Jk, it's nothing so dramatic. Let's hop to it! 

APPLYFICS

what's your process for creating applyfics?

i'll give you a short(er) answer, since it varies from applyfic to applyfic. (i could write a whole essay about this ngl) but usually it's based off random bits of inspiration that i ask myself: can you create a plot from this? what's the purpose of telling the story? where do you want it to end? in the past, (and some of you can attest to this) i just churned out applyfics with no real idea where they were going, and just vibed. which is fun, in theory, but not when you want to produce an actual plot and do justice to the time that others put into your books. so i had to learn how to rein myself in, and really concentrate on getting out an actual story.

i think the first applyfic i've managed to do that successfully was sweet dreams, because i sat down in one day and wrote the entire plot. of course, it changed, and things got a little wonky, but that's the fun part of writing a book.

once i've got an idea that i like, and a direction to move in, i publish the form. i know this is different for every author, but i've found that planning the plot before i receive the characters makes for a pretty non-character-centric story. i like to plan ideas while forms are coming in, so i actually usually have the cast in mind weeks before the closing date. then, when those last minute forms are flying in, i try to see if i can weave them in the story that's mostly developed. this works for me because i'm actively incorporating backstories into the direction of the book. for example, lamentations, you'd be surprised how much the original idea has changed because of the backstories i've gotten. 

and then i write! i haven't finished an applyfic so clearly i can't give you good advice on that part, but that's how i get started. 

let me touch more on inspiration, since i glossed over that pretty quick. 

where do you get inspiration for applyfics? 

everywhere! literally everywhere. honeybees was literally inspired by me sitting outside on my friends' porch and breathing in fresh air and being like: i want to write a story about this. it's a big blobby mass of things that i love, like summer, and family, and Bluey, and Little Women. i think a good rule of thumb for writing applyfics is write something that you truly have passion for. every time i'm lacking motivation for honeybees, i ask myself "why are you struggling right now?" and because it's a topic i love, and a vibe that i love, the answer is never the story itself. sometimes it's a character, or an action, or a bit of dialogue, and that's easily fixed. just delete and work around it!

lamentations was highly inspired by watching Interstellar, but also the actual book of the bible, and you guys! it's a book that's going to challenge me, for sure, because it's a genre that i don't really write. but honestly, i'm glad for it, and i'm really excited about where it's going so far. 

i think my inspiration for writing in general is, of course, reading. i find that if i'm hitting a writing rut, it's because i haven't been reading enough. and then i go and i read the grishaverse or something and all of a sudden i'm hit with inspiration to write, write, write. either that, or going outside T-T. guys don't underestimate the importance of fresh air, it's a miracle drug. 

what's your favourite type of applyfic and why?

this is honestly a hard question. i'm a pretty versatile person, and i'm not really partial to any one genre, so i don't know that i have a good answer. as a general rule, though, i think i'm really invested in applyfics that have equally invested applicants. lemme explain. 

the author, in my mind, automatically has to be highly invested, or i won't be willing to apply. if i'm more invested in your applyfic than you are, i'll just write it myself XD jk, jk, but seriously, that's an instant turn-off. if someone posts an applyfic just for shits and giggles and reads, then i'm not really going to put work into it. 

but what really impacts me is how dedicated the other applicants are, the people applying. it's more of a subconscious affect, i think, but when i see people writing long forms, and getting really into the backstories, and creating detailed characters, then i feel motivated to do the same. i'm not sure why, and i feel like that would be interesting to unpack, but there's that. 

another thing that i love to see in applyfics is original stuff. i think that's my go-to genre. it already demonstrates a basic dedication to the world building, and i like when authors are dependent on themselves to carry a plot, not a world that people are invested in. 

that is to say, i adore fandom applyfics too, i just generally am more impressed with original stuff. 

faceclaim or no faceclaim?

goodness. this is a hard question. 

when i'm writing the applyfic, i don't mind either way, but i have a lean towards face claims just for simplicity of knowing what the character looks like. it's another thing i don't have to extensively read to get a better understanding. but in all honesty, i prefer pin boards to face claims. it provides more than just a face, but a vibe, and usually a lot of personality too. but i also love the idea of not being restrained by the kinds of people that have enough graphics or aesthetic photos, which is again why i love pin boards. "faceless aesthetic photos" save my life. 

