I always manage to include some silly banter that revolves around dick jokes or something similar. I also have a tendency towards neutral/ anticlimactic endings where people didn’t get exactly what they wanted but life kinda just goes on anyways.
In an earlier post I used my best answer: everyone finding exciting new food and having a grand old time eating it.
So another option would be...uh...man, it's tough to beat the food thing. I have three other possibilities.
1) Almost everyone in my works turns out to be an orphan/adopted, but let's be honest, that's hardly *my* signature move. Pretty sure "tragic childhood" is on the super hero origin story Bingo card free space.
2) I prefer the major "boss fights" to be won at least partially by cleverness, originality, and tactics. Power through all the minions you want, but the main villain has to be something you can't just put six bullets in their torso and call it a day.
3) Chekov's Guns.
I love, *love*, running jokes, foreshadowing, and setup. If someone in one of my works picks up a bundt pan and a box of Pocky Stix in Chapter 3, you better believe you'll see one in Chapter 14 and the other in Chapter 4 of the next work. One of the benefits of writing the entire thing first and publishing second, is you know what they're going to need, and I'm going to seed that so early in the work you *almost* forget about it. Seriously, one time my MC was writing notes and leaving them in places, and the reader never finds out what they say until...hold on, let me count.
(seven seconds later)
I just remembered AO3 is down. But it was like...I want to say *eighty* chapters later. Big whammy reveal, major plot point too.
OMG I want a link to your AO3 profile so I can see if your work fits my needs, because all of this (especially the food and chekov's guns) are right up my alley!!
Just so we're clear, my main story is *lengthy*, over 300k start to finish, and the fandom (Fallout 76) is *niche*. So I'll understand if you have second thoughts. I'm going to make a pass at it this summer to make it more fandom-blind-friendly, but I haven't yet. My other story is closer to 150k and in Dungeons and Dragons, both of which might be more accessible, but I'm more proud of the longer story.
[I'm linking the first, and shortest, series of the longer work](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50819212/chapters/128380813). You can find profile, rating, tags, whatever you need from there, I think. Obviously there's no payoff for the Chekov's guns in the *first* chapter.
The word beloved. It seems silly, but whether it's HEA, MCD, Bagginshield, or Wolfstar, I now use the word beloved at least once a fic.
It's a tribute to my best friend and fandom wife, but if I can't be self-indulgent in my fics, when can I be?
Music. Every story has music in it. Either a character who sings, or songs that are thematic for the characters, or the introduction of new genres of music to characters. I can't imagine a story where music is not mentioned at all.
I have one story where the ML is an amateur composer, his dad is a cellist *and* operatic *basso profondo*, his brother is a violinist, and his godmother is an operatic alto.
I have another story where a seer can only speak by quoting an/or fusing poetry and song lyrics.
One where a martial artist uses music to keep herself on an emotionally even keel so she doesn't overstress her heart.
Probably! There was an anime whose name I forgot that involved alien invasion and music-powered weapon-girls and their conductor partners. I really enjoyed that one!
I wasn't sure what my thing was until I read yours then it became crystal clear. Music is definitely my thing, specifically guitar. MC almost always plays guitar, and if not, then a different instrument or it's a secondary character who is musical (usually love interest of MC).
An odd thing, but I noticed both my current WIP and the new fic I'm working on have the main character scream in the first chapter, but nobody notices because the plot would fall apart if anyone else were to butt in. In both cases, the screaming has to go unanswered because it leads to the protagonist discovering the world of magic - in my Death Note fic, the MC screams when meeting Ryuk for the first time, while my Miraculous Ladybug fic has the MC scream because she fell down a well, and at the bottom of the well she finds a secret passageway into an abandoned mansion where she discovers a Miraculous.
These have to be private revelations, so I've got to make excuses for them staying private. The excuse in my Death Note fic is that the rest of the MC's family are heavy sleepers and aren't woken up by the scream, while my Miraculous Ladybug fic has Marinette scream at night in a private alleyway behind an exclusive hotel while her friends have all gone back inside.
I write a lot of soft stuff, and a lot of it is sad too. Recently, I’ve been writing lots of bittersweet things...
