This post is just going to be me talking about the stuff that I do in order to write my fanfictions. This is not in anyway tips giving blog but more about the process that I go through to write. I am sure different authors would have different views and process that they go through. There are going to be several points that I'm going to talk about: (1)How I view idols in real life vs the characters in my story (2) Inspirations (3) Building the plot, setting, and characters.

Here goes...

1. How I view idols in real life vs. the characters in my story

Personally, I distance the characters that I have written with the actual idols themselves. The reason for this is actually quite simple: I don't actually know how they are in real life when the camera turns off. Maybe they have talked about how the members are in real life and reveal certain things about themselves in interviews but of course what is shown is not everything. They are humans just like any of us, they are made of complexities, and I am certain that they have so many more charms that we don't know about when the camera turns off and I think it is best to leave it at that. I think of the idols in my story as avatars and the characteristics might be based on the persona they have portrayed on stage, screen, and the things they would tell in interviews with certain articles but, as an author, I put my own spin on them. Actually, this kind of thoughts comforted me in a way because I know that some people found fanfiction strange (especially when it comes to ships) but for the sake of that argument I just want to say that it is perfectly natural to romanticize the things and the people that we admire most. And, also, fantisizing, reacting, and responding to those romanticized views is a perfectly natural thing for humans to do (how do you think any literary works could be produced?).This leads to my next point.

2. Inspirations

As for inspirations, I would like to say that I don't think about the idols first. I actually think about the kind of story that I want to tell to the readers and the kind of message that I want to give them, just like regular stories that I write outside of AFF (yes, I write actual short fics and poetry outside of AFF). So, the simplest things that I do is that I would watch movies, read books, watch music videos, variety shows, and listen to music. And every time certain themes or certain kind of nuances portrayed in those works caught my attention, I get inspired. I always think like this: "How can I give off that vibe but in my own way of expressing them (which is through writing)?" And this connects to the last point.

3. Building the plot, setting, and characters

What I do after I get inspired is that I started to brainstorm on the plot first: I would outline the story first as a whole by thinking how the story begin and how it ended. This is important because it keeps me focused. As for the middle part I would let it flow as I write the story. Another thing that I do after I outline the story is that I make a poster using simple online app. It really suits my style since I don't use photoshop and I would like my poster to be minimalistic yet it could capture the essence of the story. Plus, I like experimenting with fonts and colors instead. For the setting, I would actually get my inspirations from actual places but I tried to diverge from that as much as possible nowadays since it is quite constricting. As for the characters, just like what I have mentioned in the first point is that I would use the persona the idols give off on stage, screen, and things I've read but that is as far as I go and I would actually just put others traits to them so the characters would fit the story better. 

Another thing that i want to add to this blog is the reason why I write. I actually don't write for anyone. I write for myself and if people like it that is awesome and if they don't that is completely okay. Writing is my way of coping with things if the real world gets too heavy. I might have mentioned this in one of my stories and my other blog but I have Bipolar Disorder type 2 (with hallucinations and voices when I don't get enough sleep) and when I go through highs and lows I pour my thoughts through writings (be it as a fanfiction or personal blogs). I honestly cannot keep my hands still and my thoughts could go a mile a minute so I need to channel it somewhere. I also draw, do music, and do kickboxing but they don't help me as much as writing does. 

So, anyway, basically those are the things that I do in order to write my stories.

Love,

A.L. <3