#writingrules

THESE ARE THE FANDOMS AND CHARACTERS (AND SHIPS) I WILL WRITE FOR!

THERE WILL BE PLATONIC AND FAMILIAL SHIPS AND THEY WILL BE SPECIFIED! NO INCEST OF ANY TYPE IS PERMITTED IN MY REQUEST BOX!

I SUPPORT ANY TYPE OF SHIP (GAY / LESBIAN / LGBTQ+) SO REQUEST AWAY!

FOR ANY REASON, if a fandom or character (is)...

CROSSED OUT! I no longer write for the fandom or character.

HAS A “☆” NEXT TO IT! It is one of my favorite fandoms or characters to write for.

Without further ado, here are the lists (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

CRIMINAL MINDS

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

☆ SPENCER REID

DEREK MORGAN

PENELOPE GARCIA

EMILY PRENTISS

JENNIFER “JJ” JAREAU

BAU TEAM

SHIPS / PLATONIC

SPENCER REID X DEREK MORGAN

MASTERLIST

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

CONNOR

HANK

GENERAL CHARACTERS (POLICE, ETC)

SHIPS / PLATONIC

N/A

MASTERLIST

GLEE

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST

MIKE CHANG

SEBASTIAN SMYTHE

GENERAL CHARACTERS (NEW DIRECTIONS, WARBLERS, ETC)

SHIPS / PLATONIC

N/A

HARRY POTTER

GOLDEN ERA:

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

HARRY POTTER

HERMIONE GRANGER

RON WEASLEY

GINNY WEASLEY

FRED WEASLEY

GEORGE WEASLEY

WEASLEY TWINS

PERCY WEASLEY

CHARLIE WEASLEY

WILLIAM “BILL” WEASLEY

SEAMUS FINNEGAN

DEAN THOMAS

☆ NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM

CEDRIC DIGGORY

OLIVER WOOD

GOLDEN TRIO

WEASLEY FAMILY

SHIPS / PLATONIC

SEAMUS FINNEGAN X DEAN THOMAS

OLIVER WOOD X PERCY WEASLEY

MARAUDERS ERA

X OC / READER (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

JAMES POTTER

LILY EVANS

REMUS LUPIN

SIRIUS BLACK

(YOUNG) PETER PETTIGREW

MARLENE MCKINNON

DORCAS MEADOWES

FABIAN PREWETT

GIDEON PREWETT

PREWETT TWINS

SHIPS / PLATONIC

JAMES POTTER X LILY EVANS

REMUS LUPIN X SIRIUS BLACK

MARLENE MCKINNON X DORCAS MEADOWES

MASTERLIST

LES MISERABLES

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

ENJOLRAS

COURFEYRAC

GRANTAIRE

EPONINE

GAVROCHE

BARRICADE BOYS

SHIPS / PLATONIC

ENJOLRAS X GRANTAIRE

MASTERLIST

MARVEL (AVENGERS)

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

TONY STARK

STEVE ROGERS

STONY

BUCKY BARNES

STUCKY

SAM WILSON

NATASHA ROMANOFF

PIETRO MAXIMOFF

PETER PARKER

TEAM CAP

AVENGERS

SHIPS / PLATONIC

STUCKY

STONY

MASTERLIST

MAZE RUNNER (SCORCH TRIALS / DEATH CURE)

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

THOMAS

NEWT

☆ MINHO

WINSTON

GALLY

ZART

JEFF

CLINT

CHUCK

GLADER BOYS

SHIPS / PLATONIC

THOMAS X NEWT

THOMAS X MINHO

JEFF X CLINT

MASTERLIST

☆ MERLIN

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

MERLIN

ARTHUR PENDRAGON

SIR LEON

SIR ELYAN

SIR LANCELOT

SIR PERCIVA;

SIR GWAINE

GUINEVERE

MORGANA PENDRAGON

MORDRED

KNIGHTS

MERLIN CAST

SHIPS / PLATONIC

MERLIN X ARTHUR PENDRAGON

☆ MERLIN X SIR GWAINE

☆ MERLIN X LANCELOT

MERLIN X LEON

PERCIVAL X GWAINE

MORGANA X GWEN

ROUND TABLE X MERLIN

ROUND TABLE X FEM!MERLIN

MASTERLIST

NATIONAL TREASURE

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

☆ RILEY POOLE

BEN GATES

ABIGAIL CHASE

TRIO

SHIPS / PLATONIC

N/A

MASTERLIST

☆ NEWSIES (MOVIE OR MUSICAL - SPECIFY)

