I Never Was Good With Decisions.

Rarepair Rec Saturday

Here's Looking At You Kid by MesserMoon (E, 140k, George/Blaise)

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world…"

George wanders into a bar. Nothing is ever the same.

I am in love with the characterizations in this fic. I intended to read one chapter and space it out. Instead, I fell immediately for how this fic doesn't shy away from drawing out all the complications, and heartbreak, and Weasley family disapproval from their relationship. Perfect use of flashbacks to draw out the story. There's also a significant secondary Drarry plot. What more could I need?

One of my favourite things about heartstopper is just how explicit it is that being closeted isn’t bad. Ben isn’t awful to Charlie because he’s closeted, he’s awful to Charlie because he’s cruel and insecure. And everybody tells Nick at every opportunity that he shouldn’t have to come out if he doesn’t want to, especially Charlie because he knows how hard it is to be out and he cares more about Nick being safe and happy than being open about their relationship

The closest anyone gets to telling him to come out is during the conversation he has with Tao. And even that’s just him saying that Charlie deserves more than to be the guy he kisses sometimes on the downlow, but it’s fine if he can’t give him more than that and that Charlie would never make him come out if he isn’t ready. He isn’t telling him to come out, he’s telling him to consider what Charlie would be feeling. And it feels more like he’s telling him to make it official than to actually come out, it was Nick’s decision to come out because he wanted to make it official

I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever seen a queer story be this kind to closeted people before. They aren’t treated like cowards or liars or burdens, they’re treated like people in situations where they may not feel comfortable/safe enough to come out. Because in a lot of cases, that’s what they are. And they’re treated with as much kindness and understanding as they deserve and I just love that

5 Harry Potter Fics to Read Before Diving Into Cursed Child

After all this time? Always.

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1. DRACONIAN by hepburnettes

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2. HARRY POTTER AND THE GUARDIAN by LVQOfficial

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3. TO DWELL ON DREAMS by HelenJay

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4. TO BE LUMINOUS by icallringbearer

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5. THE HOAX by escapism-

I have literally so many opinions on heartstopper and all of them are good. but what I want to talk about right now is how we went through nicks journey with discovering his bisexuality WITH HIM. we watched him take “am I gay” tests and research lgbt stuff. We saw his happiness when Tara and Darcy were able to kiss. We saw him talk to other lgbt people about what their experiences were. We saw him watch coming out videos on YouTube !!! We watched him come out to a few close friends at a time. We saw him rewatch pirates of the caribbean with a new perspective !!

We saw his journey!!! That was integral to the story!!! not just finding friendships and family and love, but finding yourself while in the midst of high school and all kinds of other stressors. This was so beautiful and I feel so thankful to have been able to witness this journey through media.

If you're reading this...

go write three sentences on your current writing project.

Giving Quality, Motivating Feedback

A guest post by @shealynn88!

The new writer in your writing group just sent out their latest story and it’s...not exciting. You know it needs work, but you’re not sure why, or where they should focus.

This is the blog post for you!

Before we get started, it’s important to note that this post isn’t aimed at people doing paid editing work. In the professional world, there are developmental editors, line editors, and copy editors, who all have a different focus. That is not what we’re covering here. Today, we want to help you informally give quality, detailed, encouraging feedback to your fellow writers.

The Unwritten Rules

Everyone seems to have a different understanding of what it means to beta, edit, or give feedback on a piece, so it’s best to be on the same page with your writer before you get started.

Think about what type of work you’re willing and able to do, how much time you have, and how much emotional labor you’re willing to take on. Then talk to your writer about their expectations.

Responsibilities as an editor/beta may include:

Know what the author’s expectation is and don’t overstep. Different people in different stages of writing are looking for, and will need, different types of support. It’s important to know what pieces of the story they want feedback on. If they tell you they don’t want feedback on dialogue, don’t give them feedback on dialogue. Since many terms are ambiguous or misunderstood, it may help you to use the list of story components in the next section to come to an agreement with your writer on what you’ll review.

Don’t offer expertise you don’t have. If your friend needs advice on their horse book and you know nothing about horses, be clear that your read through will not include any horse fact checking. Don’t offer grammar advice if you’re not good at grammar. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give feedback on things you do notice, but don’t misrepresent yourself, and understand your own limits.

Give positive and constructive feedback. It is important for a writer to know when something is working well. Don’t skimp on specific positive feedback — this is how you keep writers motivated. On the other hand, giving constructive feedback indicates where there are issues. Be specific on what you’re seeing and why it’s an issue. It can be hard for someone to improve if they don’t understand what’s wrong.

Be clear about your timing and availability, and provide updates if either changes. Typically, you’ll be doing this for free, as you’re able to fit it in your schedule. But it can be nerve wracking to hand your writing over for feedback and then hear nothing. For everyone’s sanity, keep the writer up to date on your expected timeline and let them know if you’re delayed for some reason. If you cannot complete the project for them, let them know. This could be for any reason — needing to withdraw, whatever the cause, is valid! It could be because working with the writer is tough, you don’t enjoy the story, life got tough, you got tired, etc. All of that is fine; just let them know that you won’t be able to continue working on the project.