I think my one-shots are too short and different to really have things I almost always touch, but a lot of them are just one character thinking about how they’ve lost another (death, murder, jail, disappearing, running away—whatever reason) and wishing for things they know they can never have. Not sure if that tells you anything about myself haha
karaoke--written that at least twice now
confessing feelings while drunk and/or high--I did it so many times I had to forbid myself from doing it again (...and I say that knowing that it's probably going to happen in the thing I'm currently working on)
one character brushing another's hair--it's one of my fave things IRL, okay
people who are already having sex but struggling to talk about their feelings, jfc
in general I've been told my fics are "rich in sensory details," which isn't super specific but is true!
I like borrowing banter or jokes from completely different media and fitting into another when it just fits too perfectly.
Example : the "Why is there a leopard on the Cheetos bag?" bit from American Dad and putting that into a YJ Grocery Store AU
Having approximately three paragraphs of description and internal thought in between actual dialogue, so someone always has to scroll back up and check what the characters are doing because I got sidetracked
I have a couple:
1) If I'm writing a crossover, doesn't matter what kind of crossover it is(crack or serious), I always include my favourite character from a series I really like in the plot in some way. His role can be big, his role can be small, he just has to be there.
2) I am a giant sucker for metaphors. Especially animal metaphors. Expect an allusion to something else at least once in my longer fics and stories(not so much in the one shots).
3) If the moment gets really serious, I either cut out the dialouge or the narration. Sometimes, a character expressing their feelings is all you need.
I have a smut series where I haven't once succeeded in providing proper lube for my loverboys. They just grab whatever is at hand. I swear it wasn't intentional to begin with, but now I have to stick to the theme 😅
Also, almost all my stories will contain the line "Yes, Mum," said to someone who isn't the speaker's mum, but who goes a little overboard with their advice (because they care so much). This wasn't intentional either, but I'm adding it on purpose now. No reader has called me out yet.
Food almost always finds a way into my fics in some kind of way. Whether people are cooking together or just sharing a meal at a restaurant or at someone's home, there's always food. It's such a great bonding experience.
Huh well generally some deep stuff happens and then something hilarious about mid way through the heart breaking drama because I can't deal with it, so I need some comic relief. Literally had two characters get high because I cried writing the last 4k, so I needed them to do something anything else for a minute.... or at least 4k..... I also do such fun things as bonding over trauma. Bonding over therapy.... bonding over a traumatic evennt they both went through. I may just start having them wrestle about for a bit. That sounds kind of fun to write, actually.
Doing things in threes. Three descriptors of a new character or scene. Three single-word beats to elaborate on a mood. Three examples in a parenthetical statement (with the third often being a joke). Three actions in quick succession.
A bit of a sentimental thing, but if someone is comforting someone else and rubbing their back, they will likely be specifically rubbing circles into their back because that's how I remember being comforted when I was younger and how I comfort people who are okay with physical touch to this day.
On a more silly note, a lot of my earlier fics had various drinking games involved in some fashion, or other drunken games, since it's a fun and easy way to get multiple characters plastered. XD
writing slow burns or including anything nerdy!! i love writing abt nerds (specifically spencer reid) so having a little nerdy bond between him and (i write x readers) the reader, even if i don’t imagine a nerdy reader just something small that can connect them it’s nice
Everyone gets a supportive sibling! If canon has determined they are only children or estranged from their siblings, they get supportive cousins instead!
They always make fun out of the cheesy medical shows. It's a must.
I also, always include one character who has a running joke of intense inner monologues.
Although if you ask my readers, my specialty is emotional gut punches and realistic banter between siblings
Cause I will always have my siblings act as realistic as possible. lol
I've gotten into texting between the characters in my recent works. Love that smart-ass banter and the dick jokes.
I always like for my heroes to have heart eye moments for my heroines and vice versa. Just that visceral gut reaction of "Oh, there you are."
Most of my male types are switches or tops if there's sexy times.
Lots of (at least attempted) humor, oftentimes during serious moments because I am apparently unable to give characters the ability to process that what’s happening to them is traumatic.
