#authorsworkshop

pre-thinking for @authorsworkshop​ !! signups are still open

Think: What are 3-5 of your favorite fanfics written by someone else?

Bonus prompt: Leave a (additional and brand new?) review for one of the authors so effusive, specific, and encouraging, that they might be inspired to write another similar fic. Extra bonus points for also posting it publicly to your tumblr with the author tagged and the fic linked.

Okay, I’m going to do a top 5 fics here, and I’m going to work on my bonus prompt by making a moodboard for my favorite fics moodboard series that I’ve been meaning to make anyway. Also, I have no regrets about being obsessed with sunsetmog’s writing. 

Just Tell Me the Song and I'll Sing It by @myownsparknow / myownspark (Larry, Not Rated, 40k, college au, boyband karaoke, baseball, songfic, pining, angst and fluff)

Louis is an architecture student who can only think about the future. Harry is a baseball player who can only think about right now. Both are lonely for different reasons. Boybands bring them together.

Or, this may just be a long love letter to Louis’ voice, I’m not sure.

Based on the following prompt: Harry and Louis are university students who go to the same bar on the weekends. The bar has karaoke and Louis likes to sing Disney/Musical/Boyband songs sometimes. Harry thinks he’s cute so he starts singing Disney/Musical/Boyband songs and flirting with him while he’s on stage.

{This fic is my soulmate. When I read this for the first time it was anonymous, and it was the middle of the night and I just felt like I needed to run laps around my house and knock on my neighbors’ doors and spread the good word about this fic. On the surface it’s a fic about baseball and boyband songs, so clearly accidentally written for me. But oh, it’s so much more. The writing is so beautifully crafted and emotional. When the touch of a wrist and the handling of a wristwatch are more intimate than anything I’ve ever read, you know you’ve got an amazing writer sharing their gift.}

I Had Rather Hear My Dog Bark At A Crow by @magicalrocketships / sunsetmog (Tomlinshaw, Explicit, 122k, canon compliant, enemies to lovers, angst with a capital A but with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, d/s elements, kink exploration, smut, coming out)

The first time Louis Tomlinson kisses him, Nick is three sheets to the wind, wearing a pirate hat, and so fucking tired of Louis being a complete and utter knobhead that he's spent the last ten minutes snapping at him.

The kiss takes him rather by surprise, all things considered.

Or: Nick and Louis don't like each other, not even a little bit, not even at all.

{This is the fic I have read the most times. If you’ve read this classic Tomlinshaw fic, you know it’s angsty, So fucking angsty. BUT this is the fic I reread when I need comfort. I’m not sure what that says about me. bahaha. Actually, I DO know why. It’s because it’s so immersive. You’re drawn into the world so completely that there’s no room to worry about what’s going on outside this fic. So when I need to forget for a little while, this is what I turn to. Also, home to the most emotional, vulnerable, intimate smut you’ll ever read.)

Harry Styles Cooks... by @magicalrocketships / sunsetmog (Larry, 52k+, wip, famous/not famous au, famous Harry, cooking YouTuber Harry, fan Louis, neighbors, awkwardness, humor, smut, hurt/comfort)

In which Louis Tomlinson can’t cook, there’s a very special shower curtain, and Harry Styles used to be a baker.

Or: Louis owns all of Harry Styles’ cookbooks, and he never intends to cook a single thing out of any of them.

{If you’re going to read a wip, let it be this one. This fic fills me with such joy, I can’t even explain. The most awkward love story of all time with the greatest friendships ever written. It’s charming and hilarious and ultimately pretty damn emotional. When an update appears, I gather my fellow wip reader friends and we cry and laugh and scream together. It’s truly been the most wonderful wip reading experience I’ve ever had. An utter delight.}

We Used To Wait by @magicalrocketships / sunsetmog (Tomlinshaw, explicit, 56k, car accident, hospital, serious injuries, trauma, coming out, outing, ptsd, hurt/comfort, smut)

The BBC Breaking News Twitter just says, One Direction star Louis Tomlinson rushed to hospital after M25 car crash.

or: Louis has an accident, but nobody even knows he and Nick are going out.

{Hoo boy. Okay, so this one hurts, not gonna lie. The trauma written here feels very real and inspired my own writing in ways I won’t go into here. The healing process is slow and hard, but worth it. And if you want to read a flash back as how one should be written, here it is. Masterful. As is all writing by sunsetmog.}

I'll Fly Away by @juliusschmidt (Larry, explicit, 122k, friends to lovers au, small town, America, growing up, friendship, coming out, angst with a happy ending, smut)

Harry and Louis grew up together in Lake County, Harry with his mom and stepdad in a tiny cottage on Edward’s Lake and Louis in his family’s farmhouse a few minutes down the road. But after high school, Louis stuck around and Harry did not; Harry went to Chicago where he found a boyfriend and couple of college degrees. Six years later, Harry ends up back in Edwardsville for the summer and he and Louis fall into old patterns and discover new ones.

ft. One Direction, the local boyband; Horan’s Bar and Grill; families, most especially children and babies; Officer Liam Payne; many local festivals and fireworks displays; and Anne Cox, PFLAG President.

for @authorsworkshop

THIS WAS SO HARD. i decided to choose one from each of my major fandoms before 1D and then one larry and one non-larry. 