Be honest if there are story aspects you can’t be objective about. Nearly all of your feedback is going to be personal opinion. There are some story elements that will evoke strong personal feelings. They can be tropes, styles, specific characterizations, or squicks. In these cases, ask the writer to get another opinion on that particular aspect, or, if you really want to continue, find similar published content to review and see if you can get a better sense of how other writers have handled it.

Don’t get personal. Your feedback should talk about the characters, the narrator, the plotline, the sentence structure, or other aspects of the story. Avoid making ‘you’ statements or judgements, suggested or explicit, in your feedback. Unless you’re looking at grammar or spelling, most of the feedback you’ll have will be your opinion. Don’t present it as fact.

Your expectations of the writer/friend/group member you are working with may include:

Being gracious in accepting feedback. A writer may provide explanations for an issue you noticed or seek to discuss your suggestions. However, if they constantly argue with you, that may be an indicator to step back.

Being responsible for emotional reactions to getting feedback. While getting feedback can be hard on the ego and self esteem, that is something the writer needs to work on themselves. While you can provide reassurance and do emotional labor if you’re comfortable, it is also very reasonable to step back if the writer isn’t ready to do that work.

Making the final choice regarding changes to the work. The writer should have a degree of confidence in accepting or rejecting your feedback based on their own sense of the story. While they may consult you on this, the onus is on them to make changes that preserve the core of the story they want to tell.

Some people aren’t ready for feedback, even though they’re seeking it. You’re not signing up to be a psychologist, a best friend, or an emotional support editor. You can let people know in advance that these are your expectations, or you can just keep them in mind for your own mental health. As stated above, you can always step back from a project, and if writers aren’t able to follow these few guidelines, it might be a good time to do that. (It’s also worth making sure that, as a writer, you’re able to give these things to your beta/editor.)

Specificity is Key

One of the hardest things in editing is pinning down the ‘whys’ of unexciting work, so let’s split the writing into several components and talk about evaluations you can make for each one.

You can also give this list to your writer ahead of time as a checklist, to see which things they want your feedback on.

Generally, your goal is going to be to help people improve incrementally. Each story they write should be better than the previous one, so you don’t need to go through every component for every story you edit. Generally, I wouldn’t suggest more than 3 editing rounds on any single story that isn’t intended for publication. Think of the ‘many pots’ theory — people who are honing their craft will improve more quickly by writing a lot of stories instead of incessantly polishing one.

With this in mind, try addressing issues in the order below, from general to precise. It doesn’t make sense to critique grammar and sentence structure if the plot isn’t solid, and it can be very hard on a writer to get feedback on all these components at once. If a piece is an early or rough draft, try evaluating no more than four components at a time, and give specific feedback on what does and doesn’t work, and why.

High Level Components

Character arc/motivation:

Does each character have a unique voice, or do they all sound the same?

In dialogue, are character voices preserved? Do they make vocabulary and sentence-structure choices that fit with how they’re being portrayed?

Does each character have specific motivations and focuses that are theirs alone?

Does each character move through the plot naturally, or do they seem to be shoehorned/railroaded into situations or decisions for the sake of the plot? Be specific about which character actions work and which don’t. Tell the writer what you see as their motivation/arc and why—and point out specific lines that indicate that motivation to you.

Does each character's motivation seem to come naturally from your knowledge of them?

Are you invested (either positively or negatively) in the characters? If not, why not? Is it that they have nothing in common with you? Do you not understand where they’re coming from? Are they too perfect or too unsympathetic?

Theme:

It’s a good idea to summarize the story and its moral from your point of view and provide that insight to the writer. This can help them understand if the points they were trying to make come through. The theme should tie in closely with the character arcs. If not, provide detailed feedback on where it does and doesn’t tie in.

Plot Structure:

For most issues with plot structure, you can narrow them down to pacing, characterization, logical progression, or unsatisfying resolution. Be specific about the issues you see and, when things are working well, point that out, too.

Is there conflict that interests you? Does it feel real?

Is there a climax? Do you feel drawn into it?

Do the plot points feel like logical steps within the story?

Is the resolution tied to the characters and their growth? Typically this will feel more real and relevant and satisfying than something you could never have seen coming.

Is the end satisfying? If not, is it because you felt the end sooner and the story kept going? Is it because too many threads were left unresolved? Is it just a matter of that last sentence or two being lackluster?

Point Of View:

Is the point of view clear and consistent?

Is the writing style and structure consistent with that point of view? For example, if a writer is working in first person or close third person, the style of the writing should reflect the way the character thinks. This extends to grammar, sentence structure, general vocabulary and profanity outside of the dialogue.

If there is head hopping (where the point of view changes from chapter to chapter or section to section), is it clear in the first few sentences whose point of view you’re now in? Chapter headers can be helpful, but it should be clear using structural, emotional, and stylistic changes that you’re with a new character now.

