A Thousand Thousand Reasons To Live In This World

😈😈😈!!!

63. something you hate to see in smut.

A MISSED OPPORTUNUTy... or, worse, when a character says dont worry i would never want to do THAT and then they actually never do that. like okay why did you mention it to me? but my reaction is usually a sensible chuckle instead of true irritation.

natural-sounding, in-character dialogue is important but it's still just a line in the story. if its not contributing, if it's disruptive, take it out!!!

64. something you love to see in smut.

when the desire gets warped. its awesome when the character wants something SO bad their ways of getting it take them completely outside anything they'd even considered before. like, a basic one would be with a character agreeing to bottom when all they wanna do is top. doesnt work for every character (especially since this makes it too easy to write them OOC), but when it does its super enjoyable. i love when their desire transforms them.

funnily enough, im ambivalent about fics where the tables are turned by the other character despite the similar results. i like to read the machinations so i guess its not as fun for me if we arent given at least a few strong hints about whats coming.

69. what work of yours are you most embarrassed about existing?

coming up roses made me physically ill... i do plan to write mamaleckie again because i DO love them but dear fucking god. the nice thing about writing other leckie ships is that he's usually kind of... brave? like theres a kind of pathetic/apathetic warrior-spirit in there. but when you ship him with his ex-girlfriend's mom, a refugee who just wants more family, the intimacy invades him from another direction.

usually im not embarrassed - i think im the shit - but yeah every once in a while a story im writing makes me feel like im getting a full-body hot oil bath.

yay hiii!!!

52. do you respond to comments?

yes!!! i looove leaving a big long reply. love talking about my process, where i'd take it if i continued it, things from my research. if ppl quote a specific line, i looove picking that sentence apart. i worry sometimes that im "ruining" the fic for ppl by letting them look under the hood, but most ppl WANT to look under the hood. so. lol?

also the thing ive noticed is the more i say in my own replies, the easier it gets to talk about what i loved in other fics. re: picking sentences apart, i want to do that in comments too but im still working up to it. maybe ill go do it now!!!

54. favorite part of the fic writing process?

just any time i hit flow state. i dont mind powering through stuff at all, but that feeling when your whole body is working on something and youre happy but not too happy?

also, i love when i fuck up a trick. gambler's soul in that im happier when i fail lmfao YES i am torturing and confusing my beloved friends and readers i KNOW okay one of my top goals is alWAYS clarity.

56. something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

i really love how i use sound. i practiced that a lot a lot. did things like identify which mouth-sounds/positions dominate specific activities and then write stories with "only" words that had those sounds. actually, maybe i love how much ive practiced in general. i fucking love the Craft.

also, im really good at writing unique and interesting stuff. im very predictable once you get to know me, but even then i think i do a good job making something wild within my own preferences. i think part of it is just genuinely enjoying what the world has to offer #sensitivepervert

10. ctrl+f "blinks" on your WIPs and copy-paste the first thing that comes up.

ohhh i last worked on this one in april. she's a perpetual sledgefu week fill.

The strange car pulls up next to him and stops. “Hey, what are you doing out there all day?” Eugene blanks at first. “I’m studying the birdsong of flycatchers for my PHD in Orinthology at Auburn.” He blinks. “That means you answer questions, right? They did soil conservation work back in the 30s and 40s around here.” “Oh, the Conservation Corps?” “Them. You got a number I can text or call?” Eugene thought of asking what kind of bird questions this person expected him to answer, and while he thought, he automatically gave out his number. From that point on, he slowly became Snafu’s secretary. He also got to do bird ID on hard mode.

did you know flycatchers are difficult to identify? more importantly, they share snafu's bed in this one.

13. common writing tip you almost always follow?

oh, many. so many rules. but i most commonly refer to the three laws of engineering:

always use the right tool

the right tool is always a hammer

a hammer can be anything

basically, i need to get whatever im writing to the point where i can hit the same spot again and again without the whole story falling apart. at the same time, i need to make it so even if i only hit it once, it still feels like enough force was applied. of course, i also need to know what im hitting with my hammer--thats kind of the unsaid part of step one tho, figuring out what i need to hit.

ohhh i like these numbers!!!

2. do you plan each chap ahead or write as you go?

GOD. the second i start planning something, i know its not getting posted. and im okay with that!!! it's really best if i write as i go just so it gets done. ive started trying to make my outlines double as stories but this seems also ineffective to actually finishing the fucking thing.

24. worst writing advice someone ever gave you?

"cut more" <- worked super well for me for years but even in middle school my writing was already sparse. i really feel like i need to learn to ignore this advice, but i've been told it so many times by people i really respect that it's been hard to ignore.

you know whats funny? one of the many tricks i have for making something as lean as possible is literally to cut it up. i have a bunch of labeled envelopes all full of scraps shoved in almost-lost shoe boxes. i LOVE cut-ups.

for actual bad advice? too much to bother remembering. ppl always want me to get rid of the one thing that makes the story go.

42. what's the last fic you read? do you recommend it?

the promise of monsters by green_postit

When Brad saw the commercial with the dragon and the knight and the hideous graphics, he knew that the Marines had to be the toughest motherfuckers alive if they could have a commercial that homosexual and not have any other branch of the military fuck them up like that smelly kid at recess.

short answer yes, it's really hot. long answer: i really like brad's thoughts in this one. i was really looking forward to a rug-pull because he was sooo one-track minded about dominating his lieutenant, but i still had a ton of fun and i loved how the author still managed to make nate fick feel like an authority figure in spite of brad's thoughts and actions. which were very hot thoughts and actions.