Monday everything went to hell on this site and the effects hit me mercilessly.
I posted a teaser for one of my fics on monday (yes, we writers are depended on promotion) and it got buried underneath the new guidelines of Tumblr and everyone freaking out. Thus, I didn’t get said exposure I needed, but I’m a strong writer, so I can handle one day of fuckery!
Tuesday I posted a new chapter of one of my fics and I was still experiencing the after-effects from Monday. (I don’t blame you people, keep on ranting and posting about this shitty NFSW-rule, I do so too.)
Then Wednesday came, and everything seemed calmed down and I was feeling motivated again to post another chapter of my fic. And then, suddenly, everyone was experiencing ghost-posts/blog-flu/whatever-shit-went-down-now! And AGAIN my post with my fic got buried underneath everything else! On top of the tagging system breaking again, and people probably not getting the notes when I tagged them.
Now it’s Thursday and tonight I want to post a chapter on a fic I’m extremely PROUD of, yet, my self-esteem and motivation as a writer are heavily depended on the likes and comments of others.
Tumblr @staff, I beg of you, for the love of whatever deity you worship, for one damn day (preferably more) DON’T FUCK THIS UP!
I need the exposure, I need the validation!
Because really, you’re ruthlessly KILLING a writer in the most cruel way!
You have a world. A universe. A setting. Good! Describe what happens in it normally – describe your main character(s)’s daily life. Now, what would destabilize this routine completely? If many things could, write them all down. Pick your favourite idea(s). Plots are born from change: everything was going normally… until it wasn’t.
Make a list with all the goals/motivations of your main characters.
Can the plot revolve around your characters going after these goals?
Which goals are more important? Focus on those.
Are different characters’ goals in conflict with each other? Conflict is usually what propels a story forward.
What could go wrong in your character’s pursuit of their goal? Make it go wrong.
If you don’t know your characters’ goals, go back to the drawing board; they probably need more development.
If there’s not enough conflict of different motivations, make a new character who creates conflict!
How do you want your main character to have changed by the end of the story? Do you want them to be less selfish? To have come to terms with a part of themself? To have learned something new? Write down ideas that could accomplish this change.
If you can’t think of any way your character could be changed (read: improved) by the end of the story, go back to the drawing board. They might be “too perfect”.
Notes:
The change that triggers your plot can be anything. It doesn’t have to be the start of an epic war that will bring forth the apocalypse, it can be your character meeting a new person who shakes things up in their life, or anything you want!
Motivations can be anything. It doesn’t have to be something grand – if your character’s motivation is to just live a quiet life, you can still come up with a plot that will get in the way of that goal!
Character development can be anything, as well – you don’t need a cliché moral to the story; your character doesn’t even need to change in a good way, if that’s not what you want for your story!
This is what I’ve found works for me, but if you try it and it doesn’t, or if it sounds way too sententious and strict for you – that’s okay! Take it with a grain of salt! Maybe you think your characters are just fine and don’t need more developing even in the situations in which I recommended you “go back to the drawing board”, or maybe you have better ways of coming up with a plot. That’s fine, the writing process can be very personal!
As someone who regularly creates worlds and characters I love but has no idea what to write for a plot this is super useful!
Hopefully, this post isn’t the first you’re hearing about the adult content ban on Tumblr. Just in case, though, here’s what we know right now.
First, on Dec. 3rd, Tumblr’s staff blog announced all adult content would be banned. They had criteria to define adult content. They stated this ban would begin Dec. 17th. Almost immediately, however, people began to see their content being flagged. Once it is flagged, it will not be visible to anyone but the original poster and those that reblogged.
Second thing that was noticed was that there appeared to be no rhyme or reason for the content being flagged, or the vast majority of it. It if was visual in nature, it was coming down. The bot had been let loose by late afternoon with no end in sight.
Everything after that happened in rapid succession. People were deleted without warning if enough of their content was flagged, even if they were in the middle of appeals on things that were legitimately NOT adult content.