when i'm applying, i selfishly like no face claims. then my character can look however i want. but since i'm also an author, i understand the struggle of not wanting to read forms for appearance on top of every other thing. but still. i like to describe my little shits the way i see them in my mind, instead of cramming them into an actor's body. 

but again. pin boards. the best of both worlds. i vote we make pin boards the standard application imagery. ALSO IT HELPS FOR MAKING AESTHETICS FOR THE CAST SO HONESTLY IT'S THE BEST SOLUTION. 

but i'm biased. :D 

applyfic writing tips!

i feel like the least qualified person to be giving any advice on this, but you know what, i'll give it a shot. plus, you don't have to take this advice <3 

one thing that i see a lot in applyfics is authors trying to give everyone equal screen time. and while i understand the kind of, as vi says, "crippling self doubt and fear of being inadequate" that comes with applyfic writing and wanting to please everyone, books don't really work that way. especially when you have a huge cast. when authors try to give everyone equal screen time, it can end up influencing the plot, and instead you're being forced to write a chapter that is essentially useless. the tip i have here is use the characters. they're not gods that are demanding you chronicle their stories, they're tools for you to convey your world and plot. anybody who's applying to your book with the expectation that their character is the centre of attention over everyone else should leave, sorry not sorry <3 

another tip, that i'm working on myself, is have an ending in mind. it doesn't have to be a plot, and it will most certainly change when you get the applications, or start writing, or you have a drastic personality change, etc. but having a general idea of where you want to end up means that you know how to get there, which is the hardest part of writing a book in my opinion. and having an ending, and a simple plot, means that you can weave subplots in, like romances or side quests, between the other characters. 

a tip i have for picking a cast is to pick characters that you can write. kind of in the same vein of "use the characters", don't feel obligation to either the applicant or the character themselves. pick characters that you connect with, can properly represent, and are useful to you. if you can, try not to look at the usernames when you're going through forms, and don't bank your acceptance on how much effort it appears like the author put in. pick characters that work for you. it sounds selfish, but it's your book. do what you want, they didn't have to apply. 

pick a small cast. this tip is dependent on a lot, like the size you need for your plot, your ability to write other people's characters well, etc. but if you pick a huge huge cast, and you can't commit to each of them, you end up feeling guilty, burnt out, and just exhausted with the book. characters are half the book. almost all of my applyfics that have flopped are because i picked a cast that i just couldn't handle, in a mixture of size, lack of plot, and intensity of emotion. and it makes you start to resent the book you want to love. so pick a small cast. 

i'm sure i have more tips but i can't think of any at the moment. the sum is: pick good characters, don't pick your friends. 

WRITING TIPS + ADVICE

descriptions + writing style 

i always tell myself: write like an impressionist. lemme explain. 

when you write, don't hyperfixate on every single detail. frankly, it's hard to read, and hard to really recreate in the mind. for example, if you're describing a forest, and you go into detail about the kind of bark and the types of leaves and the colours in each branch, it could be beautiful, but it's most likely boring. 

so instead, write it like an impressionist. give the vague details that everybody can relate to. paint shapes, write outlines, and let the reader fill it in for themselves. this means it's more personal to the reader, who can now associate the forest with perhaps a camping trip with their family, or a good memory of hiking, or perhaps a bad memory of summer camp. if you describe the forest with blurry, impressionist's strokes, it lets the reader create the world more personally and in a way that makes sense to them. if it becomes hyper-specific, it's hard to relate to.

this honestly applies to everything. characters, both personalities and descriptions, setting, world building, even plots. if you give away too much, and too explicitly, in huge paragraph dumps, it gets boring. imagine yourself to be a cat: you like people when they hide from you. when the writing is all out in the open, obsessively following you, and being obnoxiously near you, you don't want it as much. 

