Writing Guide // yventualip

step 1

The idea of simply starting a book is probably intimidating to a lot of people. It sounds stuck up of me to say it's not haha. It definitely was when I was less experienced in writing and had no idea how to start. If you are feeling intimidated and at a loss on how to make a new story, my advice is to start small. I started off writing 2-3 thousand word one-shots, and now I expect Heart Beating For You to be around 150 thousand words.

And hey, maybe even 2 thousand sounds like a lot to you, I know that feeling. I'll show you how to dive in deeper into your stories and eventually, 2k will feel like nothing. It just takes time and practice. It took me two years, so it's not a fast process.

Usually, I start off a trope or idea to get my started on a new piece of work. I'll actually be writing a book along side this one to really show you how this process works. I'll use it as examples to help you understand the process and apply it to your own writing.

What do you want to write?

I know that may seem like a rudimentary question, but I think it's always important to feel out the general intention you have for your next (or first) work. What is my goal? (other than to make yall cry or smile). Sometimes I'm writing a smaller oneshot as a thank you to my followers, sometimes I'm writing something big, like Heart Beating For You. With bigger stories I approach the idea with a lot more time and effort, emphasis on world building and fleshing out my characters. I'm not the kind of person who can just write and see where it goes, but it's up to you!

What I'm going to talk about is obviously fictional and sapphic romance stories. But there's a lot you can do with that genre, you can make it sad or fluffy, violent or more slice of life. I think one of the keys to making your book good is having a clear intention for where you want your writing to go.

Fundamental Parts of your Story

TROPE -  plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it's seen as commonplace or conventional.

You are writing fanfiction after all, that's why you're here. Tropes aren't necessary but come on, they're fucking amazing. If you're feeling stuck and out of ideas, tropes are also good for inspiring you and giving you direction. Here are some of my favorites and ones I don't reccomend.

Love:

Friends To Lovers - come on, when it's gay it's good. especially all the pining you can put in there>>
One bed trope - don't be too horny with this one >:( it's cute and feeds my need for affection
Mutual Pining - mix this w/friends to lovers and that's literally my new favorite fic
Soulmate fic - can be cringey but when it's good it's golden
Marriage of convenience - waiting to see an amazing fic with this trope, maybe u can write it
Fake Relationship - the amount of people who don't like this?? 0. The possibilities? endless
Drunken Confession - don't make your drunk people cringey (like i did/probably still do) and I'll eat it up
Miscommunication/breakup - if you wanna be in your feelings and make me cry
Pen pals/secret identity - you either love it or you're indifferent but no one hates it
Bf/Gf's sister - I'm gonna assume you're horny if you write this but this is a judgement free space
Stuck together/trapped - cute no matter how you spin it
Forbidden Love - tension thick enough to cut with a knife
Princess and Commoner - mix with angst and watch me cry over it
Holiday romance - WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THESE ENOUGH!?!?!?

Tropes I don't recommend/enjoy:
Enemies to Lovers - It's just so often not done well. You can't make them go straight from enemies to girlfriends. Whoever writes it should put a lot of work into making the relationship realistic and still something to root for.
Billionaire/adjacent and Commoner - Yawn. Eat the rich
Step siblings - I don't need to say anything and yes, it's definitely a more common trope than you think
Teacher x student - ... college student is okay i guess but still
Pregnancy - now I feel a responsibility for this fake baby why can't we focus on the silly little gay people