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

JACK KELLY

DAVID “DAVEY” JACOBS

CRUTCHIE(Y) MORRIS

LES JACOBS

SARAH JACOBS

KATHERINE PLUMBER

RACETRACK HIGGINS

SPOT CONLON

ALBERT DASILVA

☆ ROMEO

MUSH MEYES

BUTTONS DAVENPORT

ELMER KAZPRZAK

HENRY

JOJO DE LA GUERRA

☆ SKITTERY

TUMBLER

FINCH CORTEZ

SNIPESHOOTER

BOOTS

SMALLS (MALE OR FEMALE)

OSCAR DELANCEY

MORRIS DELANCEY

NEWSIES

SHIPS / PLATONIC

JACK KELLY X DAVID JACOBS

JACK KELLY X KATHERINE PLUMBER

SARAH JACOBS X KATHERINE PLUMBER

RACETRACK HIGGINS X SPOT CONLON

SPOT CONLON X SARAH JACOBS

MASTERLIST

THE SANDLOT

X READER / OC (SPECIFY IN REQUEST)

BENNY RODRIGUEZ

SCOTTY SMALLS

MICHAEL “SQUINTS” PALLEDOROUS

ALAN “YEAH-YEAH” MCCLENNAN

SANDLOT BOYS

SHIPS / PLATONIC

BENNY RODRIGUEZ / SCOTTY SMALLS

MASTERLIST

Copyright Don Bates, 2021

The more you write, the better you get.

The more you edit, the better you get.

The more you publish, the better you get.

🍷 Rules & Warnings

🕯️ Basic Rules

This is a realm of haunting prose and spectral thoughts. I welcome all who wander here, but know this—respect is the only currency accepted. Hate has no place among ghosts and shadows.

Harassment, cruelty, and prejudice will be devoured by the abyss. No hate toward race, gender, identity, or existence will be tolerated. The void embraces all.

Before you summon me with requests, ensure the portal (askbox) is open. If it is closed and you still knock upon the door, expect your request to be cast into the ether, never to return.

I hold the right to reject any request, spoken or unspoken. Some whispers must never be written.

Original characters? I adore them, but they will not be the focus of my writings. They are precious phantoms belonging to their creators, and I dare not shape them with uncertain hands.

My askbox and messages are always open for conversation. Come forth, tell me your tales, and I shall listen. But do not summon me with darkness in your heart.

Minors, tread carefully. You may linger, but if you wish to speak to me directly, you must reveal your age. If you step beyond the warnings into forbidden grounds, know that you do so at your own peril. I mark all dangerous passages, but I am not your keeper. Interact unwisely, and the door shall close behind you.

🔗 Support & Explore More: Click Here

📜 Asking/Requesting Rules

This is character x reader territory. Unless the stars align and I choose otherwise, requests for character x character will be cast aside.

For elaborate AU requests, whisper to me privately. I prefer not to clutter my domain with sprawling echoes.

Askbox status is displayed above, in my bio, and carved into the stars. If you ignore these omens and send a request when the doors are shut, you shall receive only silence.

🔗 Support & Explore More: Click Here

🩸 Content I Will and Will Not Write

The ink of my pen runs deep into the veins of fantasy, horror, and tragedy. I craft worlds of devotion and damnation, tenderness and terror. However, some things must never be written.

❌ Forbidden:

No rape or non-consensual horrors. The darkness here is not one of real-world suffering.

Dub-con may appear, but only under the watchful gaze of consent’s shadow.

No incest. Some sins are too vile even for the abyss.

No real-world social issues will be addressed—no racism, homophobia, or misogyny. This is a world of ghosts and gods, untouched by such things.

Emotional abuse is a wraith that lingers at the edges of my work, but I do not welcome it fully, save for yandere themes.

Every piece will bear its warnings. If you step beyond the red thread despite them, your fate is your own.

🔮 Allowed:

All manner of AUs, from soulmates to eldritch horrors.

Soft whispers of love and cruel echoes of obsession.

SFW, NSFW, fluff, angst, platonic, romantic, monogamous, polyamorous—all are welcome, so long as the themes remain within the sacred boundaries.

No limit on characters, but the more you request, the briefer the tale. And beware—I have my favorites. You will see their names etched deeper into my works.

