For all of you who're looking for something specific in the Duck-verse, I'm currently working on

The next bit of the Ronin story

Two oneshots for Four Turtles and an Axolotl (one of which I've been working on since December and is fighting me tooth and nail)

The Future parts of the mainline Turtles and Stray story

Something completely self-indulgent that'll never see the light of day

and several things that might never even get written but i like imaging.

Not to mention all the other fandoms that have demands and are starting to demand their stories be written.

Thanks for the ask! I’ll answer for all three WIPs because why not.

Ruby: Is there any symbolism used in your wip?

Maybe? I’m not really intentionally putting any symbolism in any of my WIPs, but it can happen occasionally if the situation feels like it’s calling for it. It’s never really anything elaborate in any case, nothing that adds a deeper meaning to the story. I prefer it that way, my stories are mostly meant to entertain. Also, I’m not smart or cultured enough to pull it off hjdgfsdfgydt

Tiger's Eye: What are the tropes of your main cast?

Gosh, I’m so bad at tropes. I never really had a huge interest in them so I don’t know that many or even what they’re called? I’ll do my best to find one for each character jsdyfgsdyf

Putting them under a cut because some might be a little spoiler-y.

Write a bullet pointed list for what the characters could possibly go through in the story

Words As Weapons- Seether

I’ll Be OK- Nothing More

Video Games- Lana Del Rey

My Heart Beats 4 You- Rooney

Howl- Florence + The Machine

Broken- Lund

Michigan- The Milk Carton Kids

My name is Human- Highly Suspect

Skeleton Song- Sevendust

Angela- The Lumineers

Gasoline- Halsey

Gun in my Hand- Dorothy

Kill Our Way to Heaven- Michl

Otherside- Post Malone

I may be comparatively new to writing, but I started off with an innate lack of patience for delays, and a hard-won appreciation for the ability to manipulate my own level of motivation. Often, when it seems like my book doesn’t want to cooperate with me, my motivation starts to flag, which of course makes writing my way out of whatever the issue is much harder. So, I’ve accumulated several tricks to re-engage me with the story while getting those creative juices flowing.

1. Coming from visual arts, my first thought it usually to do some sketching. This helps me focs on the characters, who I’m already attached to, and who I’ve usually left sitting in a bad spot. May not work for everyone, but it often works for me.

2. Sometimes, of course, the creative juices aren’t flowing at ALL and drawing isn’t going any better than writing. In that case, I resort to visual hoarding. I troll around Pinterest, looking for things that my characters would like, that would be emblematic of them, the world they live in, and the lives they’ve lived so far. Often, I stumble across something new about the character in the process- I hadn’t realized they were so drawn to bright colors, for example. Then I arrange these on a mood board, which helps me visually shorthand a lot about that character. Again, it’s my affection for the chracter that keeps me plugged in to the story.

3. I’m not so much into spotify, but most of my main characters have inspired Pandora stations for me. Sometimes I can’t listen to them while writing- it’s often hard for me to write with lyrics playing, but I might, for example, listen to that station on the way home when I’m planning to write after work.

4. The newest method I got from my pall Pip, who loaned me a great big book of astrology/numerology, with in-depth discussions of the traits of people born on each day of the year. I’m pretty skeptical for someone as utterly Leo as I am, but when it comes to fiction, I can let imagination rule over reason. I’ve picked out birthdates for a ton of characters. Going page by page comparing the information presented to my priorities for the character makes me think about that character and their most dominant traits in a structured way, which helps me focus in on what I’ve written nd where it is or isn’t internally consistent.

5. Sometimes I take the characters who are failing to spark in the scene, and i pull them out of that scene and lock them in a laundromat together. Just the two or three of the, in the middle of the night. Good luck avoiding each other now, you fictional assholes. I just gave you 6 loads of laundry to do and one of them is a mattress cover! It’ll be in the dryer forever!. Then I find excuses to ramp up the emotion to 11, and really dig into all the ways those characters can get under each others skin. If character 1 can say either A or B, and B is going to strike a serious nerve with character 2, then I choose B. Every time. I don’t allow them to de-escalate the situation. The scene doesn’t actually get included in even the first draft, but it’s a good way to get at the emotional heart of their communication. Then I pick out highlights to bring back into the story.

6. The best artistic advice I ever got was from my high school painting teacher. When I’d get daunted by that big white canvas, he’s always tell me “get something down to correct.”. Those who follow me on twitter will be familiar with my habit of declaring “time to write some garbage!”. The idea here is that I hold on to my faith that whatever mess I make, I can clean it up later, and just start throwing words on the page. A lot of the time it’s 90% junk, but it gets me unstuck. Once I have a couple scenes after the worst of it written, usually I have a better feel for where I needed that scene to go, and I can edit or even re-write it much more easily that if I had just tried to force my way into proper writing at that time.

7. Often, I talk to someone. I feel like this is spectacularly common advice, but for me, it works. My wife has agreed that listening to me whine about uncooperative fictional teenagers is one of her marital duties, especially since she was one of those dirty enablers that got me writing in the first place. But, sometimes I have resorted to buying pie for people to get them to sit and let me blather at them.

8. One thing I usually need to do is figure out if my current stall is a byproduct of a larger structural issue. Are you having a hard time because you didn’t plan enough conflict in this chapter? Did you not build the relationship to where it needs to be before this scene? I like to write out an outline of the offending chapter, plus 1 or 2 on either side of it, and then make web-like charts of what’s going on with the scenes and the information. Often, that jars something in my head, some exciting new connection I hadn’t seen before. That is usually enough to give me afresh angle and a fresh start.

9. Words in words out. When I really run out of things to say, I read. Something with some connection to what i’m writing is best- some similar POV, or voice, interpersonal dynamics or genre or themes, but just...words in. I imagine that I’m filling back up my word tank. It also lets me take a break without feeling like I’m totally walking away from the project.