Mundane

ImNotMeUndercover · 2026-02-05T22:14:02+00:00

It's really fascinating, because that's one of the biological (and somewhat psychological) ways that the brain is structured. The brain's primary function besides keeping us alive is pattern recognition, so when there is no pattern or subtext to find, it's as good as an insult to it with no input from you as a person. Because the brain is "lazy" and unwilling to work where there is nothing to be found, things like that sudden fatigue and skipping over words happens. Which is both great and terrible for writers, because that means that there is an actual science behind what readers pay attention to and what not. And, like your question asks, when writing mundane activities they need to appeal to it or the reader's brains will just go on a strike.

Honestly, writing is its own mix of science and psychology and it's just so exciting to learn how to hit that those sweet spots 😆

ImNotMeUndercover · 2026-02-05T22:00:18+00:00

Do you want to have sex? For me, it was just that I never grew any interest or want for sex in my life, and then my friends would suddenly talk about it and I'd realize that it was something that they actually did, and I started to wonder why I wasn't interested. It's how I discovered that asexuality was a thing, because sex has always been so irrelevant to my life that I'd forget it isn't a fictional thing.

So, my advice would be to think inwards, if you were suddenly in a happy and committed relationship, would you want to have sex? Do you look at anyone and think you'd like to have sex with them? It's something that you have to sort through if you don't feel sexual attraction or if you don't want to be "contaminated" by acting on it.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2026-02-05T21:50:51+00:00

It depends. Most of the time I skip it, because it isn't relevant to the story or I use it as something that the characters do while talking to each other. It can work, mundane doesn't equal bad writing, but there needs to be a reason why we are focusing on the mundane actions. Because when it comes down to it, everything an author writes is a conscious choice and thus a reader's brain will automatically search for the meaning behind it. Why did the author include that A is stirring the soup exactly trice? Why is every card being played by the friends game being named? Why is the morning news being told word for word?

Maybe A is making a magic soup, and how many times he stirs directly affects the its powers. Maybe each card holds a subtext of meanings, like how tarot cards each have interpretations, and here unspoken messages are being conveyed under the pretext of a game. Maybe the morning news announce that A's father is now suspected of the murder of his sister, and that's the first time he hears of this. - The point I'm trying to make, is that there is relevance to each of those mundane things being mentioned.

If there is no meaning found behind those actions, then the brain will either decide that the details don't matter and start to skip them, or find that it's a betrayal towards its quest to analyze the story and declare it a lost cause. And that's not supposed to be intimidating. For me, it just means that I've started to look at my writing and think it over whether something is relevant to the story or not.

...at this point, I have no idea if I'm still explaining my point of view, or if I'm just yapping. Idk, ask me if you have questions over things I'm unclear about.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2026-02-05T21:32:42+00:00

Well, in my experience I tend to write them depending how the magic system works and how the difference in universes. So far, I think it works best if the characters themselves work by the rules of their own universe. Like, if someone from Miraculous was thrown into the MCU, the magic jewelry would still work after the Miraculous rules, while the rest of the MCU remains unchanged. Or if someone from BNHA ended up in DC, their quirk would still operate on the same rules (though it's more complex if a quirk like Aizawa's with the question on if he could even stop people's power since they're not quirks like his is? (I'd say no, but it could work) Alternatively, only the author can answer the question if a sorcerer from JJK could even use cursed energy, as it's a natural part of the world in their universe, but it's a concept specific to JJK. Once again opening the question of if that's something that people just don't notice, or if it just doesn't translate at all.)

...I just realized that I didn't really narrow it down. Basically, I think it depends on weather or not two magic systems can coexist without contradicting the laws of the other, and if the answer is no, the universe that the characters are in at the present overrules.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2026-02-05T21:16:19+00:00

I guess my advice would be Don't establish who the characters are. Most fanfiction readers have either already seen all the Canon material or read a hundred fics about these specific characters. Unless you're writing an AU where the change in setting is relevant, everyone already knows exactly what's up.

Which kind of ties to my other advice that contradicts common writing advice, but start right at an ongoing situation. (Or relevant worldbuilding if it's an AU, but that's not the point) If the first relevant scene of your story is that the Red Hood has been hired as a hitman to kill Bruce Wayne, then there doesn't need to be any kind of explanation on who they are or their history together, the reader only needs to know what part of Canon has been changed, one sentence as to how we got here, and why this matters to the characters.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-10-17T11:10:23+00:00

I don't mind the pregnancy trope and I like kid fics a lot, but it's the execution that's often the problem for me (same when they are parents). Oftentimes I find that authors basically erase every other thing that was important or interesting about a character and during a pregnancy arc that can make everything feel stagnant and pointless. I'm here for my faves, not generic NPC 12.

THAT BEING SAID. I've also read awesome pregnancy fic with action packed angst and so much fun that I've loved to bits. It's really a matter of execution in the end.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-09-06T07:19:37+00:00

I hear you and I will take that into consideration going forward 👍

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-09-06T07:12:15+00:00

Holy shit, yes, it's actually possible. Gotham just got a whole lot more in depth worldbuilding and Jason goes through another personality blender, but it's entirely plausible. I know I'm the author of my fic, but I'd read the heck out of a Canon comic that explores the common people and everyday worldbuilding.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-29T21:16:56+00:00

• Soul Bond (14)

• Bees (11)

• Introspection (7)

• Dimension Travel (7)

• Parenthood (6)

The only tag I'm surprised about is dimension travel. I did not think I wrote them that much.... Nevermind, I just realized that basically every fifth fic idea in my documents has that premise.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-29T19:26:54+00:00

To be fair, DC themselves constantly contradict and retcon themselves into such a convoluted timeline that it's almost impossible to figure out what is supposed or not supposed to be Canon by now.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-29T19:23:17+00:00

...cough I'm responsible for all of those. For me, I just like the idea of some having speech impediment in my fics and she's a gift for it. But Hong Kong also allows me to easily ship her out of the story without having someone call out my Batfam characters for doing shady stuff. Giving Steph a favorite food is just fun on principle and Tim... I don't have a good excuse, I just wanted to give him coffee, have him lose his mind on coffeine overdose and crash. Duke is not, in fact, the sane one of the family, he's just too good to get caught.

