Discussion You Know You're a Fan Fiction Writer When...

...when you're taking a break from ff, but looking into the notepad on your phone releases all the caged bunnies. Be free!

 

YKYAFFWW you have ended your whooping 105-day commenting fast!

 

YKYAFFWW you come across a "folder" from an old LiveJournal community that you frequented daily for years and consider adapting it for the Galaxy Far, Far Away ...

 

When you've got such writer's block you can't even come up with a good line for this thread.

 

YKYAFFWW you watched a documentary about Goli otok and you now have inspiration to elaborate on the Dorthus Tal Prison and island.

I dare you to google that.

Image is locked.

 

I beg your pardon; it ought to work now. Here is an extra to cheer the spirit:


I'm not feeling daring today -- imagining what the prison and island consists of is enough.

 

....You’re waaaaay behind on comments, but your characters’ emotIons have left you too exhausted to think.

 

@pronker, those sound like the folders where I totally don't keep photos of somebody I find hot.

 

...when you peruse all of your fics and reviews on the NSWFF side from the beginning.

...when the new TV season has you hearing rabbit voices.

...when a friend finally gets around to watching Stranger Things and you want to start writing again, but got nothing.

 

YKYAFFWW you apply a fanfiction writing guideline, "Don't be afraid to kill your babies no matter how much you love them and go back to when the piece was satisfactory", to fanart, because this one piece ... just ... isn't ... working ...

 

YKYAFFWW you finally realised that there is more to your lack of enthusiasm and that only you can change it.

YKYAFFWW you come up with some hard, but necessary decisions.

YKYAFFWW you need to re-read the joke fic you wrote three years ago this month to search for a MacGuffin you planted there at some point. THREE.KRIFFIN.YEARS.AGO. Tempus fugit, amici!

 

When you know what a MacGuffin is, even though you are completely unfamiliar with the source material that the term comes from.

 

When Emperor Palpatine is speaking to you. In the shower. And he knows. Your. Name.

 

When watching 'Anne with and E' has me thinking 'Mara with an M'.

 

YKYAFFWW there's a character or characters who are huge in canon ... and you can only write them as mentions or give them a sentence or two of dialogue. That's it.

 

...when all your English papers are Star Wars fanfiction incognito

 

....someone discovers a story you’ve let languish, and once you stop doing a happy dance, you think “I need to get to,work on this again!”

 

Emperor Palpatine spoke to me once. Once. And it turned out SILLY.

 

The Sheevster knows better than to speak to me. As long as he shuts up and lets me do whatever the hell I want to him, odds are I'll let him have some dignity. If he tries to talk to me, guaranteed I will cause the Great Bird Of The Galaxy to crap all over him and make him look like a punk. Because the Sheevster hath no say. I do not allow it.

 

...When convince yourself that you will write 100-200 words by the end of the day knowing full well that completing the task is highly improbable.

 

...When the Force has decided ESB/TNG is a thing, if even a drabble set.

 

...when you have a dream that has you think about it for the entire day and could easily inspire an epic story with countless chapters.

 

YKYAFFWW you meta to yourself about participating in other aspects of your fandom: cosplay, gaming, collecting ... and you realize the core interest is, was, and ever shall be ... fanfiction.

 

...one-third of your muse is saying “Word Race? What Word Race? We should READ BOOKS instead!”, while another third insists “we have to get it in gear on all those WIPs” and the final third thinks “That AU idea you mentioned in passing yesterday and have no business starting? Yeah, we should totally do that now!”

Meanwhile, Real Life is quietly clearing its throat to remind you of the piles of laundry that need need taken care of.

 

...You know you're a fanfiction fan when you go: @Raissa Baiard, what AU is that? Like, I'm already going SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Because Noemi and Ronen are SO. MUCH. FUN. Maybe you can give a backwards bribe to someone: I'll make your favorite dessert if you do the laundry

You know you're a fanfiction writer when word races make you rediscover your OTPs in new missing scenes.