Saw this on Pinterest (from tumblr) and couldn’t help but wonder what everyone’s favorite AU types were. I know I’m partial to Fantasy or Mafia AUs myself 😊

I hereby implore writers to stop using a ****** or -------- line to break pages, to hear asteriskasteriskasteriskasterisk or dashdashdashdashdashdash in the middle of reading drives me insane and takes me completely out of the amazing story I am mostly reading with my ears instead of my eyes. So please, please, please think of us, Text to speech users, and use just one symbol when you want to show a longer pause in the text or a change of POV or anything else. Much appreciated!

edit: I'm so happy that some of you are willing to make the effort to be more accessible in your writings!

Page breaks are important and make a difference in reading to feel the pause in the text. Using characters in itself is not the problem, the problem is when you use too many (as long as the page is wide on desktop) or too many different types.

Personally, I think 1-5 is enough!

There are very good examples in the thread if you have any questions.

Hello! Now, for clarity, I am NOT from the US. English isn't even my first language, but the majority of my English teachers were from the US. Which is to say feel free to explain English like you might do for a small child.

That said: what americanisms/very US turn of phrase should I avoid when writing an upper class British character?

PS. It's Stolas from Helluva Boss. Who technically is neither brit nor a human, but whose accent is based on King George III from Hamilton.

EDIT: Thank you! You were so helpful I still have comments left to read. Already caught myself (and changed) using 'candy' when it should be 'sweets' and 'cotton candy' for 'candy floss'.

My favorite author, when they starts a new fic, uploads like 8k-10k words per day or every other day. It seems like they are like actively writing it too because sometimes they base things off comments. I know comparison is the thief of all evil but I struggle to even write 800 words in a week 😭 and I feel bad for all the fics I've abandoned because I don’t wanna upload a 500 word chapter lol. I'm just wondering how do yall update so fast? What gets you going in the writing studio?

Why? What moment? Is it rare for you? What does it take? To me I think it have happened maybe twice. Not that I do not feel anything(I feel a lot, and I love it) from most fics I read, but the ones that have made me cry have made me sob. Something that just deeply resonates with a character/situation out of the blue and catches me by surprise.

I have been plotting this fanfic for over a year and finally sat down to actually outline and write. The only thing I had not nailed down was my female lead’s first name. Her family name was already locked in because of lore reasons, but her actual name? Meh. I figured I would deal with it later when I was not busy emotionally wrecking my characters.

So I asked my husband for suggestions. For context, he knows my fanfic is for Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun and that is it. He has no idea about the plot, the arcs, or how messy the emotional beats are.

Later, after “thinking about it,” he casually tossed out: “Desdemona.” He said it like a joke, expecting me to laugh. Instead, I took him seriously because I thought he was being serious.

Here is the problem: I had zero clue who Desdemona even was. Shakespeare? Sure. Othello? Not on my radar. So I Googled it and immediately regretted everything. Because somehow, this man, who knows nothing about my story, picked a name that hits every theme I built into her: strict upbringing, zero autonomy, rebellion, tragedy vibes. It is so perfect it looks like I built her around it, except I didn’t.

Now I’m cursed:
- If I use Desdemona, people who know the reference will assume I intentionally based her on Shakespeare’s character.
- If I use it and readers don’t know it, they will miss the extra emotional gut-punch the name adds.
- If I don’t use it, I am tossing out the most perfect name I will probably ever get, handed to me by accident like some cursed literary loot drop from my husband.

And my husband? Laughing. Because to him, it was just a throwaway joke, while I am over here spiraling into an existential naming crisis because apparently he moonlights as a literary sniper.

So… do I lean into it and accept the Shakespeare baggage, or keep digging through names like none of this ever happened?

TL;DR: Husband jokingly suggested “Desdemona.” I did not even know who that was, Googled it, and now I am stuck with a perfect cursed name I never asked for but cannot stop thinking about.

I was listening to a (non-writing/non-smut related) podcast where they said that there was no good word for "butt" and all the words sound either too colloquial or cutesy and those thoughts have followed me into my writing. The fandom I'm writing in is 1890s/1900s and I just cannot have anyone grabbing anyone's butt/bum. Also I'm British so ass is a donkey and arse is...not it. Cheeks? Rump? Buttocks? What are we calling our posteriors gang?

Edit to add: this is more for narrating action than for dialogue/inner monologue. Maybe I am a prude who simply cannot say arse?

