@janeopries Sound Familiar?

Thank you again! I'm so in love with this piece!

@alenkospanko 's Ulyesses Opries and my Sadira (ever changing last name) Benoit. They are witches, they are problem children, and they sometimes stop arguing with each other to be romantic idiots.

"We stick together and no matter what, have each other's backs. Through sickness and in health." They may have not been married, but he did take the vows and he would keep them.

"Careful Opries, you're starting to sound like a responsible and sound adult. Almost wise. How normal." His fingers were warm on her chin and his blue eyes were captivating. Her features softened, "I'm glad we have each other."

Commission from the wonderful and incredible @ib-gomes. They were so kind and patient and look! It's so beautiful, truly a million times better than I pictured! Thank you again so much!

Friendly reminder that fan-made content (fanart, fanfic, fanvids, etc) are:

extremely time consuming. Remember someone actually took time out of their life to create that, time they could’ve used to, idk, sleep, for example

entertainment you’re consuming for free. I can’t stress this enough: you’re enjoying someone else’s craft for free. You paid exactly zero money to look at/read/watch it.

S H A R E D  with you, not made for you. This is the most important point: someone created that, put it online and you found it. No one forced you to consume that fanwork, you C H O S E  to do it. 

Whenever you feel like leaving a mean comment, anonymous hate or make a ~clever post about how ‘lol look at all of these overused tropes every fic writer crams into their fics’ remember you’re being a dick to someone who shared their work with you. You’re not being funny, you’re not being edgy, you’re not being brave for calling something out - you’re being a dick.

Writing Tip #7

Get to really know your character. From novel to OC in a fanfic, know every little thing about them. What is their favorite color? Most hated food? Deepest fear? Guilty pleasure? Are they afraid of heights or spiders? If you don't know them intimately, you can't write them well. It's like trying to tell the life story of a stranger you pass on the streets. You can't explain why they punched the wall, but they did. You can't write a character that people will get attached to them if you aren't attached yourself. A fun way to figure out their nuances is take those silly personality quizzes online. They actually make you think really hard on the little stuff and it helps big time. Remember that the world around them will also affect things. If a war is going on, the most likely won't be eating like kings. Do they resent it or is it all they've know? Sometimes it's the little things that really open up a character. It can be as stressful as trying to pull all the skeletons from your best friend's closet, but it's worth it in the end. (I.E. had a character afraid of the color orange and they were stuck in a pumpkin patch with their friends. Panic ensued and fighting happened, all because it was a feared color.) Any detail can seem too little to include, yet they can be the driving force behind a scene. Oh, and keep notes on their personality and preferences. It's easy to forget it all when you set down your writing.

*cracks knuckles* Are you ready? 1, 5, 10, 12, 17, 22, 26, and 29!

Yay! Thanks for the ask!

1. The System?Alphabetical, if a series doesn’t have the title name in it (i.e. Harry Potter) than I still keep keep it shelved next to the first.

5. The largest and smallest book you own?The largest: The World of Thedas Vol. 2The smallest: The Pocket New Testament

10. Favorite graphic novel?The Last Unicorn graphic novel. Lovely art to go with a beautiful story.

12. Inconsistent editions within a series?Actually, yes. I have one larger book in the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce and one really large copy of the Lord of the Rings and a tiny Hobbit.

17. Book you bought because of cover design?Most of them. Is that sad? I think it’s very sad. If a cover doesn’t intrest me, I’m not likely to pick it up without a recommendation.

22. A reoccurring intrest/theme?Fantasy. I loooove fantasy. Granted I will often go to the YA section, but you can never beat fantasy.

26. A book you would prescribe to an aspiring author?The Harry Potter Series. I know that seems like an odd answer, but I have several reasons.1) Harry Potter is a beloved series for every age.2) J.K. Rowling started at rock-bottom, a single mother who wrote when she could fit it in. Many publishing companies rejected her until one finally gave her a shot. Afterwards, her books were so popular that they are in almost every country and have been translated into several languages. Movies have been made of them.3) J.K. has literally gone from no one to one of the most influential authors of our age. If she can do it anyone can.

