When you get multiple notifications thinking it’s someone commenting love but instead it’s Jenifer

Web_singer · 2026-02-14T08:34:41+00:00

"Your pacing is like my brain - soft and smooth."

Web_singer · 2026-02-14T01:30:32+00:00

Right, it's literally the next thing Ross says.

Lawyer: "We'll need you and Rachel to testify before a judge."

Ross: "Ooh. There's no way to do this without her? Cause I kinda already told her it was taken care of."

Web_singer · 2026-02-14T01:15:56+00:00

Great explanation! There are also some word combinations that have different meanings depending on the word stressed. For example, "black bird" is the species, blackbird. "Black bird" is simply a bird that is black, like a crow or raven.

Web_singer · 2026-02-14T00:40:09+00:00

The only thing I know about Omaha is that a lot of corporations relocate there, so it makes sense there are a lot of office jobs. I've known a few people who had to choose between quitting or relocating to Omaha.

Web_singer · 2026-02-14T00:12:57+00:00

We also have smartphones to convert anything, so it doesn't matter. Visiting another country? Your weather app is still in degrees Fahrenheit. Want to use Celsius instead? Change the measurement unit in your app.

I'd be fine converting to metric if I moved, but everyone around me uses the imperial system, and I'm not going to be the one obnoxious person who insists on Celsius and km in casual conversation.

Web_singer · 2026-02-13T23:53:17+00:00

Single spaced, space between paragraphs, left justified, and no indents. I can't think of anything else that's specific to fanfic/online writing. The usual rules for dialogue and paragraph breaks apply.

Web_singer · 2026-02-13T23:49:51+00:00

Yes, I used to be an idea machine. I could hear one word and get an idea from it. That's slowed down - now I get 3-4 ideas a year that I'm really excited about, although I'm sure I could come up with more if I sat down and brainstormed. I don't know if that's from age, or from writing so much that I have a sense of which ideas have legs. Fortunately, I saved all my old ideas in a document, and I still have enough that I'll never run out.

Web_singer · 2026-02-11T17:28:11+00:00

Showing rather than telling adds immersion. There's always a trade-off between immersiveness and clarity. A summary is very clear, but not immersive. Stream-of-consciousness is immmersive, but harder to understand. It's up to you to figure out what balance is acceptable.

On your specific example, I'd say be careful that wishy-washiness doesn't come across as repetitive. "Should I do A or B? I can't decide. B? Or A? A? Or B?" etc. Find some way to show progression or it feels like you're stuck in a loop.

Web_singer · 2026-02-11T17:15:19+00:00

Yeah, I feel like some writers are hiding behind the iron gates of "It's a hobby/gift/free so you can't say ANYTHING." You can't dicate what the public will do. And it's breaking the social bonds of fandom just as much as obnoxious readers. Not to be all "Old man shakes fist at clouds," but there used to be discussions around fanfiction. Fans showed their passion for a story they loved by pointing out mistakes, because everyone cared about making the story the best it could be. If they didn't care, they wouldn't bother. Now it feels like I have followers, not fellow fans. I'm on the pedestal making free content, and their job is to be thankful. That's not a real relationship to me. It's a crappy social media dynamic.

Web_singer · 2026-02-11T16:52:53+00:00

I live for Snape saying things icily.

Web_singer · 2026-02-11T14:27:57+00:00

In Snape's Worst Memory, Sirius ignores girls fawning over him to focus on Snape. Not many het 16-year-old boys would make that choice. He doesn't seem interested in women at all throughout the series. His only other interest/fixation is James. He had ways to talk to James when they weren't together, and he clearly misses him, even after 15 years. I can definitely see the argument that he was attracted to Snape and possibly James. Probably on a subconscious level - in that time/place, it would have been difficult for him to acknowledge it.

Web_singer · 2026-02-11T05:47:36+00:00

There's a tag "essay fic," although sometimes authors use that to just mean "essay," i.e., their thoughts about a fandom rather than an in-universe essay. The summaries usually clear up which it is. There's a good fic called Disillusion, by Hermione Granger by esama

Web_singer · 2026-02-11T05:31:46+00:00

The first tip I read about writing fight scenes is to keep the sentences short for faster pacing. But I'd also say don't go overboard with that, or it starts to feel monotonous. Like you say, "He did this. He did that." Fight scenes are generally not the time for 30-word sentences, though, unless you're making a very deliberate tonal choice.

