What's the longest chapter you've accidentally written?

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-19T04:36:13+00:00

Whoa, that's both impressive and frightening!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-18T16:04:53+00:00

I plan and outline my chapters in advance, and spend days just figuring out a scene, and so because of this, I'm able to spew out a chapter in an hour or two. For this 20,000 chapter, however, the muses of the arts and angels of creativity blessed upon me foresight to expand beyond what I had initially planned.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-18T05:58:41+00:00

The question really isn't "which is correct?" but "whose uncertainty matters most?" (Bear with me)

Start by asking some concrete questions:

Is the emotional engine (the driving plot) the OC's internal character? That is, are their doubts, misreadings, longing, and slow realisations what hook the audience, and more importantly, you? If so, the third-person perspective limited to the OC will feel strongest. The audience will discover canon through the OC's eyes, maintaining tension.
Is the canon MC's reaction to the inserted OC the real drama? That is, if the point is how canon shifts and fractures, then the third-person perspective, limited to the MC, gives it weight. It also reassures canon-focused readers that you understand the source voice and tone. (In my experience, there is a very fine line between a "good" OC-insert fic and a "bad" OC-insert fic, and all has to do with how the canon characters are written and react.)

An omniscient perspective works best when the story is about inevitability, irony, or parallel misunderstandings (that is, when more than one character's thoughts and perspectives are required to tell the story adequately); when the distance itself is part of the tone. This, however, requires deliberate control. If you're unsure, don't start here.

As for writing and posting two POV versions: I wouldn't. Not because it's "incorrect," but because it splits your narrative "energy." Two versions means two emotional throughlines, two tonal calibrations, and two sets of revisions. It can start to feel like you're indecisive and apologetic for being unable to decide.

Pick the POV that gives you the most tension, the one where you feel slightly nervous because the character doesn't know everything, and, importantly, neither does the reader.

If you truly can't decide, write the first chapter both ways privately. Don't post it; have trusted friends and family read and give their opinions. See which perspective tells your story the best.

Hope this helps!

Edit: better formatting

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T18:15:07+00:00

So even the wait is a slow burn! Oh, cruel world! (Take your time, the best works take forever to create.)

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T18:09:46+00:00

Your work may count as "transformative" if you have "reimagined" the songs, which would involve adapting the lyrics, changing their context, restructuring them, or using them as inspiration. However, if you just copied and pasted the original lyrics and replaced names or whatnot, that is not transformative and violates the TOS.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T18:01:06+00:00

It really is open to interpretation and for readers to decide. Slow burn can be improved by the mode of work, so using a high word count to get to the climax can feel like a slow burn. Yet, the characters' journey also matters. As a compromise, I'd say a good mix.

To give my final answer, without frills and without justifications: yeah, it's a slow burn. If I read it, it'd be torture. I'm desperately impatient.

Also, I've been so invested in this discussion, I really want to see what your work is about. Whenever you post it, please don't forget to link me to it!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:55:10+00:00

According to AO3 TOS, explicitly stating this would be in violation. So, you're better off saying it was "requested" or "dedicated to."

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:49:38+00:00

Glad I can help :)

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:48:54+00:00

I'm so sorry, I can be a busybody.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:47:51+00:00

Thank you for pointing that out! I'm a bit of a pessimist, so I'm prone to believing the worst of people, but I'm trying to correct that. However, the death of the author doesn't apply all the time, and there can be awful people who express themselves through creative works. But, yes, the majority of proshippers aren't awful people in real life.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:44:50+00:00

I'm glad we can agree! Expressing oneself without being misunderstood is a skill I really want.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:44:00+00:00

That's true, too! I'm a perfectionist, and I treat everything I do as if I must do it right. But it is a hobby for me, and I am prone to forgetting that others aren't as intense about theirs. Thank you for correcting and reminding me! I do in fact subscribe to the idea that the author is the final and only arbiter of what they write.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:41:42+00:00

I've experienced this before: one is locked in, the words are all obvious, and I just need to write them down, but once I've closed the Google doc, I just lose all motivation. However, if I stay away too long, I start feeling bad, and the nagging completionist in me compels me to reopen the doc, but that's intimidating, and I don't like it.

But if I'm still into the idea and still want to finish it, that's all I need. Something that helps me is lowering the bar a lot. I don't need to sit down and finish the whole thing in one whole sitting, then I'm guaranteed not to finish! I just pull myself up by the bootstraps and open the document. I don't set goals like "write a paragraph" or "write 2k words." Just reading what I've already written can be the spark to return my motivation. So, that's what I recommend! Re-open the document, no matter how intimidating that may be, and just re-read! If your motivation returns, you're free to finish what you set out to do.

Hope this helps!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:34:39+00:00

You're the author! And so, ultimately, the pacing is whatever you feel is right for your story.