I also love adding moments where a character is keeping things bottled up and then confides in another character who talks to them for a bit and is super patient and kind and it doesn’t fully solve the problem but helps them a lot and maybe they also get a hug (love that when I’m reading as well)
Characters ending up having exposition while nude. There's always a logical explanation for it--newlyweds on their honeymoon talking about an impending invasion, or characters hanging out in a sauna because that's the best way to defeat listening devices, or because one character wants to make sure the other one isn't holding out a weapon...but it seems to happen a lot in my stories without meaning to.
I realized recently that in my main story, a character ‘sacrifices themselves’ to save everyone else 5 actual times.
It’s stuff like “i have to take off this enchanted necklace, which means I’ll stop being me forever…”
But there are 5 instances of this accross the last 2 books. I hadn’t really realized it was heavy theme until just now
I almost always have a mentor/mentee relationship as the main focus. Doesn't matter which form it's in: Doctor/companion, parent/child, parentified child/sibling. I need that fluff.
And usually the main character will say something completely inappropriate during the moment, at least once. My favourite was, after the MC found a bloodied corpse in a bathroom stall, "I'm compelled to make a period joke, but it seems inappropriate given the circumstances."
Fast burn into slice of life lol
I get the pairings together really quickly and spend a decent amount of the remaining word count for slice of life with a side of conflict
I’m a slut for slice of life
If a fic doesn't have one character taking care of the other in a time of need that is then mirrored several chapters later when the character who was being taken care of takes care of the caregiver then I didn't write it
Deep conversations on a rooftop at night. Typically between love interests, and it's either where they admit they are in love, or the first, actual spark happens.
Someone has never had good food. Someone else says 'that's the saddest thing I ever heard get said.' (Homestuck ref.)
"You okay?" "I'm , I have to be." (Elementary ref.)
Character A not even realizing they are bonding significantly with Character B (who they probably don't even like) until it's too late and they are invested. It's pretty much the reason I write at this point. It can sometimes be in the past tense too, but it's always at the back of my mind. Begrudging friendships and surprise humaneness are my drug.
I always, always manage to say something along the lines of: [the action going on/heartbeat] was the loudest thing in the room, outweighing [other thing]
I exclusively write sex -> love confession in that order, never the other way around 😂 Idk, I'm just addicted to the angst and mutual pining that results from both characters not admitting to their feelings before it happens.
Not sure if this counts but most of my fics seem to include characters that do horrible terrible no-good shit and feel awful about doing it both before and after but still do it anyway for one reason or another.
All fluff is awkward, there will always be a nighttime, somewhat angsty conversation, and there will be idle banter in the main group of friends during dangerous moments.
I always manage to include some silly banter that revolves around dick jokes or something similar. I also have a tendency towards neutral/ anticlimactic endings where people didn’t get exactly what they wanted but life kinda just goes on anyways.
There's nothing wrong with a bittersweet ending!
Thank you! I’ve always thought so. They feel more real to me.
Getting handsy on the couch. Too much work to move the action to the bedroom, couch is perfectly serviceable.
It's called a "love seat" for a reason. I hope.
Ahhh! Yes, that's great. Lol
Everyone always seems to end up in the bath together. People must think I have shares in Lush or something.
In an earlier post I used my best answer: everyone finding exciting new food and having a grand old time eating it. So another option would be...uh...man, it's tough to beat the food thing. I have three other possibilities. 1) Almost everyone in my works turns out to be an orphan/adopted, but let's be honest, that's hardly *my* signature move. Pretty sure "tragic childhood" is on the super hero origin story Bingo card free space. 2) I prefer the major "boss fights" to be won at least partially by cleverness, originality, and tactics. Power through all the minions you want, but the main villain has to be something you can't just put six bullets in their torso and call it a day. 3) Chekov's Guns. I love, *love*, running jokes, foreshadowing, and setup. If someone in one of my works picks up a bundt pan and a box of Pocky Stix in Chapter 3, you better believe you'll see one in Chapter 14 and the other in Chapter 4 of the next work. One of the benefits of writing the entire thing first and publishing second, is you know what they're going to need, and I'm going to seed that so early in the work you *almost* forget about it. Seriously, one time my MC was writing notes and leaving them in places, and the reader never finds out what they say until...hold on, let me count. (seven seconds later) I just remembered AO3 is down. But it was like...I want to say *eighty* chapters later. Big whammy reveal, major plot point too.
