lightsbeyondbarriers

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@bulletfic To me, it's like any piece of characterization that fans can alter to suit the story they want to write. I don't view it as a trick. It's just fiction. I get more bothered when the least patriarchal character on record gets written as a patriarchal a-hole.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@jyuuugoya The em dash is also popular with literary fiction writers who have never written a piece of fanfic in their lives and with writers whose output predates AI. It is not an AI tell.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@Kyles_myg DLDR can be applied before clicking in. If the thing one cares about (happy ending, t/b, hopeful ending... whatever) isn't explicitly tagged, then one is free to skip that fic.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@snowyangellic THIS.
I also find it weird when one man pressuring another man into intimacy is considered a turn-on... but would be cringe if it were f/m. To me, they're both cringe.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@ghostbeomsters What!? I consider a 5k-word fic short.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@vampyknj Between 200 and 400 words/day adds up over time. If you are low on motivation, set a small daily writing goal.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@j1sungsnoona My stories always start with dialogue. At least 200 to 300 words of a scene I can latch on to. The outline comes second.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

I've actually written fan-service fic, and yes, it gets more engagement than the projects I'm genuinely passionate about. For me, passion wins every time.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

Sure, it can hurt to have little engagement, but it's sensible to be aware of the audience you're creating for. While it may sound terrible to frame it as transactional, most art is, in some sense... whether for money or for an emotional experience. (1/2)
#fic

[breathe. you'll pull through ♠️🪽 🦯 @black_quadrant]

"write for yourself" sadly comes across as dismissive. the same as artists, we create works for the fandom we love, with the ideal outcome for it to be seen by fellow fans. we're allowed to be discouraged if we're not receiving traction. all fandom creators want to share passion.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

If I wanted to maximize fandom engagement, I would write the most popular ship with the most popular trope. I'm sure it would perform much better than what I actually write/post, but I wouldn't feel good about it. I think of that as fan-service fic.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@mearpsdyke Maybe after writing over 60k words of fic for my fandom over the span of a year, I'm just tapped out. I've spent a lot of time with the same characters and feel I don't have anything left to offer the community.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@st5rcrest I don't want to be a character in the story. Third person for me, which can and does work for slash fic.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

For me, not at all. I am very much a follower of canon traits, which means not writing the fanon-preferred pairings.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@Togotica “He reached out to touch his cheek.”
If the scene only has 2 men in it, it’s clear to me that A is touching B. The context makes it unlikely that A is touching his own face. When there’s more ambiguity, you can specify. The same name 10x in the same paragraph is more distracting

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@TrebleRose89 Look at what fics are "popular" and then set realistic expectations BEFORE posting about how yours will do. Not writing the most popular ships/tropes? Probably won't get much traffic. But it still might be the best story in the fandom tag! Write it anyway.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@wakesiren Rewriting and posting as if a new work? Probably not. Editing an old one? Absolutely. I read through one of my favorites this week and cut over 200 words. It's so much better now. But I didn't repost as new to bump it.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@5661maggotpower And after a few months, more than half of the fandom has moved on to something else, which means very few readers, giving less incentive to write.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@5661maggotpower Because a well-written one takes between a few weeks to a month to finish, and that's only if your schedule leaves a lot of time for writing. If it doesn't, a fic can take months to finish.

[lightsbeyondbarriers @grayinthepen]

@silentroomjrnl Actually, 'slop' has come to mean anything one doesn't like or value, regardless of origin. Outside of AI, it's a way of criticizing something without actually engaging with it.