33.

#8. Stop Letting the Schedule Push You Around

Sometimes a little space is all you need to get perspective on a piece of writing that’s giving you fits, so you can get the words out faster.

An example: Last week I had scheduled myself to write an article for my website called “How Writers Waste Time by Saving Time,” about the dangers of cutting corners in your research and interviews. I eked out about 500 (crappy) words at a glacially slow pace before giving up; the article sounded more like a rant than a solid service piece, and I just couldn’t figure out how to fix it.

Then I looked over my ideas for future articles, and one called “Let Future You Handle Your Writing Problems” jumped out at me. I was inspired! I opened a new Word file, and that article — all 900 words — poured out of me in less than 60 minutes.

This week, I revisited the article I had been stuck on, and immediately saw exactly what the problem was and how to resolve it. An hour later, that article was done too.

If you have control over what you write and when you write it, this tip is for you: Stop being a slave to your editorial calendar. When you’re wrestling with a scheduled article or post, let it go. Scan over your editorial calendar and see if there are any post ideas that get you all fired up, and make the switch. You’ll find that the writing flows much faster that way.

#9. Play Games to Boost Your Words Per Minute

A big problem for many writers is that we think faster than we type. If your brain is churning out amazing ideas and perfect turns of phrase at a blazing pace, but you type slower than my husband trying to help me come up with a funny metaphor for something slow — you’ll finish out your allotted writing time with a only fraction of your page filled with, you know, writing.

Learning to type is a lot more fun than it used to be, with many sites offering free games, lessons, and tests to help you up your keyboarding speed. FreeTypingGame.Net has, among other goodies, a game called The Frogs Are Off Their Diet. A similar site, WordGames.com, offers hilariously titled typing challenges like Zombie Typocalypse and Type Type Revolution.

If you often find yourself writing on the go, seek out free apps that will help you learn to type faster on your smartphone or tablet. TapTyping is one example for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, and Typing Master is an app that works on Android devices.

#10. Gamble with Your Reputation

Feeling competitive? Challenge yourself to write your blog post, article, or book chapter in a (much) shorter amount of time than you normally would.

I did this once while working with a friend at a café and her jaw dropped open as she watched me complete an 800-word article in 30 minutes. (And yes, it was good!)

Even better, bet a friend something juicy that you can do it, or throw down the gauntlet on social media. The more people who see it and the harsher the consequences should you lose, the more likely you are to get those words down on the double.

On the low-pressure end, I also like to do mini challenges: I’ll see how much I can write in the five minutes while my tea steeps … in the two minutes before the microwave dings and my lunch is ready … while I’m on hold with AT&T before someone picks up. It’s incredible how quickly you can write when you have mere minutes to get it done.

Be More Prolific than You Ever Thought Possible

Fab news! It took me years to develop and learn these effective tactics for writing like a bat out of hell, but you can try them all on right now.

Feel free to combine tactics: Turn off the grammar checker, down a couple glasses of water, fire up Ommwriter, and use a text expander app to produce B-minus work.

Chances are you’ll boost your speed many times over, so you can do even more of what you love (hint: writing) every day.

Ready for the writing to simply pour from you? Set your timer and get started!

About the Author: Linda Formichelli has been a full-time freelance writer since 1997. If you’re marketing your butt off and getting nowhere, Linda’s theory is that it’s because you’re doing all the right things—and getting overwhelmed by it all. Instead, check out her upcoming Volume Marketing Challenge for Freelance Writers. During this fun, intense challenge, each week you’ll do the heck out of one type of marketing to reveal the one that will get you the most freelance writing assignments. Registration opens March 3!

from Internet Marketing Tips https://smartblogger.com/how-to-write-faster/