And, Unfortunately, Yet Again I’m Convincing Myself A Dozen Long Writing Projects Is Manageable

me: i’ll just write a short story also me: *accidentally creates a 7-book saga with complex lore*

bitch this is all you’re gonna get. this life, this face, this body. you better not ‘maybe in another universe’ your way out of everything. sit your ass down and face this. go make tea and have a picnic and read a goddamn book. kiss your loved ones, send that damn text, and hug your siblings. this is all you’re gonna get.

People who tell you not to write in bed are liars. They also should try writing on their phone.

I hate to break it to you, but they were right. You really do just have to finish that first draft. It can be a hot mess, but you can’t clean up a room that doesn’t exist

With the impending implementation of Project 2025, I suspect that AO3 will come under fire as well. And given that it’s a US based organisation, and the US has wedged itself somehow into every possible thing, I would also suspect that this will have global impacts. I cannot be certain of it - I’m certainly not an expert on political things and Trump remains, frankly, unpredictable - but I have personally found it’s more helpful to prepare beforehand than to scramble to keep myself afloat in the midst of a crisis. Knowing how important our favourite stories are to so many of us, here’s what I suggest:

Readers, I recommend you find your favourite stories again. Go all the way back in your bookmarks. Tell the authors you appreciate them, and you love their work. I think we could all use some nice words right now. If you want to keep the story, I recommend downloading it: here’s a guide on how to do so from the AO3 FAQ. I personally have wanted to take up bookbinding for a hot second; I might print off my favourite fics for myself and figure out how to bind them. The OTW also recommends downloading your favourites - see link below.

Authors, I recommend you keep your manuscripts. Download them onto an external flash drive and save them for a rainy day four or so years from now. Even the ones you don’t like are worth keeping - I guarantee you somebody else likes them even if you don’t. (I’m speaking to myself here, too.) Project 2025 has blatantly laid out a ban of pornography, and they will take that to mean whatever they want it to; I suggest you don’t even keep your fics on a Google drive if possible it’s definitely easier to keep them all online, trust me, I know, but so does the government. Corporations do not care about you: they will sell you out to whoever is willing to pay. Remember also to turn off AI scraping wherever possible, or better yet use sites that don’t engage in that behaviour.

For further reading from people more qualified than I, here’s the OTW’s statement on what their plans are so far.

I hope I’m wrong. I honestly would love nothing more. But more importantly, we will get through this. Humanity has told stories and put blorbos in situations for literal millennia. We’ll see the other side of this.

CHARACTERS ARE ALLOWED TO BE SHITTY. THEY ARE ALLOWED TO BE BAD PEOPLE. THEY ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE BAD OPINIONS AND EVENTUALLY REALISE THAT THEY'RE WRONG AND TRY TO CORRECT THEMSELVES. CHARACTERS OPINIONS ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE WRITERS OPINIONS. I BEG OF YA'LL. LEARN BASIC STORY TELLING TECHNIQUES. CHARACTERS ARE ALLOWED TO BE FLAWED WITHOUT BEING 100% A TERRIBLE PERSON. BECAUSE. THATS JUST HOW PEOPLE ARE IN REAL LIFE.

write the story only you can tell, because you aren't the only one who needs it

get up and go write.

write for the people who will one day pore over the words you've chosen.

write for the people who think you could never have gotten so far.

write so you can bring words to life.

write so one day you can look back and see how far you've come.

write to inspire people who are too afraid, or who cannot, put words to paper.

write, because if you don't create this, who will?

and if anything, get up and go write for yourself. there's still so far to go. take a break, breathe, but go back. there's still so many things to share.

Romantic Writing Prompts (++Drama++)

She has two choices... the boy who makes her feel like art, or the man who can give her the world on a silver platter. Both love her. Both will ruin her in different ways. And she has to decide if she wants passion or security, because she cannot have both.

She thought she had found the love of her life on a dreamy vacation. The kind of love that makes you believe in fate. The kind of love that makes your bones hum. And then she comes home, walks into her best friend’s apartment, and sees him, wearing a ring, wrapping his arms around the person who’s been in her life longer than he has.

She’s built her career from nothing. Nothing. And now she’s finally on the verge of making it, rising in the world of high fashion, with a mentor who believes in her more than anyone ever has. But then she finds out the truth about him. And it’s not just bad. It’s the kind of truth that could end everything.

She has a plan. Stay in her tiny hometown. Marry the boy she’s known forever. Live a simple, happy life. But then the new guy moves in, brooding, devastatingly handsome, and everything she’s not supposed to want. Suddenly, her plan feels like a cage. And her childhood sweetheart can see it happening.

She knows he’s a mistake. She knows he’s all sharp edges and empty promises and that he kisses her like he’s daring her to regret it later. And still, she goes back to him. Again and again. Until she either saves him or loses herself completely.

She has a good boyfriend. A stable one. The kind of love that makes sense. Then, she meets him. The kind of love that is a disaster waiting to happen, that keeps her awake at night, that makes her question everything she thought she wanted. And suddenly, safe doesn’t feel so safe anymore.

She’s fine. She swears she is. It’s been years since she lost him. She moved on. She has a job, a life, someone else warming her bed. And then, she sees him again. Older. Wiser. Looking at her like she’s the only thing in the world that ever made sense. And suddenly, every lie she’s told herself comes crashing down.

So my health, both mentally and physically, is a hot mess. But at least I’ve been writing

Can't be sincerely dark without being called edgy, can't be sincerely emotional without being called melodramatic, can't be sincerely silly without being called stupid. They're gonna hate every emotion you put in your art no matter what so make it anyway and be as sincere as you can be