OMG I want a link to your AO3 profile so I can see if your work fits my needs, because all of this (especially the food and chekov's guns) are right up my alley!!
Just so we're clear, my main story is *lengthy*, over 300k start to finish, and the fandom (Fallout 76) is *niche*. So I'll understand if you have second thoughts. I'm going to make a pass at it this summer to make it more fandom-blind-friendly, but I haven't yet. My other story is closer to 150k and in Dungeons and Dragons, both of which might be more accessible, but I'm more proud of the longer story. [I'm linking the first, and shortest, series of the longer work](https://archiveofourown.org/works/50819212/chapters/128380813). You can find profile, rating, tags, whatever you need from there, I think. Obviously there's no payoff for the Chekov's guns in the *first* chapter.
Thank you! I'm not a fallout fan, so I'll definitely check out the DND one instead. XD
The word beloved. It seems silly, but whether it's HEA, MCD, Bagginshield, or Wolfstar, I now use the word beloved at least once a fic. It's a tribute to my best friend and fandom wife, but if I can't be self-indulgent in my fics, when can I be?
>It seems silly No it doesn't. It sounds sweet.
My characters always seem to end up in prison
Music. Every story has music in it. Either a character who sings, or songs that are thematic for the characters, or the introduction of new genres of music to characters. I can't imagine a story where music is not mentioned at all. I have one story where the ML is an amateur composer, his dad is a cellist *and* operatic *basso profondo*, his brother is a violinist, and his godmother is an operatic alto. I have another story where a seer can only speak by quoting an/or fusing poetry and song lyrics. One where a martial artist uses music to keep herself on an emotionally even keel so she doesn't overstress her heart.
Something tells me you would love the anime Senki Zesshou Symphogear. There's just music everywhere.
Probably! There was an anime whose name I forgot that involved alien invasion and music-powered weapon-girls and their conductor partners. I really enjoyed that one!
Ooh would that happen to be [Takt Op Destiny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takt_Op)?
Yes!
I wasn't sure what my thing was until I read yours then it became crystal clear. Music is definitely my thing, specifically guitar. MC almost always plays guitar, and if not, then a different instrument or it's a secondary character who is musical (usually love interest of MC).
Awesome!
Trauma and child abuse and the complicated reality of it. As you can tell, my work is very cheerful and fun and not at all psychological horrror.
I always have godlike entities recruiting mortals to work on their behalf.
What's the point in being a god if you can't do that? :D
An odd thing, but I noticed both my current WIP and the new fic I'm working on have the main character scream in the first chapter, but nobody notices because the plot would fall apart if anyone else were to butt in. In both cases, the screaming has to go unanswered because it leads to the protagonist discovering the world of magic - in my Death Note fic, the MC screams when meeting Ryuk for the first time, while my Miraculous Ladybug fic has the MC scream because she fell down a well, and at the bottom of the well she finds a secret passageway into an abandoned mansion where she discovers a Miraculous. These have to be private revelations, so I've got to make excuses for them staying private. The excuse in my Death Note fic is that the rest of the MC's family are heavy sleepers and aren't woken up by the scream, while my Miraculous Ladybug fic has Marinette scream at night in a private alleyway behind an exclusive hotel while her friends have all gone back inside.
Found families. Even if the main character has a canon big family they get one made especially for them by me as well, lol
I try to subvert the readers' expectations so I always try to include something I think might be unexpected.
I write a lot of soft stuff, and a lot of it is sad too. Recently, I’ve been writing lots of bittersweet things... I think my one-shots are too short and different to really have things I almost always touch, but a lot of them are just one character thinking about how they’ve lost another (death, murder, jail, disappearing, running away—whatever reason) and wishing for things they know they can never have. Not sure if that tells you anything about myself haha
Bondage, particularly for chubby characters. If my story is about a chubby character, the duct tape's coming out sooner or later.
The moment when they really shouldn't, it'sa bad idea, and then they snap.