The Shoebox Project (Harry Potter) by ladyjaida and Rave -- A hilarious and poignant portrait of love and friendship. The fic includes photographs and sketched artwork and letters. It really feels like a shoebox. 

This is the only fanfiction (by someone else) that has bled through, significantly, into my real life. My friends and I would pile into my dorm room and read the updates aloud to each other. 

It’s a masterwork in voice. The characters think and talk in such distinctive, believable and charismatic ways. The opening line, Sirius writing to Remus, will forever be etched into my memory: 

“M-- Well we are having all kinds of fun here WITHOUT YOU of course. All the livelong day we do nothing but frolic in the sun and dance pastoral dances and sing merry drinking songs, you can imagine, we are sloshed ALL the time without your improving influence.” 

Drastically Redefining Protocol (Merlin BBC)  by rageprufrock  

The author takes the Modern Royalty trope and, dare I say, perfects it. Like the trope is like your basic birthday cake recipe and the fic is the winner of Cake Wars, yk?

The image of Prince Arthur stumbling upon nurse!Merlin smoking in the closet of the hospital is one that has stuck with me years and years. 

 a light handed approach to regulation by hazel (Hockey RPF)

This is my favorite abo fic ever. EVER. No question-- it directly inspired many of my own takes on abo. Its subversion of the trope was, especially for its time, so powerful. The world is complicated and the relationship between the characters is filled with all kinds of beautiful tension. I love it so much. And I’m weirdly, like, grateful for it. 

 Through Eerie Chaos by @mediawhorefics (1D Larry) 

Okay so! This fic! It is appropriate to choose this fic of all the fics for @authorsworkshop​ because, after finishing it and wiping all those danggone tears from my eyes. I though to myself-- how does one craft something with this kind of amazing character-driven plot, where everything builds to an end that is both surprising and emotionally satisfying? I’m still trying to figure it out-- hoping Marie will share some craft secrets.

 we are spirits of a different sort by StormDancer (1D Zarry)  

Drop Dead Gorgeous by Maya | M, 131K

The only thing worse than finding out he was part Veela was finding out from Slughorn. And really, did Malfoy have to find it quite so amusing?

Here’s a presentation I created to fulfill a project for @authorsworkshop​

Goal: to explore who we are as writers in the present moment, considering our passions and strengths. Who are you as a writer? What do you write? Why do you write? What makes your writing uniquely yours?  

For @authorsworkshop pre-thinking. Join us! Signups are still open!

Think: What are 3-5 of your favorite pieces that you’ve written? (Can be fanfic or not…)

Bonus Prompt: Write yourself a positive review, perhaps as if you were a separate fan reading it for the first (or fiftieth) time. As you did for the last prompt, try to make it effusive, specific, and encouraging. Again, extra bonus points for posting it publicly and linking it. (If you’re afraid of coming off as self-important or conceited, you can blame this workshop for the self-plug. In our experience, a healthy ego helps in doing the vulnerable work of editing and publishing. ;)

This was difficult because generally speaking when I look back on my own writing, all I can see are the flaws. But I shall try! All these fics are Larry fics. I’ve written a few other ships, but these were my favorite fics. Something that came up when I was discussing this assignment in the discord was that each of these represents something I was challenging myself to write. That’s definitely a common thread throughout my writing. I am always looking for a new challenge.

Consequences (Explicit, 78k, amnesia exes to lovers)

So this is the longest fic I’ve ever written. It was definitely my passion project for many months. I love amnesia aus, and I’m proud of how I’ve written my own version of this trope, mainly concentrating on the recovery process of a car accident and the fall out of the characters’ secrets that come to light because of the accident. I’m happy with how it turned out, mainly because I did what I set out to do with it. The only bad thing was that it took a toll on my own mental health to write something like this. Won’t be writing anything like this for a while. haha.

When the Sun Won’t Let You Sleep (Explicit, 30k, Antarctic exes to lovers)

I had no clue what I was getting into when I decided to write a fic about a British Antarctic research station. I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about Antarctica at all before I wrote this fic. The documentaries I watched to gain info on Antarctica ended up giving me so much more insight into the people who live and work there and why they’ve chosen this life for themselves. Even though I hadn’t set out to write a fic about facing grief and letting yourself be vulnerable to love again, that’s what came from it. 