(also can i just say here, i am in no way someone to be educating you on writing. literally, this is just stuff i've picked up from reading and maybe a few things or two from my high school english class. don't take this as professional advice or anything bc i have no idea what i'm saying)

pacing

short sentences = fast
long sentences = slow.
repeat that in your head, drill it in. 

this is a good rule for writing things like action sequences, and controlling the pace of your writing. if you want everything to slow down, to really take a breath, and for your reader to have a chance to digest things properly, write longer sentences. like with honeybees, it's a slow-paced book, and so my sentences tend to be on the longer side, with more commas and drawn out descriptions. it forces your reader to slow down, process the words, and therefore process the progression of time within your book slower. 

when you use short, choppy sentences, it takes less time to process. therefore you can read it faster. and that means you process time faster. it's more brusque, brunt, and it feels colder. action is like this, quick and direct. make your writing the same. 

did that work? kinda? anyway. another thing that sentence length does is affect flow. if your action is choppy, quick, violent, you want short sentences. if your action is flowy, smooth, elegant, you want long sentences. but both of these can be either slow or fast. i'll try to show you an example. 

The prince ducked, lashing out with a hand. Again, the knife swung over his head. He kicked his foot out, hard. Flesh hit flesh, and the assassin crumpled. The prince dove before thinking, tackling the assassin on the ground. He pinned her wrist to the floor, squeezing. The knife clattered out of her hand, hitting the ground. She screamed, kicking upwards with a jerk. He grunted, the breath leaving his lungs, and crumpled over her. She twisted, breaking free, snatching up the knife. Suddenly a gunshot fired. They flinched, bodies racing with adrenaline. 

comparatively, these sentences are pretty short. they have choppy transitions, because in a fight like this, nothing is elegant or smooth. it's a desperate battle for a knife, clawing and kicking. it's supposed to be jerky, awkward, and dangerous. these kinds of fights are the ones that get your heart racing, because it feels so out of control. nothing about this is thought out, just pure reaction, which is conveyed by the choppiness. 

She twisted, the bo staff rotating in her hands like the blades of a helicopter, whirling the air above her. She crouched, her legs tensing, before launching to attack. The first competitor was taken down easily, his legs knocked from beneath him, crumpling to the stone as her foot caught his temple. She slid beneath the legs of the next competitor, dragging the sharp end of her staff along the inside of the opponent's thigh. He cried out, falling, and she drove the staff into his neck, cracking it. A knife flew past, but she swerved, sliding out of the trajectory of the blade and instead ducking into another punch, her fist colliding with the cheek of the woman to her left. 

here, the character feels much more in control. she knows what she's doing, she's practiced and accurate. it's more like a dance than a fight. the action isn't any less perilous here, but it's less frantic, and less worrying. here, you didn't worry that the character might get hurt, you're more fixated on her skill and power. you can almost imagine an elegant woman taking down rows of clumsy characters with a smile, because she seems so in control compared to the other example. they're both action scenes, just very different in terms of characterisation, pacing, and meaning. 

or perhaps im crazy and none of that made the slightest sense. but i tried :D

dialogue and tags

not @ tags. like, dialogue tags. *tuts* such a screenager.

i've actually gotten a lot of compliments on my dialogue, which surprised me, but pleasantly so. i do love writing dialogue, and i think the best scenes are the ones where characters are firing back quips so fast that there's basically no action described in between. and even still, you can see them so clearly. so here are some tips! 

when i write dialogue, i always try to picture the character saying the line if i'm getting stuck. sometimes lines just don't work, for whatever reason. so close your eyes, or relax, and see if you can see the character saying it. when you can't, scrap it, start over. deleting is a superpower. 

once the line works, try to move onto the action. are they picking up a cup? setting it down? biting a lip, sniffing in the cold? this is your chance to humanise your characters by giving them little actions, ones that people do in every day. sometimes i just look up at my brothers or parents doing their daily life, and see an action, and be like "oh!". writing in public places is the best for this, because if you don't know what normal humans do anymore, you can look up and see some. 

the little actions are really key to bringing a character to life. if they're all grand gestures and epic fight scenes, they aren't real, and therefore less fun to root for. humanise them! make them wipe their nose on the back of their hand, make them grimace, make them cough, make them itch. it's fun, too. 

when adding tags to your dialogue, keep in mind the flow of the conversation. like this: 

"I'm writing a lot," she realised, glancing up from her laptop. 

"Then you should stop writing," he raised an eyebrow. 

She rolled her eyes. "Why would I do that?" 

"Then stop complaining," he suggested, leaning in the doorframe.

"You stop." 

"No you." 

"No you." 

"No you." 

She chucked a pillow at him. "Stop it!" 