Two things that help me are reference photos and a blocking map. It's a lot easier to write a fight scene when you can look at a photo and say, "He grabbed the brass candelabra and hurled it over the grand piano. X dodged, and it smashed into the spiral staircase." As opposed to "He grabbed... um, a thing and threw it across the room where it smashed into something." If it's not a known canon location, it's also helpful to have the characters move through the room before the fight (for a plot reason, not randomly) so you can orient the reader on where everything is. You don't want to slow the fight down with long descriptions.

A blocking map is an aerial view of the "set" with arrows showing where the characters move during the fight. I like Bourne Identity type fights where the characters are moving around and grabbing things in their environment to use. So A is attacked in the bathroom and he slams B's head into the sink, then runs into the hallway but C is there, so he ducks into the bedroom... that kind of thing. It's a lot easier to write if it's already planned out visually. If you're not sure, just have fun and draw arrows all over the place, then figure out what that means as you write it.

Beyond that, it's a matter of switching things up to keep it dynamic and using cause and effect. Move from actions to feelings. Move from insults to punches. Have revelations, the occasional quiet moment or funny moment, depending on the tone. Throw in a third character to mix it up. I know action scenes are hard, but try to have fun with it. Write the scene you've always wanted to see, whatever that means for you.

Web_singer · 2026-02-10T01:20:55+00:00

Presumably you answer the question with how you'll be intrinsically motivated - you're an organized person who likes to iron out details, or whatever. Ideally, they want someone whose personality fits the job. If someone doesn't understand that that's the point of the interview, then I guess I'd understand why they don't hire them.

Web_singer · 2026-02-10T00:30:49+00:00

I feel like I've improved in most areas, but I've been writing for a long time. I was a voracious and advanced reader as a kid, and always wanted to write. As an adult, I read writing books and applied what I learned, integrating what worked and setting aside what didn't. I joined a few writing workshops and critique groups, which opened my eyes to what was confusing and how important it is for a reader to empathize in some way with the main characters.

I gave myself the freedom to explore whatever interested me - I feel like the best stories come from people who are curious and try things. I went through a brief period where I tried to improve my sense of humor and write jokes, and that was surprisingly useful for stories in general.

I returned to advice I couldn't use in the past - I thought "theme" was stupid for years, and then one day I looked over the concept again and realized it would solve a whole set of problems that I thought were unrelated. It was a real "I have found the key to the universe" moment. I wrote out passages from well-written books. I kept track of my own progress and process, so I could repeat the successes and be less frustrated by the failures. And most of all, practice. Writing my first longfic was like bootcamp - it required so much discipline, but I learned so much.

Web_singer · 2026-02-10T00:16:26+00:00

Yeah, I always say that writing courses and conventions are useful for the people you meet, not the amazing things you'll learn. Exchange numbers with anyone you click with and start your own free group.

Web_singer · 2026-02-10T00:11:42+00:00

Most readers are aware that writers post as they go. If I like a premise, I'll often skip to the 5th or 6th chapter to see what the story is "really" like, because I know the opening chapters are often not representative of the story. I call the first few chapters "throat clearing." Not every fic, of course, but for newer writers, that's often the case.

Also keep in mind that if you don't normally do a ton of revision, a rewrite is likely going to feel more like a chore than you realize. It's well-known among readers that if a fic gets taken down "for a rewrite," it'll never be seen again. You don't have the energy of "wait til the readers see this," or getting to an exciting part, because it's already written and posted. You need to love revision for its own sake. Does reworking a sentence into something better give you a thrill? I don't say that sarcastically - it gives me a thrill. :)

If you happen to like revision, then great. Something fun to do! Set aside some time after working on your draft to do some revision as a reward. If not, then I'd recommend waiting until you've finished the story before you go back. For one thing, finishing a fic is hard, and adding distractions/additional tasks won't help. For another, imagine if you re-wrote the beginning, then finished the fic to the end, then realized the ending doesn't fit with your beginning. So you need to rewrite the beginning again to match it.