🔗 Support & Explore More: Click Here

🕷️ Fandom-Specific Rules

🩶 Hoyoverse (HSR, Genshin, ZZZ)

I will weave stories for all characters—except children. Ask for romance with Yanqing or Klee, and you will be met with a cold wind. Parental and sibling bonds? Yes. Anything more? Never.

I will describe certain characters with deeper skin tones. If this offends you, step into the void and do not return.

Some characters carry sorrow etched into their pasts. If we speak of these things, we do so with care. There will be no glorification of suffering here.

🦢 Twisted Wonderland

I write for all—students and staff alike. But know this: NRC is a true college in my realm, with students aged 18-22+.

Student x staff romance is forbidden. The imbalance of power is a chain I refuse to forge.

Ortho will remain a child, and his stories will be purely innocent. Do not ask for more.

🔗 Support & Explore More: Click Here

🕯️ Final Words

If you follow these simple rules, you are welcome within my haunted halls. Respect my boundaries, and I shall weave the finest nightmares and sweetest dreams for you. Ignore them, and you shall be lost in the dark.

🍷 Step forward, if you dare.

Please read thoroughly and abide by these rules when requesting a fic to be written. Any failure to follow these rules will get your request deleted and not even acknowledged.

RULES

I REFUSE TO WRITE AND HAVE SMUT IN MY REQUEST BOX! I may read and enjoy smut, but I do not feel comfortable writing it. Occasionally, one of my fics will have very, very mild smut, but that is it.

DO NOT SPAM! If I repeatedly see the same request in my box from the same account, all requests from that user will be deleted and I will not write the fic.

OPEN AND CLOSED REQUESTS! Please check my bio to understand when my requests are and are not open. If they are CLOSED, I am most likely finishing up a few other requests, or am just in the middle of a writing slump. THE LATTER WILL MAKE ITSELF KNOWN!

REQUEST ONLY FOR THE FANDOMS AND CHARACTERS UNLESS I SAY SO! I have a set list of the fandoms and characters I write for. My writing is for my enjoyment. If a character is not on the list but you feel they should be, please ask about it and I will try to respond and add them if I choose to do so.

PLEASE BE SPECIFIC! I dislike nondetailed requests as I never truly know what the requester wants, so please be as specific as possible to allow me to give you exactly what you want.

LIKE AND REBLOG! Reblogging helps me as a creator to wish to continue writing, so please like and reblog my work, especially if it was your request.

STAY GOLD, READERS!

DISCLAIMERS

FICS SHORTER THAN FIVE PARTS DO NOT HAVE A SEPERATE MASTERLIST! There is no reason (in my eyes) to make one, so all parts will be directly on the series masterlist.

MORE RULES AND DISCLAIMERS MAY BE ADDED! Check back after revisiting to understand any updated rules for my account.

Copyright by Don Bates, 2021

If I had to address every rule of writing, I would never get anything done or published. Rules are great – they guide us – but they can get in the way of creative expression and fulfillment.

Writing “to the rules” can help you refine what you’re trying to say, but if you spend too much time worrying about them, you can squelch your inspiration. Worse, your desire to write.

Never let that happen unless you discover writing isn’t for you. That it’s too hard, too time consuming, too detached from other things you love, whatever the reason. Where’s the shame in walking away? No one’s really watching. There may be someone close who’s hopeful you’ll write something significant, but they’re not you.

In the end, there’s no perfect writing. No perfect book, play, poem, essay, editorial, and on and on. There are only degrees of perfection and those result from the writer’s thinking, feeling, and imagination, not from rules, but from doing the work as best they can in their own way, in their own voice.

Salvador Dali said, “Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it.” Margaret Atwood agreed: “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” Leo Tolstoy: "If you look for perfection, you'll never be content."

So, next time you start brooding over rules, remind yourself they are a tool to help you write better, not the prescription for getting your writing done and published, which is every writer’s greater goal no matter how some may demure.

Remind yourself, as well, that content is what's critical. That’s what counts the most to readers. I've learned amazing things from poorly, even horribly, written publications of every kind, even though I prefer syntactical elegance. Why? Because their content was informative, insightful, useful, helpful, or all of the above. It wasn’t their words per se; it was what they said with words. By their intent, not their adherence to rules they obviously didn’t know.

Bottom line, write as well as you can but don’t spend so much time getting your language perfect. More productively, get the words out. Then, after a day or two, edit them in the calm, clear light of objectivity. Like locks, rules were made to be broken. Unlock your feelings and knowledge, so you can express your wit, wisdom, or whatever you want your writing to accomplish.