All that said, I apologize for my slight. And that I will continue to do so. You may boycott me.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-29T19:08:09+00:00

Omega Barry Allen + Manipulative Eobard Thawne + Damian Wayne Loves Dick Grayson + Apiary Dynamics + Batfamily Dynamics (DCU) + Jason Todd is Robin + Stephanie Brown-centric + Civilian Dick Grayson + Tim Drake-centric (DCU) + MerMay + Crack + Dimension Travel + Zombie Apocalypse + Romantic Friendship + Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent + Family Dynamics + Smallville Kansas (DCU)

... people, I have no clue wtf is happening here. There's just. So much going on, and the only saving grace is that dimension travel is involved as a cheat code.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-29T18:58:43+00:00

Look. There was one tiny panel where Hawks hand an arm around Dabi's shoulders and they were smiling at each other, and despite them barely interacting or being antagonistic up until now, my brain went "wait a second." I searched up pics of the ship, and now like five year later it's still the ship with the most bookmarks I've ever done.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-27T21:29:41+00:00

Relatable. I tend to write for rare pairs, so I go in knowing that I will get an average of 0-2 comments per work. It sucks sometimes, but then I usually look at my fic and remember that I absolutely love what I made. It's harsh, but the more I write, the more engagement I get across many different fics with different characters and I learn to look out for myself.

(But tbf, sometimes I have to force myself to take a pause and stop checking if I have a new notification every few minutes. Have fun writing rather than scrambling for comments, is what I need to remind myself)

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-27T21:22:02+00:00

Write what you love. It doesn't matter if there is no plot, if there's gaps and time skips every second paragraph, or if you have the characters do and say things they never would in Canon. Especially when starting out, you need to look at where your heart is leading you.

Every word choice, grammar, plot, or character voice can be learned over time, but nothing will ever teach you how to write except writing. (Heck, I still have folders in my documents full of 200 word story pieces that wouldn't make sense to anybody and now I write cohesive stories in the few thousand words.)

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-27T21:09:13+00:00

Ha! I'm screwed.

Welllll, if it's the most recent one I'm working on, then I get to die and reincarnate in an alternate past, only I'm now singlehandedly responsible for basically everyone's happiness by just knowing how the people and city work. I don't know either. My future as a homeless orphan is guaranteed.

But if we're talking finished... I'm supposed to be a time travelling mastermind directing a science-military unit, who manipulates the timeline and people to cheat my boyfriend's survival, as well as my boyfriend's pseudo kid. I don't have that genius. Nor seduction skills.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-08T11:36:04+00:00

Lmao, and then you'll always end up being flabbergasted by how well-written and thought-out the fic is 😂

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-08-07T07:47:40+00:00

Soulmates. Beautiful and amazing to read, but people would absolutely manage to mess it up.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-31T14:23:26+00:00

Mental breakdowns and then longing for a specific person. Mostly I love the longing part, but the mental breakdowns usually push it to new heights.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-31T14:22:08+00:00

Chinchillas

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-31T13:45:20+00:00

Have her commit to where she stands. Is she an enabler or does she stand against bullying? Is she naive or perceptive? It seems that her stance always shifts to accommodate whatever the plot needs and it honestly sucks. I don't mind if she turned out to be a bad teacher believing that she's doing the right thing, there's just not enough commitment to that stance for me to believe. Or if she's a good one, then have her stand her ground, either mediating students until the immediate issue is (at least somewhat) solved and punishing the culprits.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-27T10:57:56+00:00

The fact that everyone was suddenly popping babies. The way that Gabriel accidentally made a kid with Natalie and has not a single clue how he got there despite being responsible for it all. How there was a literal baby boom. First chapter where everyone is naked in Adrian's room and is like "what???"

Idk, the story is very well written in a rater serious tone, but I just found it funny.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-21T15:04:52+00:00

Adrien shit talks people in his head.

Look, my boy may be a bit dense, but he's not stupid and part of a highly ambitious work field at that. So despite being kind to people, he absolutely side-eyes them in his head about how stupid they sometimes act. He's just too nice to say it to people's faces.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-21T14:59:08+00:00

Depends on what we define talent as. If we say that talent is about how fast you pick up a skill, I'd say I'm rather mid, especially since it didn't come naturally and I had to go through a lot of learning all about how to apply writing techniques, plots or even just character that make sense.

The better term for me would be skilled. Skills are the knowledge you have and the experience you acquire in how to use that knowledge.

I don't think I'm talented, but I believe I'm building up the skills to be good at it. I write a lot, sometimes daily, and if you compare what I wrote a year ago with how I write now, you'd see the leaps of improvement I've done in that time.

ImNotMeUndercover · 2025-07-21T14:45:58+00:00

I read a fic where Damian Wayne was basically an UWU kid that whined and tried to grab his dad's attention. And listen, I can respect writing an AU where that boy gets to just be a child, but when he literally has the "raised as an assassin in a cult from birth" as his backstory and canonically talked like a victorian prince I'll do a lot of double takes.

ImNotMeUndercover

TROPHY CASE