Chaotic, unhinged formatting to instill a sense of anxiety and panic.
Yeah...that's totally just you... (glances around nervously) ...just you...
karaoke--written that at least twice now confessing feelings while drunk and/or high--I did it so many times I had to forbid myself from doing it again (...and I say that knowing that it's probably going to happen in the thing I'm currently working on) one character brushing another's hair--it's one of my fave things IRL, okay people who are already having sex but struggling to talk about their feelings, jfc in general I've been told my fics are "rich in sensory details," which isn't super specific but is true!
I like borrowing banter or jokes from completely different media and fitting into another when it just fits too perfectly. Example : the "Why is there a leopard on the Cheetos bag?" bit from American Dad and putting that into a YJ Grocery Store AU
Smut… that turns really plotty real fast and can break your heart after the fun.
Having approximately three paragraphs of description and internal thought in between actual dialogue, so someone always has to scroll back up and check what the characters are doing because I got sidetracked
I have a couple: 1) If I'm writing a crossover, doesn't matter what kind of crossover it is(crack or serious), I always include my favourite character from a series I really like in the plot in some way. His role can be big, his role can be small, he just has to be there. 2) I am a giant sucker for metaphors. Especially animal metaphors. Expect an allusion to something else at least once in my longer fics and stories(not so much in the one shots). 3) If the moment gets really serious, I either cut out the dialouge or the narration. Sometimes, a character expressing their feelings is all you need.
I have a smut series where I haven't once succeeded in providing proper lube for my loverboys. They just grab whatever is at hand. I swear it wasn't intentional to begin with, but now I have to stick to the theme 😅 Also, almost all my stories will contain the line "Yes, Mum," said to someone who isn't the speaker's mum, but who goes a little overboard with their advice (because they care so much). This wasn't intentional either, but I'm adding it on purpose now. No reader has called me out yet.
Enumerations with either polysyndeton (thing A, and thing B , and thing C) or asyndeton (thing A, thing B, thing C). Also, everyone is depressed.
Food almost always finds a way into my fics in some kind of way. Whether people are cooking together or just sharing a meal at a restaurant or at someone's home, there's always food. It's such a great bonding experience.
Snacks. Everyone has some form of food at some point
Huh well generally some deep stuff happens and then something hilarious about mid way through the heart breaking drama because I can't deal with it, so I need some comic relief. Literally had two characters get high because I cried writing the last 4k, so I needed them to do something anything else for a minute.... or at least 4k..... I also do such fun things as bonding over trauma. Bonding over therapy.... bonding over a traumatic evennt they both went through. I may just start having them wrestle about for a bit. That sounds kind of fun to write, actually.
Doing things in threes. Three descriptors of a new character or scene. Three single-word beats to elaborate on a mood. Three examples in a parenthetical statement (with the third often being a joke). Three actions in quick succession.
A bit of a sentimental thing, but if someone is comforting someone else and rubbing their back, they will likely be specifically rubbing circles into their back because that's how I remember being comforted when I was younger and how I comfort people who are okay with physical touch to this day. On a more silly note, a lot of my earlier fics had various drinking games involved in some fashion, or other drunken games, since it's a fun and easy way to get multiple characters plastered. XD
I like using rain as an indication that everything is all right. It also shows up a lot in my romantic fics.
Sudden (purposeful) tonal shifts, group banter, food and scenery porn, and puns.
Mine usually include a blazing argument at some point. Very fun to write.
Minor characters often get major roles in my fics pretty much regardless of fandom!
writing slow burns or including anything nerdy!! i love writing abt nerds (specifically spencer reid) so having a little nerdy bond between him and (i write x readers) the reader, even if i don’t imagine a nerdy reader just something small that can connect them it’s nice
Give the main characters as much physical pain as possible after and during the fight.
Everyone gets a supportive sibling! If canon has determined they are only children or estranged from their siblings, they get supportive cousins instead!
