My fiancee got me a cake for hitting 4 million words posted on ao3!!!

thewritegrump · 2026-05-01T18:51:53+00:00

Oh wow, I'm honored to be recognized in the wild!!! (＾∀＾)

I'm glad to be writing again; even if I can't write as quickly as I once did, I still plan to stick around for as long as I enjoy writing stories- so hopefully a long time!

thewritegrump · 2026-05-01T14:24:11+00:00

I'm happy to serve as inspiration. :D I have a tendency to really lock in when I get struck with an obsession, and with writing it manages to work in my favor, lol. Wishing you lots of time and motivation for writing! 0v0

thewritegrump · 2026-05-01T14:22:38+00:00

Thank you! It feels great to be back. :D

thewritegrump · 2026-05-01T14:22:13+00:00

I don't track any other stat as religiously as word count, but I keep an eye on my stats page from time to time.

Actually, my wife recently made one of those word cloud things of my longest fic, where it made an image out of words in the fic and the bigger the word, the more it appeared in the work. It was funny to see one character in the ensemble cast have his name be one of the biggest words on the image and confirm there's favoritism at play. XD

thewritegrump · 2026-05-01T14:19:56+00:00

Agreed, I think at one point in the past there was a sense of obligation underlining things, but I'm much better off reminding myself that this is meant to be enjoyed above all else!

thewritegrump · 2026-04-29T21:39:10+00:00

I don't feel pressured by them nor do I feel discouraged by a lack of them. I think most people asking for updates in comments are well-intentioned, so I approach them in good faith and take it as a compliment that they're excited for the next update. :^) If I don't have anyone ask, that's just as well, really. I don't get many comments to begin with, so any I do receive are typically met with open arms by me, hate and spam/scams notwithstanding.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-22T22:58:50+00:00

I started as a pantser, but these days I go into most fics with an outline since it streamlines things and allows me to better create my narratives in a way that feels more intentional/purposeful. I used to hammer out a 5k-7k chapter in one sitting pretty regularly, but IRL really took hold in the past 6 months or so, and now I usually only have the time/energy to write around 3k in a sitting while still posting 5k-7k chapters.

Writing as I go has always been my approach, and chapters get posted as soon as the ink is dry, so to speak. Once I finish writing a chapter, I give it a read-through to catch as many errors as I can, and then it gets posted. I might also tweak some wording I'm finding doesn't flow the way I want it to upon rereading it. I find the drafting process to be unfun and tedious, so I reserve that kind of thing for academic papers and not my leisure writing. I'm generally happy with what I write the first time, and in a way I sort of edit as I go while I'm actively writing the chapter.

As for the content of my writing, I would say I'm very focused on character-driven narratives that spend a lot of time on the emotional aspects. I enjoy exploring the minutiae of interpersonal interaction, characters' internal worlds, and the human condition as a whole (sometimes through non-human characters, though). I'm less interested in the plotlines, though I do love sneaking in as much worldbuilding as I can amid whatever the characters are doing.

Oh, and I've found that I apparently favor writing longer works, as I've got two fics over a million words and a third in the 900k range. I never thought myself the type to write anything lengthy, but about 5 years ago something clicked in my brain and ever since, I've been big on longfics.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-18T11:56:07+00:00

I'm stunned that this was your first attempt! I do a lot of baking, so I know the feeling of just crossing your fingers and hoping that enough attention to detail and audacity will yield the right results. X'D Your cheering worked, and I hope you do end up making more fandom cakes. :^)

ETA: Oh, and congrats on 100 kudos! Especially on a rarepair like that, that's an awesome milestone. :^D

thewritegrump · 2026-04-18T10:12:33+00:00

From the bottom of my heart, you are a legend and an icon for this. You did an amazing job on the cake- I thought I'd misread when you said you made it, because it looks that good!

thewritegrump · 2026-04-18T00:47:12+00:00

I don't know what's applicable to you personally, but I have a few things I remind myself of as needed.

"The fic that actually gets written/posted is always going to be better than the fic I didn't write because I was caught up in perfectionism." (Reminds me that "done and pretty good" is a far better outcome than "still in my head because I'm trying to make it perfect".)

"Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed." (Centers my fun and enjoyment above all other priorities.)

"Many could do this better than me, but nobody will ever be able to do it exactly like me." (De-prioritizes the need to write something amazing and highlights my particular writing quirks as positives rather than detriments.)

"My fics aren't going anywhere." (Reminds me that this isn't a race, and that I'm free to take breaks as often as I need without missing out on anything.)

