hello! 💕 i'm kris. i have been writing fanfiction for 20+ years, since i was 11. i am currently writing a non-fiction book on my research. i hope to one day publish original fiction, but right now, i'm finishing up my ph.d. 💕 recently, i've been receiving several asks with questions about writing, fandom, and habits/organization that i have lovingly answered across the years (been here since 2012 lol), so here, i'm slowly but surely compiling the links all in one central faq. i used to have an actual faq post, but the world has changed so much since then (e.g., AI, fandom dynamics), so not all of those questions/responses were as up-to-date. therefore, i'm putting together a new one. i hope they're helpful! 💕 good luck, and have a lovely day!! ✨
WRITING:
what is your writing experience?
why do you choose to write?
how did you get into writing? what started your hobby and how did you develop your style?
do you enjoy fic-writing? can’t it get overbearing or time consuming or is it just something you love doing?
what are your writing habits?
is there any specific ritual you go through while/before/after your writing?
how do you get yourself in the zone to write and keep the distractions away?
do you have structured ideas of how your story is supposed to go, or make it up as you write?
what stops you from writing more in your free time?
how do you work up the motivation to continue a story you haven't written in a long time?
writing romance:
what kind of questions do you ask yourself as you develop characters’ romantic relationships?
i’m having trouble writing a fight scene between two characters in a relationship. i don’t want it to be a break up sort of fight, just a healthy spat between lovers that will make their relationship all the stronger after they resolve it. but I’m not really well versed in “healthy conflict” so i was hoping you’d have some questions to keep in mind/tips experience you could share because you’re an amazing writer 🙏🏻
how do i build self-confidence in my writing?
how do you manage writing without getting bogged down with self-doubt?
do you have any tips on how to improve one’s writing?
how do i become a better writer?
what books/kind of stories would you recommend for someone like me who's trying to get better at writing?
planning-related and personal writing style-related questions:
do you sneak personal references into your stories?
how do you decide when to extend works?
technical difficulties notes:
aside from scriviner, are there any other word processors that you use to write your stories? (note that this answer was pre-OpenAI/GPT-3 and widespread data scraping concerns)
do you have any programs you use for story planning specifically, like organizing ideas or making mindmaps? i used to use milanote but the subscription cost made me give it up.
FANFICTION & FANDOM:
questions regarding hosting, uploading, or sharing fanfiction:
which fanfiction hosting sites do you prefer/recommend (and why)?
why did you shift from FFNET to AO3?
questions regarding fanfiction promotion:
where do you get your fic banners?
questions regarding BETAS♡:
how do you find your betas?
crossover fanfiction-related questions:
how do you merge multiple universes together to make a crossover fanfic with plot?
fandom-etiquette questions:
why do people (still) hate jelsa (or any other ship)?
what advice do you have for navigating the challenges of negativity in fandom communities and online, in general?
commenting & feedback:
what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?
RE: SPECIFIC SHIPS, PAIRINGS, CHARACTERS:
master post questions:
how many jelsa stories have you written?
meta-ish questions:
any thoughts on the age gap regarding jelsa?
how you would classify elsa and jack as myer brigg personality types?
character-related questions:
what would elsa be like as a mom?
the accuracy and depiction of your vision of jelsa is absolutely fantastic. or I guess when you shape your idea of jack, elsa and the two of them as a pair, what kinds of thoughts or sources do you use when you write them? sparknotes version: how do you (personally) perceive jelsa and what kinds of information do you look for when you write them ? both personality and casual dialogue? [answered in a 5-part accidental essay series below!]
jack frost & elsa of arendelle | characterization considerations
ground rules + intro
overview: the tl;dr of my personality + dialogue choices
deep dive: characterization, personality, + identity
shared ice powers (or AU-equivalent) + shared connections
questions/points to consider as you write
how do you portray speech patterns for characterization? why should i play around with writing epistolary works to improve my grasp of dialogue, speech patterns, dialects, registers, etc.?
since I saw a few others ask you about jelsa headcanons, i was wondering if you have any relating to how either of them interact with children, or someone younger than them?
do you ever write established relationship jelsa or have any headcanons about what they would be like together in a serious relationship or marriage?
fandom-related questions:
how do you feel about frozen 2?
what is your opinion on daenerys as a face claim for elsa?
ship-related questions:
why do you ship tahno/korra?
what are your thoughts on hans/elsa?
do you remember the exact moment you started shipping jelsa? what made you start shipping jack and elsa?
what are your thoughts on original!character x canon!character pairings?
FIC-SPECIFIC:
that one night:
would you sketch out a quick drawing of the layout of korra and asami’s apartment?
i’m in the process of re-reading my fav of yours TON. i’ve always wondered how you came up with that prompt and if you always had an idea of where you were going with it? and if you always knew it would be this big/long of a monster.
check the pipes for frost:
is this white haired jack or brunette jack in ctpff?
what exactly is the time span of jack and elsa’s correspondence, from the first post card up until the end?
past the gates of hell:
what is the exact situation/backstory that all of the characters are facing?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
therentyoupay-related questions:
is it too late to befriend you? i've been following your writing for like a decade now, and i've always been so anxious to actually try to befriend you 😅
are you ever planning to write or have you wrote any original fiction? because i swear i would throw all of my money at you ;)
have you ever cried whilst writing a story? If so, which one(s)?
what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?
do you accept writing prompts? yes, occasionally! i'll alert the dash when my askbox is open for prompts.
have you ever been plagiarized? yes. a few times, actually.
when will you update “story [x]”? please check out my website! or simply follow the tag: #therentyoupay updates
therentyoupaywriting.com 💕
