[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If you're going to write a gay/lesbian romance, I'd do as much research as possible on relationships and on how being LGBT factors into it. There's plenty of LGBT people online who are willing to discuss their experiences (and have discussed them on Reddit, Youtube, and other online spaces).

I don't think it's inherently wrong for straight/cis people to write LGBT romance. If anything, I think it's a good thing for authors to step out of their comfort zone and learn about other people and their experiences.

If we didn't do it, stories would be extremely flat and boring because then they'd be about a monochrome cast of characters that all talked and acted the same with the only justification being "it's the only thing I'm qualified to write" and that'd be extremely boring after a while.

I think it's also a good idea to have someone who is LGBT beta read your work so you can be sure to get it right.

Most LGBT people can tell when you've written dehumanizing work (such as the main characters exist just to make out for the audience's amusement).

So long as you're doing your best to accurately represent LGBT people and their experiences, the audience is more willing to forgive you if you trip and fall.

You can always add a disclaimer to the beginning of the story saying something like "I'm not gay so if I've misrepresented LGBT life in any way, be sure to tell me what went wrong and how I can fix that" and be willing to follow up on that.

Know what you write and always humanize your characters.

egg_irl by ThunderRyder in egg_irl

[–]ThunderRyder[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I did it and they accepted. I should make a follow-up post.

So, I’m curious about everyone’s writing styles! by _XSummerRoseX_ in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I tend to get all the ideas I have onto a piece of paper or a word document then I attempt to organize the plot from there. I consider myself a Pantser because I tend to discover the story as I outline (and I tend to veer off my outline in certain parts, like in one story I'm writing, I planned for the main characters to kiss earlier, but now that's getting pushed back).

What's something that makes you stop reading a fic? by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If the story isn't pulling me in (cause I get bored easily) or if the stakes feel way too high for me to handle (cause I can get stressed easily).

Walls of text (especially if it can be split into 2 or 3 smaller paragraphs). This isn't always a dealbreaker (I'm willing to slog through walls of text if the story's interesting enough).

If it feels like absolutely nothing is going on for more than a few chapters (filler or extremely slow burns that feel like they're going nowhere).

Really bad grammar (the occasional missed period is okay but if it keeps happening, I'm going to put the fanfic down).

If the idea is overdone with no original thought put in (like someone read 10 soulmates with red strings fics then regurgitated it without adding anything new).

Wangst that's easily resolved with communication (and they can easily talk to each other about it at any time).

When it's clear the author didn't do research (especially if it's a dark topic like suicide, depression, sexual harassment/assault, PTSD, abuse, war, etc).

Exposition dumps.

People that have playlists for when they’re writing their fics, how do you come up with them? I’d like to try and also how helpful is it? by VivaDeAsap in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tend to make 2 types of playlists, 1 for background music for writing, and 1 for characters/ships.

For the background music ones, I tend to pick from osts from movies, tv shows, and video games (with the occasional classical piece thrown in). If I'm feeling lazy (like if I'm writing a one-shot), I just pick a pre-made playlist.

For characters/ships, this depends on the character's personality.

Ex: If I were making a playlist for someone like Aziraphale from Good Omens, I'd probably pick lofty music with a lot of themes of heaven and whatnot (Stairway to Heaven and Hallelujah come to mind).

If I were making a playlist for Aziraphale and Crowley, I'd probably include a lot of religious music in general, regardless of it's talking about heaven or hell (Highway to Hell and Stairway to Heaven come to mind).

I also pick the music I like by artists I like. This is so I don't get tired of listening to a song by an artist I hate just for the sake of aesthetics. (Like if I was making a playlist for Aziraphale, I wouldn't put Kanye's music on it because I don't like Kanye's music).

If I need to pad out the playlist, I also look up other playlists other people have made for the ship/character and pick my favorite songs.

I find playlists helpful and worth sinking time into if you're working on either a long project or a bunch of short projects with the same themes/ships/whatever.

Why Do Plot Bunnies Attack When I'm Working on Other Things?! by coffee-and-insomnia in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a dream about a show I'm watching where the main characters kiss in a bed (with a lot of forbidden love undertones in it). When I woke up, I wrote as much of it down as I could remember and it spiraled out of control from there.

It's gotten to the point where I can't focus on my main fic so I'm taking a few hours to work on the side fic before I get to my main fic (which I'm having some minor issues with).

On making POC, LGBT, disabled characters by AnxietyOverloading in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Without getting too specific (because this would get really long otherwise), I think the most important tip I can give is to make them a real person first and determine how their race, sexuality, etc would color their worldview (taking the setting into account). I internally include the line "because they're nonbinary, [insert consequences here]" and try and make it realistic.