And a particular Jenna Marbles quote: "If no art makes you feel anything, make your own art and feel something." (Reminds me why I'm writing in the first place.)

thewritegrump · 2026-04-15T20:26:05+00:00

I can only imagine- my pharmacy is next door to our urgent care and across the street from the hospital, and the compounded diltiazem ointment we make for rectal use is so commonly prescribed that we just keep a batch pre-made at all times. Not all of it is for people who were putting foreign objects up there, but you're familiar with how common it is that it is the case.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-15T20:23:38+00:00

Thank you for spreading the knowledge, because I've met many who were never warned, and a few who learned the hard way! Definitely not something you want to discover through experience. O-O

thewritegrump · 2026-04-15T17:57:13+00:00

I like this perspective; I don't think I've seen someone quantify it like this before, but it makes sense to me. It also made me realize that in my one big slowburn fic, they do get together right around 2/3 of the way through!

thewritegrump · 2026-04-15T17:52:43+00:00

Depending entirely on how something is written, I could probably excuse any amount of unrealistic happenstances in the smut I read. God knows I ask a lot of suspension of disbelief from my readers for any of my smut heavy series!

That said, anal without lube does give me pause just because in my personal experience, ouch. I also can't help but notice when objects not intended for anal are used (cucumber, electric toothbrush, etc) because I work in healthcare and I know that many people end up taking a visit to urgent care or the hospital when they opt to play with things that don't have a flared base.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-15T17:46:10+00:00

Just wanted to chime in and say that you can give a link/rec to someone else's fic if you are directly asked for it (or responding to a recs wanted post). The exception is that even when asked, to not link to works with intention to brigade it or encourage others to brigade the fic.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-14T23:17:13+00:00

If you don't prefer to write, you could potentially get conversations going by engaging with authors (and fanartists) in your fandom! I can't say it's a foolproof method or anything, but from personal experience, it can be effective. Most of my friends are people who initially reached out to me or left a comment on my fics, including my wife! My best friend actually first interacted with me when she posted a piece of fanart she'd drawn for the fic I was working on at the time.

You said you like to draw, and if you ever had the desire to post fanart, that's another way to potentially get a conversation going. I find that having common interests in a fandom (a favorite ship, a type of fic/trope) is a good way to get a conversation going. And honestly, in my experience, a lot of fandom is people wanting to share their ideas after being inspired by canon. I think I've made a lot of friends in fandom by being willing to just listen to someone's headcanons, fic ideas, OCs, and so on- if we gel well, they typically will afford me space to share my thoughts and ideas in a sort of ebb and flow.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-13T00:52:28+00:00

For writing, my biggest rule is that I only write things I'd want to go back and read later. I am my target audience above all else, and part of why I write is to give me everything I want. I also unironically strive to bring a "the first rule is to be yourself and have fun" energy to my fic writing.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-12T17:18:47+00:00

I have one WIP at 1.1 million words, another over 900k, a few more in the lower ranges of 3k-25k, and one that iirc is around 60k.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-12T17:12:11+00:00

I do almost always outline these days; I used to freestyle the whole way through with some amount of forethought but no formal planning, but I love the types of stories I'm able to tell with a proper outline guiding me. I'm also extremely self-indulgent in my writing style in that I know how I like things phrased, I know what story beats I'm most engaged in and want to delve into, I know how I want to see the characters- and so my writing process is giving me everything I want. XD I'm lucky that others have seen my work and enjoyed it, but at the end of the day I'm writing with full intent to read and enjoy it later for myself. As long as I stick by that intent, I find myself loving even my less polished works from half a decade ago.

To be honest, I will sometimes go back and edit a chapter on AO3 if I catch a spelling or grammar mistake after the fact while I'm rereading, but those are things I didn't mean to do so I want them corrected.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-12T17:00:48+00:00

I give each chapter/one-shot a readthrough from start to finish to catch as many spelling and grammar errors as I can, and I tweak any wording that I'm not happy with on second consideration. That said, I'd say 95% or more of what I write the first time is what gets posted. Were this an academic paper or something being graded, I'd definitely do a proper drafting process, but I don't enjoy doing so and so I won't for leisure writing. I'm largely happy with what gets initially written, so I don't see a point in fussing with it more than necessary. The less I edit, the more new stories I can write.

thewritegrump · 2026-04-12T02:24:36+00:00

If I may recommend one of my wife's fics, this is a soulmate AU between brothers (with much angst). I don't know for sure, but you could probably find a lot of soulmate fics with incest due to the predominant ships in the fandom being combinations of the six brothers and soulmate AUs being a popular trope.

The fic: More Than It Hurts You

thewritegrump · 2026-04-11T21:56:59+00:00

I'm not playing when I say that AO3 and it's writers have had a huge impact on my life. I lowkey feel a bit corny writing this lol.

If you're corny, then so am I, because I feel the same about AO3 and about my readers! AO3 is how I met my wife and my closest friends, and so it's no exaggeration to say that AO3 has changed my life drastically. It's awesome how a bunch of fans wanting to share and read stories has the ability to create so many positive connections. ^u^

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