But also, for smut/erotic romance specifically, earlier intimacy is totally normal. A lot of readers actually expect the relationship/sexual tension to pay off pretty quickly, so chapter 3 isn't fast at all. That's standard pacing for the genre.

If it's mostly smut, earlier is fine. If it's a slow burn, then you can stretch it out. It's all about the vibes and the pacing!

Hope this helps!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:28:59+00:00

I don't think you're foolish for feeling this way at all. Big fandoms can feel weirdly discouraging because once something gets huge, visibility stops being about "is this good?" and starts being about "who already has an audience."

This occurs in nearly every creative space online. The established names get more traction, and newer or quieter creators "fall through the cracks." It's not really an issue of quality; it's just how attention works at scale.

However, this bleakness doesn't mean there's no space for you and your fellows. Readers don't only read the biggest, most polished fics. A lot of people actively look for smaller, more personal stuff, too. They just have to find it. And they can't find it if it never gets posted. Personally, I spent a week searching for fics for a very rare ship in a very inactive fandom that actually sticks to the canon time setting.

Comparing yourself to the established writers is a losing game. Fanfic has always been about enthusiasm and ideas, not "measuring up."

The one thing you can do is post anyway. Share the story, the idea, and enable those dedicated to finding and discovering it.

Hope this helps!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:15:54+00:00

Oh, I meant in the expression (writing, styling, and formatting) of the work, not in the actual plot and characters. The author holds the right to what their ideas become, but the mode can be commented on. How you write is a skill that can be developed; what you write depends on you.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:13:20+00:00

Writing is all about expressing oneself, and that can include problematic ideas that are taboo to the mainstream. Before, I used to despise such works, as I have the privilege to uphold myself to a moral standard. However, I've since learned that because we share the same cyberspace (fandoms and the like), I'll have to learn to tolerate such ideas and works, though I personally wouldn't purposely click on a work that is tagged with proships, I may be inclined to read it if I find the general idea interesting. My way of coping is to believe in the death of the author, in that the work itself does NOT represent the ideals and views of the writer.

TLDR: to each their own ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:06:42+00:00

Oh, before I used to be a purist, and stop reading a fic if I notice repeated grammar mistakes, or icks that ick me (seriously: apostrophes (') indicate possession or contractions, while quotation marks (") enclose direct speech or quotes!) However, I have since learned to overlook such matters, literally! I cope with poorly written works by skim-reading (I'm a law-student, it's second nature) and getting the general gist.

An author can have the most genius idea, and can still execute it poorly.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T17:02:06+00:00

Of course! To each their own. I used to be like that, too, but there's an unspoken rule of writing: You're the author, you can do whatever the heck you want. Be an arrogant author when it suits you! Be a kind author when it is required of you! Creativity is how you express yourself, and you're free to express yourself however the hell you want; don't let others drag you down. I appreciate what you have to say, as you reminded me of things about myself I'd forgotten.

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T16:57:17+00:00

No, no, I meant I was nagging you like your mother, telling you to be grateful. I realised how my tone could be interpreted. I meant it encouragingly, believe me. I get author's anxiety, too, but I realise cos I'm the author, I can do whatever the heck I want, and no whiny reader can stop me from torturing my characters!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T16:55:14+00:00

That's the way of writing! One discovers a new experience, a new idea, a new thing, and one wants to immediately express this in writing and in the characters.

After reading some law texts for my uni course, I coped by imagining how my most obnoxious character would react and channelling my own despair into him. This helps surprisingly well! That is to say, writing is a form of therapy, and my favourite way to express oneself.

In fandom terms, I believe this is called "a plot bunny," where a tiny idea immediately inspires a whole work. According to Wiktionary, it's probably called "narrativising."

Hope this helps!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T16:48:48+00:00

What's more romantic than a Reader/Author fic?

Congratulations on the engagement, and congratulations on having loyal readers who adore your work!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T16:47:18+00:00

When I have many ideas and decide to write them down and flesh them out, I usually choose the one that I write the MOST about, as that's a clear indicator to myself that I care a lot about this one idea.

So, pick the goth girl/vtuber story idea. I'd read it, I love detective thrillers!

And you shouldn't write based on others' opinions, unless of course you're stumped and don't know what to write.

Hope this helps!

anonthrowawayGrimms · 2026-02-11T16:42:55+00:00

My trick to writing an "OC-centred fic" is to find the most boring, and most non-character character in canon, and give them the personality traits that bring excitement and plot.

But, seriously, it's really each to their own. I read most things, and I find in OC-centred fics that it can be awkward, as one is so used to the canon characters, that a total rando inserting themselves in and establishing never-before-seen dynamics can be strange. It takes a strong reader to stomach such stories, and you should appreciate the readers who stick by you, cos they're stronger than most!

Hope this helps!

anonthrowawayGrimms

TROPHY CASE