Nothing has been as inspiring as her legacy.

29. Favorite book from childhood?Anything Dr. Seuss.

THINGS WHICH MAKE WRITERS ANXIOUS:

not writing

writing

people reading their stories

people not reading their stories

Helpful and Preventative Stretches for Writers, Artists, and Gamers 💪🎨✍🎮

If you type, write, draw, game, or generally use your hands a lot (especially if you’re prone to RSI or Carpal Tunnel!) try these stretches as both a preventative measure, and on the spot relief. Take care of yourself and your body, friends!

Start with hands up, fingers stretched out.  Stretch your thumb as far as you can over your palm. Hold and repeat 4 times.

Touch each finger to your thumb. Hold each for 30 seconds. Repeat on each hand 4 times.

Start with a fist. Open half way, hold for 2 seconds. Stretch fingers out, hold for 2 seconds. Repeat 4 times.

Start with one arm out, palm up. Pull your fingers back with your other hand. Hold for 10 seconds. Do the same with your other hand. Repeat 4 times

Start with arms up, palms out. Bend wrists down until you feel the stretch, but keep your fingers loose. Hold 10 seconds. Bend wrist upwards, until you feel it in your wrist and arm. Hold 10 seconds. Repeat 4 times.

I hate how there’s a fan culture where fan writing is seen as less valuable than fan art. Hold on with me here, I’ve got some coherent thoughts on this.

1. Creators of the original work one might be a fan of have explicitly said that they don’t look at or respond to anything written for fear of being sued. Like, shit. I don’t want to sue anyone. I want creators to tell me, “Oh, wow. You took my thing and made it amazing!” Fan art gets reblogged and commented on by creators because there’s no fear of law. Fan art gets more validation and praise than fan writing.

2. Popularity of fan writing increases when there is fan art dedicated to the piece. Fan art is popular no matter if fan writing is made from it.

3. In general, fan art is reblogged and liked more often than fan writing. Art is pretty and might occupy an “aesthetic” while writing is considered to clog up a dash with too many words.

4. Fan art is easy to engage with no matter the demographics of your audience. Writing will–at the very least–limit the age demographic. If you write for an older audience, younger folk might not be into it and vise versa.

5. And unless you’re super into supporting fan writing, you’ll probably not say anything about it. Fan art gets the bare minimum of “gorgeous.”

Um…

Advice for Fanfiction Writers

Note, these are my personal opinions but I thought they might help some people.

1) Always write for you. Not for likes or reviews/comments or favorites, write because it’s what you want to do.

2) Take a few minutes to proof read, don’t post right away. Get in the habit of editing.

3) Always leave a coherent summary. Don’t apologize or or talk to the reader in this section, let them know what the story is about. That’s what that space is there for. You don’t need to tell them it’s your first fanfiction, in fact it might color the reader’s impression of your story. Instead give readers a strong summary to keep them hooked. This leads to my next point.

4) Always stay confident. Criticism hurts, but that doesn’t mean you’re bad at writing or untalented. Keep at it, you’ve got this. Confidence shines through your work.

5) Do a little research, readers will appreciate it. I’m not sure I’ll trust a story where characters wears jeans in a medieval setting or use katana in modern London. A little bit of fact checking goes a long way.

6) Don’t hate on pairings you don’t like. This is more of a courtesy than anything, but fanfiction is about imagination and creativity. Hostility only leaves a bad impression of you on potential readers. Keep it to yourself if you can’t be nice.

7) Leave trigger warnings, please. Some readers really need them and views are not worth the emotional suffering of someone else. If you’re uncertain what might be a trigger then go ahead and note it anyway. Better safe than sorry.

8) Be yourself. Write what you want without fear. You can grow writing fanfiction, it isn’t something to be ashamed of. Many famous people did before fanfiction even had a name. Keep going and post your stories. You owe it to yourself.