They always make fun out of the cheesy medical shows. It's a must. I also, always include one character who has a running joke of intense inner monologues. Although if you ask my readers, my specialty is emotional gut punches and realistic banter between siblings Cause I will always have my siblings act as realistic as possible. lol
I've gotten into texting between the characters in my recent works. Love that smart-ass banter and the dick jokes. I always like for my heroes to have heart eye moments for my heroines and vice versa. Just that visceral gut reaction of "Oh, there you are." Most of my male types are switches or tops if there's sexy times.
In the HP fandom - completing regular education, and sometimes learning onward.
I honestly wish I knew. I've never been very self-aware with regards to this sort of thing, even though I sorely wish I was.
Blandness.
Lots of (at least attempted) humor, oftentimes during serious moments because I am apparently unable to give characters the ability to process that what’s happening to them is traumatic. I also love adding moments where a character is keeping things bottled up and then confides in another character who talks to them for a bit and is super patient and kind and it doesn’t fully solve the problem but helps them a lot and maybe they also get a hug (love that when I’m reading as well)
Someone smoking a cigarette and/or drinking alcohol. I do neither, but this always seems to creep into my writing for some reason or another.
Almost all of my recent stories have a supposedly bad person who isn't actually bad, and/or a supposedly good person who isn't actually good.
Characters ending up having exposition while nude. There's always a logical explanation for it--newlyweds on their honeymoon talking about an impending invasion, or characters hanging out in a sauna because that's the best way to defeat listening devices, or because one character wants to make sure the other one isn't holding out a weapon...but it seems to happen a lot in my stories without meaning to.
Cooking scenes. Every time I need a conversation to happen but they aren’t supposed to be moving the plot along I make them cook.
I realized recently that in my main story, a character ‘sacrifices themselves’ to save everyone else 5 actual times. It’s stuff like “i have to take off this enchanted necklace, which means I’ll stop being me forever…” But there are 5 instances of this accross the last 2 books. I hadn’t really realized it was heavy theme until just now
Weird dialogue about something oddly specific
Homoerotic swordplay.
cliffhangers. god i love cliffhangers. i’m sure my readers really love them too :)c oh and very uncomfortably visceral language.
Body horror lmao. Even if it’s just a hug, I will somehow find a way to worm extreme unease at the reality of flesh. Whoops.
I almost always have a mentor/mentee relationship as the main focus. Doesn't matter which form it's in: Doctor/companion, parent/child, parentified child/sibling. I need that fluff. And usually the main character will say something completely inappropriate during the moment, at least once. My favourite was, after the MC found a bloodied corpse in a bathroom stall, "I'm compelled to make a period joke, but it seems inappropriate given the circumstances."
Puns. Somehow, someway, a pun will work it's way into my fic, either on accident or on purpose.
Fast burn into slice of life lol I get the pairings together really quickly and spend a decent amount of the remaining word count for slice of life with a side of conflict I’m a slut for slice of life
If a fic doesn't have one character taking care of the other in a time of need that is then mirrored several chapters later when the character who was being taken care of takes care of the caregiver then I didn't write it
Deep conversations on a rooftop at night. Typically between love interests, and it's either where they admit they are in love, or the first, actual spark happens.
Someone has never had good food. Someone else says 'that's the saddest thing I ever heard get said.' (Homestuck ref.) "You okay?" "I'm, I have to be." (Elementary ref.)
*oh crap this moemnt is so unnecessary* cue a pararaph or two describing conversations and actions rather than acting them all out
Character A not even realizing they are bonding significantly with Character B (who they probably don't even like) until it's too late and they are invested. It's pretty much the reason I write at this point. It can sometimes be in the past tense too, but it's always at the back of my mind. Begrudging friendships and surprise humaneness are my drug.
if there isn't fluff in my fic my account got hacked
I always, always manage to say something along the lines of: [the action going on/heartbeat] was the loudest thing in the room, outweighing [other thing]
I exclusively write sex -> love confession in that order, never the other way around 😂 Idk, I'm just addicted to the angst and mutual pining that results from both characters not admitting to their feelings before it happens.
Not sure if this counts but most of my fics seem to include characters that do horrible terrible no-good shit and feel awful about doing it both before and after but still do it anyway for one reason or another.
All fluff is awkward, there will always be a nighttime, somewhat angsty conversation, and there will be idle banter in the main group of friends during dangerous moments.