Are all five senses engaged? Does the character in question interact with their environment in realistic, consistent ways that reflect how people actually interact with the world?

Sometimes the point of view can feel odd if it’s too consistent. Humans don’t typically think logically and linearly all the time, so being in someone’s head may sometimes be contradictory or illogical. If it’s too straightforward, it might not ‘feel’ real.

Be specific about the areas that don’t work and break them down based on the questions above.

Pacing:

Does the story jump around, leaving you confused about what took place when?

Do some scenes move quickly where others drag, and does that make sense within the story?

If pacing isn’t working, often it’s about the level of detail or the sentence structure. Provide detailed feedback about what you care about in a given scene to help a writer focus in.

Setting:

Is the setting clear and specific? Writing with specific place details is typically more rooted, interesting, and unique. If you find the setting vague and/or uninteresting and/or irrelevant, you might suggest replacing vague references — ‘favorite band’, ‘coffee shop on the corner’, ‘the office building’ — with specific names to ground the setting and make it feel more real.

It might also be a lack of specific detail in a scene that provides context beyond the characters themselves. Provide specific suggestions of what you feel like you’re missing. Is it in a specific scene, or throughout the story? Are there scenes that work well within the story, where others feel less grounded? Why?

Low Level Components

Flow/Sentence Structure:

Sentence length and paragraph length should vary. The flow should feel natural.

When finding yourself ‘sticking’ on certain sentences, provide specific feedback on why they aren’t working. Examples are rhythm, vocabulary, subject matter (maybe something is off topic), ‘action’ vs ‘explanation’, passive vs. active voice.

Style/Vocabulary:

Writing style should be consistent with the story — flowery prose works well for mythic or historical pieces and stories that use that type of language are typically slower moving. Quick action and short sentences are a better fit for murder mysteries, suspense, or modern, lighter fiction.

Style should be consistent within the story — it may vary slightly to show how quickly action is happening, but you shouldn’t feel like you’re reading two different stories.

SPAG (Spelling and Grammar):

Consider spelling and grammar in the context of the point of view, style and location of the story (eg, England vs. America vs. Australia).

If a point of view typically uses incorrect grammar, a SPAG check will include making sure that it doesn’t suddenly fall into perfect grammar for a while. In this case, consistency is going to be important to the story feeling authentic.

Word Count Requirements:

If the story has been written for a project, bang, anthology, zine, or other format that involves a required word count minimum or maximum, and the story is significantly over or under the aimed-for word count (30% or more/less), it may not make sense to go through larger edits until the sizing is closer to requirements. But, as a general rule, I’d say word count is one of the last things to worry about.

*

The best thing we can do for another writer is to keep them writing. Every single person will improve if they keep going. Encouragement is the most important feedback of all.

I hope this has helped you think about how you provide feedback. Let us know if you have other tips or tricks! This works best as a collaborative process where we all can support one another!

not to be yearning on main but i love fic writers. they do this shit for themselves AND for me. FOR FREE. not for you tho. its just them and me and i press that kudos every chapter even though i've already left one there. its the principle of the matter

New chapter <3

Chapters: 11/? Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Bellatrix Black Lestrange Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Retelling, Werewolf Draco Malfoy, Werewolf Remus Lupin, Pack Family, Gryffindor Draco Malfoy, Trans Ron Weasley, Coming Out, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Panic Attacks, Mental Health Issues, LGBTQ Character, Black Hermione Granger Summary:

Draco wakes in old familiar surroundings, but has no memory of how it happend. He wakes in his childhood room in his 11 year old body, but even as it seems like he traveled back in time his body is not unmarked of the war he went through. Old scars remain on his skin. How will he handle this new challenge? Will he fall into old habits and keep history repeating itself or does he step in and take destiny in his own hand.

I plan this to be very long and spanning over all years of the war. And very slow burn.

Hi.

I wrote my first fic for the drarry fandom.

It is going to be a very long one. It is a time travel rewrite. Very Au and slow burn.

Draco is transported into the past, into his 11 year old body. But he isn't only carrying mental scars from the war he went through, but his body shows his battles he fought. How will he handle all that knowledge of the future?

I'm excited and would love if you could give it a go

Travels Throught Time

Here is a little excerpt of the first chapter:

With a sign he stands up and opens the door. And sure enough he stands in the hallways of Malfoy Manor. Something is still off, didn't mother just take all of the portraits down. But all around he was greeted with old Malfoy Lords and Lady's.

He walks over to the bathroom, this one at least was just how he remembers it. Over at the sink he turns the water on and splashed his face, he needs to get rid of that nagging feeling at the back of his head. He cups water in his hands and drinks a few sips.

His eyes travel to the mirror over the sink and he screams.

He screams until hands shake him and brake eye contact between him and his reflection.

Read more on AO3 - Travels Throught Time

The first nine chapters are already posted.

rb if ur a pan who loves ur bi siblings 🥰

💖💛💙➕💖💜💙