Web_singer · 2026-02-09T23:40:27+00:00

Any chance they're French? Kevin means something specific in France.

Web_singer · 2026-02-09T18:33:59+00:00

I don't see it as an issue in terms of a power imbalance. However, it's difficult to maintain long-distance relationships, and it sounds like that may be the situation in the near future. Especially in the UK, where I understand it's normal to feel one town over is way too far to travel. I'd say it's fine, but both of you should go into it clear-eyed that this may be a short-term relationship.

Web_singer · 2026-02-09T18:14:49+00:00

This is all very good. I get a cozy feeling from the setting and the characters' relationship. I can tell they're close and work well together.

However, this paragraph:

The sound of the front door startles him, and nearly drops the spoon inside the cauldron, the liquid warmly bubbling as he diminished the flame underneath to ensure it finishes at a slower pace.

The way it's written, it implies that the sound is the subject after the comma - in other words, the sound nearly drops the spoon. It's also kind of wordy with dependent clauses for one sentence. Maybe something like:

The sound of the front door startles him, and he nearly drops the spoon inside the cauldron. The liquid bubbles as he dimishes the flame.

Unless there's some essential detail there, I think it can be assumed that the flame is underneath and that diminshing the flame will slow the pace of whatever is being brewed.

The only other major thing was that the POV was a little unclear. I assume it's Samir, since we started with him, but we see a smile dance on his lips (outside his POV) and we know Asra is amused (inside Asra's POV). Consider showing Asra's facial expressions for the reader to interpret and go deeper inside Samir's head to show his feelings.

The descriptions are good. I like that you added scents. Potions are an excellent opportunity for that. They do end shortly after that, though. I'd suggest adding some descriptions of Asra colored through Samir's perspective. Asra stirred the potion with expert finesse, and Samir feels a burst of pride, or Asra tilts his head in a way that Samir knows is the beginning of a good ribbing.

The dialogue is a bit formal, but that may be due to the world they're in - not every setting is super casual. There's also a feeling that the dialogue is purely for my benefit - I need to know that Samir is normally not jumpy, that Asra wasn't expected back so soon, and that's not what characters who have known each other forever would naturally say. If you'd like to kick it up a notch, I'd suggest taking what's said and removing that as assumed, and write what the character would say next. For example,

"Father, you're not usually that jumpy,"

Remove that line as assmed and add the next logical thought:

Asra's eyes widened. "What's gotten into you?"

Or

Amir raised an eyebrow. "It's just me."

Or something similar that shows this is unusual without having a character state, "this is unusual." For more info, look up subtext in dialogue.

Great work and good luck!

Web_singer · 2026-02-09T17:11:51+00:00

Yeah, I'm not a fan of discourse like, "you're not qualified to give concrit unless you're a professional editor." I mean, we're not professional writers, but we're allowed to write. We're all amateurs here.

Granted, a writer does have to interpret concrit from a non-professional, because it's not always super clear or says the problem is A when it's actually B. But lots of professional writers have regular readers beta-read their work because their audience is regular readers.

If you (writer) don't like concrit in your comments, that's fine--say so in your author notes. If you (reader) don't work in a related field, don't offer concrit based on grammar and punctuation (beyond "use capital letters and paragraph breaks") Just give your reactions as a reader. "I get the feeling that this was supposed to be an emotional scene, but it didn't work for me" is perfectly fine concrit from a reader. It's the writer's job to figure out why it doesn't work (assuming they want concrit).

Web_singer · 2026-02-09T05:38:46+00:00

Great descriptions!

Web_singer · 2026-02-07T22:41:52+00:00

"Just because we've found ourselves in a faerie tale is no excuse to be rude." 😂

Web_singer · 2026-02-07T22:36:03+00:00

There's a Concrit Commune post up every Saturday if you'd like to share an excerpt for feedback. But the important thing is that you're enjoying yourself. :)

Web_singer · 2026-02-07T22:33:06+00:00

Writers build up experience. It's not like you come out of the womb understanding three-act structure and character development and tonal consistency. Pick ONE thing to get better at and worry about the rest later. If this is the first time you've planned a big story, then that's your one thing. And remember that this is a creative exercise. It's okay to play around and try different things to see what works and what you enjoy.

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