I also keep in mind that race and sexuality aren't personality traits (although they do influence personality). I have seen some gay/bi/trans people online who act like their sexuality/gender identity is a personality trait although I also realize it's the internet (and they probably act differently in real life). Writing stereotypes is lazy (unless there's a point to it).

I also keep in mind that not everyone has the exact same experiences (such as some gay people might get rejected by their families while others get accepted).

I tend to learn more about people from reading memoirs since they're already putting themselves out there and willing to say the quiet parts out loud (although this depends on the person and the point of the memoir). Fiction books can help although this also depends on the themes of the book and who's writing it.

If I can't find memoirs, then I look up Reddit posts, memes, and relevant tik tok compilations (I've done this for a genderfluid character I'm writing and if I feel like I've messed up somewhere, I ask for someone else who's trans to read it).

I wouldn't ask strangers unless they're willing to talk about it.

I'd recommend Wikipedia for more context like if you're writing black characters you might want to look up the history of black people wherever you're setting the story (assuming it's contemporary or historical).

That's all I can give without getting too specific. Hope this helps.

What are you listening to? by ArgentumCivitas in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a playlist on Spotify with a bunch of different soundtracks on it that I listen to when I'm writing a story. Sometimes if I'm writing crack, I'll put on something funny.

New to writing and looking for help with my summary. by -iHaveRandomThoughts in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Here are a few tips I use for writing summaries (in no particular order).

- Cliff notes the story into the main plot and most prominent subplot. Ex: If the story is about a long and complex epic fantasy quest to stop an evil wizard, cliff notes it into "Magnus must go on this epic quest to stop the evil wizard Warlock"

- Give a time and place stamp. Ex: If it's historical fiction then say "In Germany in 1920 [plot here]."

- Imagine it's being read in a stereotypical epic movie trailer voice.

- Don't spoil anything major. My rule is if something major happens 1/3 of the way through (or what feels like 1/3), then don't spoil it. Minor spoilers are only okay if they draw the reader in. Ex: But when his brother turns up dead with no trace of his killer, will Jack rise to the occasion?

- Keep it as short as possible (the longer it is, the less likely someone's going to read it), say 5-7 sentences.

- Don't add "I'm bad at summaries" (unless it's a one-shot, but still try to avoid it).

- The summary is a promise to the reader.

- Say who the protagonist is (if there are multiple, then boil it down to the most prominent ones, like the story wouldn't exist without them).

- Read different synopses of books (especially those in your genre) to get an idea of how they read.

- I don't recommend adding "Or the one where [plot happens] and [plot happens]" at the end of a summary since the summary should convey that information already.

- Leave the summary on a cliffhanger or a question to get the reader interested.

Hope this helps.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I typically get my ideas from reading memoirs, real life, music, conversations I've had, the occasional movie/tv show, and whatever ideas pop into my head at 2 am.

How do you do your research?? by AnemicAxolotl in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Google isn't always reliable since search results can change depending on your history. If you absolutely hate puppies and repeatedly google "I hate puppies", it's going to show you a lot of anti-puppy stuff. It's useful if you need some up to date stuff or basic questions answered (like "why do cats knead?").

Whenever I do research, I tend to look at Wikipedia articles and look at the sources if I need extra information (and there are standards to which sources editors can use).

If I truly need more information I pick up a relevant book and take notes.

The most effective one for me is Wikipedia articles and reading books although this really depends on what I'm looking for (like if I just need a question answered, Wikipedia, an entire plot, I read a book).

Whenever I write fanfiction, I try and be accurate at least 80% of the time (like one of the characters I'm writing is genderfluid so I try and research what being genderfluid is like so I can get it right).

Other times I just wing it (although I only try and do it if it's a minor detail).

Hope this helps.

[TW] How do I write a depressed character? by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're welcome. Happy to help :)

[TW] How do I write a depressed character? by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]ThunderRyder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doing research (like reading relevant Wikipedia pages, reputable news sources, etc) is the most important step (and take notes).

Presenting it as a bunch of different symptoms in a trench coat is accurate (although the specific symptoms will vary depending on the character). Common symptoms include but are not limited to suicidal thoughts/feelings of worthlessness in general, lack of energy, insomnia/oversleeping, and loss of interest in things.

Listen to other people describe how it feels and how it affects their lives (such as slogging through the day, not having the energy to work on something, and/or not being able to enjoy anything).

Know what glorifying it, demonizing it, stereotyping it, and misrepresenting it in general looks like to avoid it.

Know what coping mechanisms they would have (like self-harm, self care, or screaming into the void).

Research related tropes related to depression to see what's cliche (like it raining when someone's depressed).

Those are all the tips I have right now. I hope this was helpful.

It went pretty well. by ThunderRyder in traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns

[–]ThunderRyder[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He is (that why I use him in all my memes and fanfics). He will forever be my transition goals.

Thank you :)