femslashuary

[allchildren]

It has come to my attention that writing is hard, and I am not very good at it. In particular, what I lack is the ability to conceive of entire stories, with beginnings, middles, and ends. (Maybe even... outlines?! Glob save me.) Plot and action elude me on a level so basic that it is embarrassing. This Yuletide stretched me to my limit and left me feeling that with more time, I might have been able to make it into more of Story, but that has yet to be proven and requires the seed of a story TO prove it. 

It has also come to my attention that 90% of my shippy feelings lately are about femslash (and the other 10% is about an f/f/m OT3), so I really need to commit myself to writing it for reals.

Now, there are lots of other things I need to work on, writingwise. Like, either I should be writing to my strengths (humor, dialogue, sekrit emotional depth) more or flexing the things I always wanna write but suspect I kind of fail at (solemn dramz, action, explicit sex, linearity). I need to consider what my frequent themes are (emotional trauma/abuse, female sexuality and onanism as characterization) and what do to about that (????). And I just don't know how to go about any of this. 

SO LIKE IF YOU CAN TEACH ME HOW TO WRITE OR GIVE ME ANY TIPS, I ACCEPT

but while I flounder about and butt my head against walls hopefully, I've decided to give myself a challenge: Femslashuary! A month in which I write femslash every day. It is like Drabblevember, I guess, except I don't want to stop at 100 words -- I want to write fics that are as long as they are, and gather the courage to attempt to even continue them further the next day if it seems called for. ?!

I made a starter spreadsheet of some pairings I feel like I might want to write! (grey means "actually probably not but they're my favs so I feel bad leaving them off this list"; blue is "het pairings made better through the magic of genderswap"; *s indicate I may or may not wish to involve these pairings in larger configurations involving dudes and their penises)

You are invited to look at it, and if you have any shower me with suggestions or prompts or feelings explosions with me to aid me on my quest!

Also to write (or fanart?) your own month of femslorsh, if you want!

Are we gonna do this thing? Possibly perhaps we are! Pom poms! Go team! Et cetera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


P.S. IDK if I will post said fic to here, to reflect its mutable exercise-ish nature, or on AO3, to be all shiny and stuff. It is... a mystery. Huh. Sorry.

Comments

[glamaphonic]

This sounds like a great idea, pdl!!!

AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO OFFER OUTLINING TIPS I GUESS SINCE YOU AND TROPIE DECIDED THAT WAS A THING I KNEW HOW TO DO.

I fully support you in this endeavor and MAN is that ever an excellent list of ships you got there.

[allchildren]

YAY LAY IT ON ME.

I try, pdl. I try.

*\o/*

[softestbullet]

femslorsh

Awwwww

I am so excited about your list! So many gr8 pairings!! What does yellow mean? And what dudes are you thinking of including in Leslie/Ann and Alicia/Kalinda?

Re: *\o/*

[allchildren]

Oh, whoops -- yellow just means that those are the ones I feel the most urgency to write asap. My dude inclusions would be Ben and Will, respectively -- although I love both Leslie/Ann and Alicia/Kalinda on their own, I've been going to an OT3 place for both periodically for a while (not to mention the vaguely plotted Leslie/Ann/Ben aka "benannza" semi-epic tropiavera and I have been making up in our spare time for the past few months, which more bizarre than not but uhh, it was very late, and that's our excuse).

Re: *\o/*

[softestbullet]

Gotcha. They are good pairings to feel that way about!

Hmmmm, OT3s. I would be interested in Ann/Leslie/Ben! I love all three of those dorks so much and it would make Leslie SO HAPPY. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. :D

[whatimages]

This is the best idea! So tempted to join, but I know I am going to overwhelm myself with writing projects if I do. BUT I am v eager to see what you produce. chinhands. As for prompts, I think you should write about the many loves of Toph, badass queerdo ladykiller. If you want.

ALSO, if you get any tips about like plot and action and...basic writing mechanics beyond making words go together and characters feeling stuff at each other, plz pass them on. HOW DO YOU STORIES??

[allchildren]

Talk to me about Toph the queerdo ladykiller! It makes total sense to me that she would be, but I've always had a hard time shipping her with anyone other than Sokka and even that is sorta problematic. WHAT DOES IT MEAN

also, I am so jealous of your Korra icon I am going to faint.

[whatimages]

I feel like toph maybe...doesn't really end up settling down ever? Like, building a nuclear family is just not really on her to-do list for her life. So she adventures across the world for many years spreading the gospel of badassery and has girls in every area code--but just because these relationships are transient doesn't mean they're meaningless, etc. I guess I just see her as finding her main form of emotional support from her friends rather than from a singular romantic life partner. and then she decides that she wants a kid, so she finally settles down, more or less, in republic city and has a supportive family of close friends and lovers and helps establish city infrastructure. and stuff.