Now, onto the ‘who is safe and who isn’t’ section. In short, no one is safe. We know what the post says, in full, backward and forward. We also know what is happening is not matching up with that post. If you are a fanfiction writer, whether you write about adult content or not, YOU ARE NOT SAFE FROM THIS PURGE!
Again, we know what it says and we know what is happening. People are being deleted, whole blogs gone, with no warning. Don’t let this happen to you. Rumors and misinformation will abound in these situations. If you reblog a post from someone saying it’s not true and doesn’t have anything to do with fanfic writers, or writers in general, know that they’re wrong. Unless they work at Tumblr, they have no way of knowing what’s really happening. End of story.
What can you do?
Back up your stuff. Download your content. Find a new home. We can help with this. Come talk to us. We have a ton of posts on our blog. Tags aren’t working right now for a lot of people, so if you can’t find it shoot us a message or an ask and we’ll link you as fast as possible.
Put your name on our fanfic author masterlist. In the horrible event that you get deleted, we will be able to post information for your readers and followers on where else they might find you and support you. There’s a separate one for fan artists with the same premise.
Refute any flagged content you feel was done so in error. If you know that the gif set, picture, or other visual content clearly goes against their criteria, do not refute it. It’s bogging Tumblr down and not allowing them to reinstate those users who did nothing wrong. Only the original poster of the content can refute the flag. A lot of people have tons of content. Don’t assume they are seeing all of these. There is no notification system for this, despite what Tumblr says. If you see a reblog that’s been flagged, let the original poster know so that they can dispute it.
We have a Discord server set up for fanfic writers and readers. This can include original writers and writblrs as well, but we are a digital magazine about writing fanfiction, so we’re going to concentrate our efforts on that crowd, but everyone is invited. There are sections for news and updates on where people can find your new chapters while we all work through this mess together. If you can’t find us, or need us to add you manually, send us a message or an ask.
Our website will include a blog section when it’s up and we’re going to invite all those that have their own blogs removed or censored heavily to come over to Lemon’s website and contribute. The topics do not have to pertain to writing fanfiction or writing in any way. We know that the LGBTQQIAAP community is being hit harder than most and Tumblr is an outlet for everyone to be able to find support. We will not let that fade away. At this time, we don’t have the capabilities to do GIFsets or pictures in large quantities. We’re going to concentrate on the text post side. We will pull several articles a month to be featured in the magazine as well, with author permission, obviously.
Alternatives for writers and readers:
*If you need more information on these, or other websites, we have it. Come talk to us.
Doesn’t include a MA rating any longer. This means no explicitly sexual chapters are allowed. They also do not allow RPF or reader-insert stories. The other two do allow these things, with AO3 being the most relaxed on that situation.
It’s not a server, like the others. It’s your own private website. There is no directory or search function. There is an easy way to get your content downloaded from Tumblr to WordPress, though. Make sure you check out our reblogs or let us help you find them.
Lemon was founded on the principle that all fanfiction writers deserve a voice and the confidence to succeed, no matter what they want to write. We stand by that now more than ever. We want to help. We want to keep all the content safe, no matter how good you think it is. If you spent any amount of time on it, it deserves to be saved. You are a creator and deserve to be protected. Don’t let anyone tell you fanart and fanfiction aren’t important and a valid creative outlet. It is and we’re not going anywhere. Lemon will be here until the bitter, bitter end. And we’ll go wherever the fanfic writers and fan artists migrate.
I AM DYING!!!
AND THESE ARE ALL WRITTEN BY MEN, PUBLISHED AUTHORS, SO I DON’T WANT NOBODY COMPLAINING ABOUT SEX SCENES WRITTEN BY FANGIRLS EVER AGAIN!!
Yesterday I analyzed some of my writing and asked my fellow writers and readers for some help. And I got a lot of comments and help! Thank you all so much, it really helps. Therefore I wanted to write part 2 of my analysis.
First I’m going to bore grace you with my own insights and then I’ll rewrite the scene from yesterday.
Create a mess 