"Okay, okay!" he laughed, putting up his hands. "Take a break, jeez. You're turning feral." 

here, in this bit, they have a quick back and forth of the No Yous. if i were to have added dialogue tags to every single "no you", it would be boring, tedious, and less funny. 

also keep in mind that the order in which you write things is the order in which your reader imagines them. so in that beginning sequence, you would imagine something slightly different if it instead was: 

She glanced up from her laptop. "I'm writing a lot." 

He raised an eyebrow. "Then you should stop writing." 

"Why would I do that?" she rolled her eyes. 

He leaned in the doorframe, suggesting,"Then stop complaining." 

all i did was switch the order of when the action comes after the dialogue, but it's different, right? again, it all depends on how you want your reader to imagine the scene. to me, this second scene feels colder, more antagonistic, like academic rivals. the other scene feels warmer, more sibling-like, less high-stakes. it has to do with the choppiness again, the way the action flows into the dialogue. 

also note the bareness of this scene. there isn't a lot. you don't know what the characters look like, where they are, etc. but imagine if you did. it would look something like this: 

"I'm writing a lot," she realised, glancing up from her laptop, sitting criss-crossed in the middle of her bed.

"Then you should stop writing," he raised an eyebrow. He was standing in the hallway, long hair falling down his shoulders, brown and soft. The dyed strands were stark white against his black shirt. 

She rolled her green eyes, pink lips frowning. "Why would I do that?"

"Then stop complaining," he suggested, leaning in the doorframe, the plastic ivy on her wall dangling in his eyes against the blue painted walls.

it's different. is it worse, or better? well, that's a matter of preference. it's also a matter of what point in the story you're at. for a beginning scene, when we just get to know the characters, i think it's good because it provides what they look like in a regular setting. but if we're at the end, and you're still describing her room that we've been in for the whole book, then i'm sick of it. 

it is, again, about pacing. more words = slower movement of time. less words = faster movement of time. is this a quick scene, transitioning to a heavy conversation? or is it the moment when these two characters realise their love for each other? does the plot call for this scene to be unimportant or slow? 

i could go into more detail but i'm pretty sure this is boring. comment for pt 2 rip

plot generating advice

honestly i don't know if i can help you. i was recently told that my books are extremely plot-centric, but that is SUCH a lie. i struggle with plots so absurdly you should see me mascara-stained and lying on the floor in agony before my computer. it's a struggle. 

anyway. plots are highly dependent on a lot of things. aka, honeybees, where it's not really a plot but a bunch of connected vignettes. on the other hand, lamentations, which has a clear plot and defined ending. it depends on the vibe of your story how intense you want the plot to be. for example, harry potter has an overarching plot, but a lot of side plots too. that's because JKR is displaying school life outside of harry just being the chosen one. on the other hand, percy jackson's plot has side quests because they either develop the character or the plot. it doesn't give a lot of insight into percy's daily life because this has become his life now. 

you see what i'm saying? so you need to know what kind of plot your story calls for. i see this a lot in boarding school fics, but basically, nobody ever writes about class. it's always about the murder or the mystery but never the school. if you add a few side plots that concern classes, like a group project or studying for a test, it makes your book feel more realistic and fun to read, because you're getting into the world building. 

whereas, in an apocalypse book, your side quests would be percy jackson-esque. one main goal (i.e. saving your sister) but a bunch of side trips (getting supplies, bringing a daughter to her dad, etc.) to help develop relationships and characters. 

all good plots start with an idea. what's your idea? is it a vibe, a feeling? then ask yourself, how do i turn this vibe into a story? honeybees was just a feeling, the feeling of being happy and at peace and free. so how do you turn that into a theme? the happiest things to read are healing the saddest people, in my mind, so it became a therapy found family book full of fluff. from there, what's the pace? slow, to really relax into the world. so then what's the plot? a girl enters this family full of people falling apart and they help each other heal a little bit more. 

boom. plot. 

if you're starting with a scene, or a character, picture how they got to where you imagine them. make them small. if you have a scene of two characters falling into a lake, perhaps, how did they get there? why are they falling? well, one pushed the other. why? they hate each other. why? they're academic rivals, they're miles apart in social status, they're actually in love and can't explain why. how do we push them together? make them work on a project or something that requires both of them. maybe they're threatened by the same anonymous person. maybe it's a group project. now that you've got your start, you need to find where you're going. what happens when they catch the anonymous threatener? why do they stay together afterwards? 

always ask yourself questions about your plot as if you're a child, questioning a story someone is telling you. challenge yourself, always ask why, and always have an answer. it helps me to just spam write in a google doc, getting ideas out, then going back and commenting on them, asking why. then i go back to those comments and answer why. 

throwing in a plot twist is always fun to write and to see people react to. but how do you make a good one?

the key to any good plot twist is to make it believable but unpredictable. it's easier said than done, i know. but i have a few tips. 