My rule of three for all writers:

The more you write, the better you’ll get.

The more you edit, the better you’ll get.

The more you publish, the better you’ll get.

Hemingway Said, You Do Not Talk About Writing

Rule number one: You do not talk about writing. Rule number two: You do NOT talk about writing! I always picture Brad Pitt walking around telling a group of authors all the rules before a furious word slinging writers event, in some dark, seedy basement covered in sweat and coffee stains.

Hemingway and Fight Club have things in common, such as rules about not talking. Obviously this is not the case. However, as writers we have a series of unwritten laws that we tend to either abide or pretend to be oblivious too. I am Jack's complete lack of interest. Writers Have Heroes, Too As writers, we have authors as heroes just as those school kids look up to athletes. Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller and Stu Stein, to name a few. These authors broke the first rule of Writing Club: they all have a publication called On Writing. "Throughout Ernest Hemingway's career as a writer," says Larry W. Phillips in his introduction to Ernest Hemingway on Writing, "he maintained that it was bad luck to talk about writing." So what else are we mortal writer's, superstitious or otherwise, not supposed to do or say? There is quite a list, actually. I am Jack's bleeding heart. Rule #1 As we have established, it is bad luck to talk about writing. Thanks, Ernest. Why, though? Basically, as Hemingway explains further, it is better to just write and not speak of it. In his method of removing all the bullshit and leaving behind only the greatness. I disagree with this almost completely. Almost. I feel that we are just glorified campfire story-tellers. It is our duty to tell stories. Written down for others to enjoy at their leisure, obviously, that's why we are "writers". At the core of it all, however, we tell stories. Talking about our stories is just in our nature. I am Jack's gaping mouth. I do agree with the concept that we shouldn't brag, and we also shouldn't try to school or teach every passer-by with our knowledge of the process. Just tell the story, mate. Rule #2 Another no-no myth is that we should write perfect. I am Jack's decaying ego. As the saying goes: practice makes perfect. I disagree. I used to tell my football teams that practice does NOT make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect. They just looked at me and nodded "yes coach".

Don't practice writing, practice perfect writing. In writing, this same method applies to an extent. If you practice writing you will get better, but only so far as you write perfect. The problem is that no one just writes perfectly out of the box. If we did, there would be no need for drafts and we would just pump out perfect final drafts day in and day out. James Patterson was said to have written over a million words before he wrote his first novel. Writing makes you write better, but to write better you don't just write words, you write better words. The one issue I have with this is that trying to write every word perfectly distracts from the art. Instead, I suggest that you just write. Worry only about perfection while editing and focus on writing perfectly whilst writing the final draft. Otherwise, just write. Rule #3 Don't write like your idols. Sigh. I have heard this over and over and over and every time it upsets me to no end. Believe it or not, there is a finite number of writing genres. We are drawn towards certain ones and turned off by others. I, for example, love thriller and horror and dislike romance and most young adult. Having authors as idols is not a bad thing and if we aspire to be an author then who should we emulate? Our idols. Exactly. So why are we told not to? The reasons vary from one mouth to another, but the main theme seems to be that we should write our own style in our own voice. I tend to believe, though, that our own style and voice will come out, anyway. We should write like our idols. I don't write romance, and would never try to emulate Nicholas Sparks. However, writing horror I see nothing wrong trying to write in similar styles of King, Koontz or Barker. Will I ever write a book and have a publisher read it and say... "Hey! did Clive Barker write this?" No. That will never happen. However, if I am trying to sell a horror book and someone compares it to Clive Barker, then I should feel overwhelmingly excited about that. Writing like your idols is never a bad thing. Rule #4 You should never ask your mom for feedback. Again, heavy sigh. Friends and family are essential for writers' feedback, especially if you are just starting out. While it is true that mom and dad will have a harder time giving you negative feedback (generally) this is not a bad thing. As a writer, you will experience enough setbacks and hardships and negativity to last five lifetimes. Eventually it will harden you, make you better, make you more fierce. In the beginning though, it's detrimental to your writing career. If you start out with negative feedback, you will eventually believe it. Having mom coo and gush over your first few works will help boost your ego and keep you going. From there, you will begin perfect practice and have thousands more words under your belt. You must seek out your mom and close friends for feedback in the beginning (and again any time you need to return to your happy place of believing you can accomplish this task). It is essential, and helpful. I am Jack's boastful pride. Rule #5