That is my absurdly specific Toph headcanon. NOW YOU KNOW.

(I am pretty sure I am gonna swoon dead away at Korra when we finally meet her. Hey girl heyyyyy.)

[sophia_helix]

My extremely subjective comment is that I find I write best when I am really emotionally connected with what I'm writing, not because I feel like I should or I have to. So while I might have an idea that really appeals to me on a conceptual level, if it doesn't seem to translate itself into good fiction that I would enjoy reading, the actual writing is like pulling teeth and I tend to not finish it. So writing to your strengths, the things that make you happy to read later and propel you to keep writing while you're at it, seems to me to be a good idea, rather than pulling out high concept themes you really want to push in the story and trying to make your writing conform to those.

I guess I am saying follow your joy? Ugh. Also, see above re: subjective advice based on personal experience. Also outlining is death for me and when I plan out what's going to happen, I steal 90% of the impetus to write it and pretty much never finish, but again, subjective.

[allchildren]

Haha, that's basically how I write now. I want discipline :(

[toastandtea.livejournal.com]

omg Rapunzel/Girl!Eugene WHAAAATTTTTTT THAT IS AMAZING

THIS IS AN EXCITING IDEA AND I AM EXCITED ABOUT IT! Your spreadsheet is wonderfuuuullll

and lol Alcatraz, i came out of those first two episodes shipping them too. :I

[allchildren]

OMG HI MARINA YOU'RE HERE HELLO!!!!

there was a Rapunzel/girlgene fic in Yuletide and like it wasn't even ABOUT THAT and I fell in love with her within a paragraph and I just, I need there to be more! AN ACCIDENTAL PRINCESS AND HER RAKISH LADY THIEF

I am glad I am not alone in the monstrosity that is "having to keep watching Alcatraz now because lesbians" :|

[fox1013]

I have nothing to say, except I love so much about what you choose to be.

LADIES YAY.

[allchildren]

:DDDD That is a very important thing to say, I think.

[aquamirage]

I AM EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!! TRIS WRITINGS!

Rapunzel/Girl!Eugeneeeee and Parks things!!



also at this moment I realized I need to write or make someone else write Ai/Girl!Hachi (Ai/Girl!Hachi/Claire...?)

[allchildren]

ughhh sudden influx of girl!hachi/claire backstory feelings

what is this

what have you done


HI NY MER

[twtd]

I DID NOT UNTIL THIS MOMENT REALIZE HOW MUCH I WANT GENDERSWAPED LOKI!!!!!!!!!!

[allchildren]

SHE'S NOT BAD, SHE'S JUST DRAWN THAT WAY.

[nocowardsoul]

Bomb Girls is such an awesome show. Susan/Lasalareen is intriguing. I really need to read Leviathan.

[allchildren]

Susan/Lasaraleen comes from a tiny (non-shippy) ancient Purim Gifts fic I found last year and have been obsessed with ever since. It just needs to happen!! Also, I heartily rec Leviathan (not yet done with the last book, myself).

[nocowardsoul]

Oh, I remember that fic!

[yeomanrand]

Olivia/Altlivia: what happens when that reserve breaks.

[heartequals]

BOMB GIRLS. Adventure Time! omg. This is a pretty A+ list! Maybe I will try to join you with a drabble or too.

So, uh, tips for writing! I had a long list and then I was like, this is just writing 101 for college freshman. wrt learning how to plot, however!
Something I've picked up from fandom and have found to be really really useful in learning how to write a linear story is the "5 ____" trope. There are so many things you can use it for! You can pick a theme/moment/emotion and really pick it apart! (eg Five breakfast sandwiches in the life of:) You can use it to practice writing linear narrative! (eg the 5 last days of not having a smartphone in the life of:) Stuff like that. So if you're struggling with plot, I would recommend trying a list-type of fic to kind of get in the zone.

The list fics are pretty good for learning outlines to imo. idk I dislike outlines though. They're scary. OUTLINES. PAH.

My other thing is to be really really aware of what you're writing. Like if you think something sucks, don't just think it sucks -- look at it until you figure out why it sucks so you can make it not suck. Same goes with stuff that is successful -- if you write something that you find successful, look at it and know why it is successful! Or why it makes you happy or whatever. Be conscious of what you're writing! That is something that really helps me when I start getting angry at my writing.

Also writing all the time is a good thing to do. Also mimicking the style of your favorite writers is totally acceptable in the realm of fanfiction and I personally think it helps people develop their own style. They end up trying a variety of styles and forms and learn pretty quickly what works for them and what doesn't.

STOPPING NOW BEFORE I GET ALL PREACHY. I'm a writing tutor, I get all excited about stuff like this.