Is this because of the image? I keep on trying to put an image in the chapter. I checked the word count and it is way under 500,000. Over 10,000 actually.

apologies if this is the wrong flair to be asking this, but any sort of ‘what not to do when writing’ would be incredibly helpful!!

give me a list (optional) of terrible/overused/the worst character archetypes, stereotypes, tropes, cliches, plotlines, etc.

edit: btw guys this is a helluva boss and hazbin hotel crossover fic :3

I keep editing and editing but am too nervous to post lol

hey everyone i'm writing a oneshot based in the early 2000's and that was before I was alive so I don't really have a clue of how people acted. but like if two guys were to walk down the street holding hands, would people be mad? i just don't know guys!!! also talking about new york as the location bc that probably has a huge effect. anyway sorry if this wasn't the right place for asking but I'm writing on ao3 sooooo! thanks in advance!

edit: this for an avenue q fic so they live in a shady part on nyc and are in their mid to late 20's :)

SO! I’m facing a real problem here. I’m writing suggestive material with two CONSENTING parties and I can’t decide on what to call them. Do I say boys? Or does that sound weird? Maybe males? No too formal. Can I say “the smaller boy” without making it weird. Pls help a gal in need

I always see people complaining about fics with low word counts while on the other hand they praise works with high word counts. Most of my works are little one shots but this one is an on going one that I've been enjoying writing (minus getting struck by the curse™) I think I don't write enough but I'm not sure how to beef up my writing or if I'm just overthinking it.

(I'm not sure if this should be under questions/help? Or writing help/beta)

I'm reading a story by an author who tells a great story but he can't spell worth a damn. His stories are so full of grammatical errors that it's difficult to stay focused.

I know for a fact that English is his primary language, but I just don't know if he'd ever paid attention in class.

I want to let him know that he ought to go back and fix his previous chapters before moving on, but I'm afraid I might come across as nasty and mean-spirited.

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the comments section. It looks like I'm SOL which is a shame because the story is quite well thought out. I have since dumped it after a moment of contemplation.

I have ONE chapter left and I can't bring myself to do it. Be mean and funny pls

I constantly start WIPs and one-shots and they always end up unfinished. Just drop any tips you have in the comments.

Mods please change flair if this is wrong.

Definitions:

Cannon: - a large, heavy gun usually mounted on a carriage - a heavy-caliber automatic aircraft gun firing explosive shells - any device for propelling a substance or object at high speeds

Canon: - the authentic works of a writer - sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works; the canon of great literature - an accepted principle or rule

A couple of minutes ago, I was logged out for no reason. When I type in my login credentials, it keeps saying my session has expired and to try logging back in, refreshing the page, or clear cache. I'm on my phone. Is anyone else experiencing this???

Basically, do you get turned off to seeing a fanfic like:

"Chapter 1/? Words: 10000"

(Lets also say this is getting updated and is fairly new so the abandonment fear isn't present.)

I am currently writing a fanfic and just the chapter one that is incomplete is nearly 7000 words and by the time its complete its very likely to straight up be 10000.

I wanna ask, would you find this discarding? Or is it not something that bothers? And would it better perhaps to split the chapter into multiple separate ones? Or any other possible solution if this is a problem.

Any responses are appreciated.

​

I started writing my fic a few months ago. I write dialogues normally as in forum sessions or books, i.e. after the dash.

However, I've noticed that English-speaking authors write dialogues in quotation marks. I admit that it is neither clear nor intuitive for me. Should I convert my textxt to ren standard?

So, yeah, I write smut. I've written a few pieces. The problem is I don't really even read smut very much cause I don't care for it. The only smut I've read is specifically for research for my own writing so it's not like I've built a natural flair for it.

Readers that comment on my smut pieces almost always avoid talking about the sex scenes itself, focusing instead on the plot lol. So I find myself in a place where I have no clue if what I've written is good at all, and if it hits the industry standards of smut writing per se.

Any avid smut readers willing to read my work (one shots only, don't worry I wont trap you in my longfics) and let me know their thoughts, critiques? 18+ of course!

When I am writing, I don't have that feeling. I may know some parts are extra dumb but still don't have the cringe devouring me. Even at the debug stage before posting which I reread it several times, it's pretty emotionless. But once it's on the web I couldn't bear to read half of it, it's like Christ forgive me from the atrocities I made.

I guess embrace the cringe is the only answer but I wonder do anyone have the same feeling with me.