HIDDEN VILLAIN: so when you're making the hidden villain, aka the villain who we don't know is a villain until they reveal themselves, it doesn't always have to be the mom or the step dad or the creepy twin. those have been done before. what's a way you can put a new twist on it? is it the best friend who's been nothing but supportive? is it the young perky professor who likes plants? is it the therapist who comforts your main character? a hidden villain is best when they support the main character, but they aren't notable. a really involved boyfriend, for example, will always be number one suspect. but when they're a little distant, a little forgettable, and a little boring, making them the villain is more exciting. 

DREAMLAND: you know wizard of oz, the "everything was a dream" plot twist. i used it myself in sweet dreams. but why is it a dream? for sweet dreams, it makes sense, because you're dealing with dreams directly. of course there's a way that someone can warp an entire reality through dreams, since that's the terrain we're already playing with. so if your character realises the entire plot is a dream, why is that so? your reason should already be brought up before in the book, even if it's just a little. the character's father mentions he's tinkering with dream machines. the witch next door specialises in sleep medicines. don't use it as an out for a plot you can't control. save that for the next trope, which is...

ANNIHILATION: you know it, you love it, everybody dies. i think this is actually a fun trope/plot twist to do because not many people can commit to it. I WARN  YOU, DO NOT SAVE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IF YOU DO THIS. i'm so serious. if you lose control of your book and decide to wrap it up prettily with an atom bomb, don't let anyone escape unscathed. the only people you can let live without making it cheesy are villains or unlikable characters. otherwise you're just trying to please the crowd while already taking the shortcut out. nothing wrong with shortcuts, but at least commit to devastation. another tip to make it uncheesy is the same as before: whatever kills them should've been mentioned in the beginning. a warning that comes with a magical spell book, a ticking bomb that the hero has been given the controls to. make everything connect, don't just bring new things in to save your own skin. 

BETRAYAL: related to the hidden villain, this is when the main character is betrayed by someone close to them. but it's different, because you want to establish a really good connection with the person who betrays. in the hidden villain, you're not supposed to know them at all, really. the betrayal has to tear you apart because you want to like both hero and the newly revealed villain. betrayals need good motives. not the stupid "the sidekick wanted recognition". how about "the sidekick hates the hero's methods of saving" or "the sidekick disagrees with the hero's morals". reasons for betrayal are always internal. the same temptation could be offered to two characters, but one might not take it while the other does. so don't say "the best friend fell in love with the boyfriend". a good friend would never betray someone like that. instead it's "the best friend was dumped and the main character didn't comfort them, but the boyfriend did". ultimately, if it makes sense for the character, betrayal is always a fun twist. 

THE DARTH VADER: now honestly, i don't see a lot of this. but i'll talk about it anyway. the villain and the hero being related is really interesting, especially when it's a parent-child dynamic. but what about a sibling dynamic? what could drive siblings apart so thoroughly that they hate each other enough to kill? the problem i have with this trope is the big reveal scene. i think it would be much more realistic for the evil relative to leave clues, to torture the hero with the idea that someone they love might be evil. it depends on your plot, though, because in star wars it makes sense that vader hides his identity. even so, your big reveal should go along with the climax of the book, not be the climax of the book. your story shouldn't hinge on them being related. the plot should be added to by them being related, and emphasise an already-existing theme or message. 

okay, we're at 4,700 words, so i'll stop now. but basically, these are some tips i have for writing! the next chapter (part two) will be the personal questions y'all asked. 

i know this was a lot, so sorry if it's confusing! but i'd be glad to answer any questions in the comments or make a part two if you want some more in-depth stuff. i didn't even get to character creation, but i'll probably save that for part three. 

see you soon!