Looking Through You (explicit, 41k, famous/not famous friends to lovers)

This is the fic that I wrote for myself. It is completely self-indulgent and has everything I love in one fic: songfic, angst, jealousy, pining, sad wanking, Matty Healy...lol. I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting everything until it all was exactly how I wanted it. To have other people like it was definitely the icing on the cake. The Matty character is the most polarizing character I’ve ever written, and I adore him. haha. It’s very funny to read comments of one person wanting to punch him in the face and the next person saying they love him. Also, I’ve never written an ending I loved more than this one. The epilogue in Liam’s point of view was actually a dream I had while I was writing the fic, and I think it added something special to fic.

If I Loved You Less (explicit, 36k, historical a/b/o)

So I’m a huge Regency era history nerd. Before I found fan fiction, I would read 4-5 Regency romance novels per week. I was obsessed. I even have one partially written that I’ve recently pulled out to do something with. So when the Regency/Victorian fest rolled around, I knew I wanted to write something for it. And what I ended up with was the tropiest Regency romance ever, which is exactly what I’d hoped to end up with. 

Just Hear This and Then I’ll Go (explicit, 44k, enemies to lovers modern day Pride and Prejudice)

ALRIGHT. so. I avoided doing this. It’s so hard. 

for the @authorsworkshop pre-workshop prompt here

Little Wings on My Shoes -- I had two goals in writing this fic: (1) I really wanted to write a high school fic that felt authentic to my experience. (2) I wanted to process my (later in life) coming out. Definitely accomplished both, and so this fic is deeply, deeply personal. Side bonus: I feel in love with the characters-- all of them. Especially Liam. :) 

Yet In Thy Dark Streets Shineth -- This is my favorite fic I’ve ever published. I think it’s really funny. I laughed a lot writing it and I always laugh to myself re-reading. It deals with a lot of my favorite subjects (the incarnation, xmas songs, moms, grief and loss, the loneliness of one’s mid-twenties). 

Advent is about anticipation, so I wanted every chapter to be a little cliff-hanger. For the most part, I think I pulled it off. Pretty proud of that. And of completing the challenge of an advent fic. 

ALSO- spoiler alert- kissing in the snow while ringing the Christmas bells at midnight LIKE holy SHIT what a resolution. This might be my favorite scene I’ve ever written. 

I’ll Fly Away- I’m still too emo about this fic to articulate my love for it. Suffice it to say- I worked really hard and really long on it. I know the characters more deeply than other characters I’ve ever written and the place-- the place.

honorable mentions to Let It Be (in which I took a really scary leap in exploring religious identity and sexuality in fic, rip me)  and the two girl!direction fics buried in my WIPs folder (because tbh i really would always rather be writing about women, I think, but for some reason have not been motivated to finish these stories). 

PROMPT from @authorsworkshop: Choose a story that you’ve already published (any length) and try to organize the plot using the freytag pyramid. If that really isn’t working for you, use one of the other plotting methods. Examine the structure of your story along with the pacing of your conflict and character development. Determine your strengths and weaknesses.

Okay, so I chose Counterbalance because it was by far my most popular fic of the year. 

Exposition (Ch 1 of 8) - Harry falls off bike, intro to characters, we see him at the gym, and also teaching ballet class 

Inciting Incident (End of Ch 1) - Louis shows up with his siblings at Harry’s dance class

Rising action (Ch 2-5 of 8) - Sees Tommo at gym, set up investor subplot, races, Tommo @ Harry’s house, dance classes, sees softer side of Louis (ahem, name change), they kiss, they fuck, they talk about their families, more racing, and they break up

Climax (Ch 6 of 8) - Harry lies (by omission) to his dad about Louis & the ballerina secret gets out

Falling Action (also Ch 6) - Liam fall out, Dad is still not supportive, H lashes out at Louis

Resolution (Ch 7-8 of 8) - Fixes things with Liam, Finds out garage is okay with the ballet stuff, [Tries apologizing to Louis. This would still be falling, but it’s mixed in with the resolution stuff], stands up to his dad, Louis forgives him, season wrap party, Harry puts forth effort with Louis (sexually), they ride off into the sunset

Okay, soooooo my take away from this is that I think I was pretty successful. I think planning ahead in this way can sometimes confuse me because there is so much of the fic weighted in the rising action (which is okay! and also makes sense!!!!) and the “important” bits, the inciting incident and the climax, are literally three scenes and that’s it. I think I’m still not totally clear on the falling action/resolution but I put it this way because I figured the falling action was the immediate outfall from the secret being told (like, Harry or others lashing out emotionally & being scared, and then the resolution was the actual fixing of stuff? Does that make sense? Does anyone who has read this have a different opinion?

For the @authorsworkshop Author Bio Project

Annotated Selection from the 24th Chapter of “Yet in Thy Dark Streets Shineth” 

“I've chosen this selection for many reasons, but, first and foremost, this scene came to me before most of the rest of the fic. I knew the final 'get-together" would happen at midnight, as Harry and Louis rang in the Christmas in the church's bell tower. So we begin with Pastor Harry alone in the tower, just before midnight on Christmas Eve.“