Hey there! Ever since I’ve decided to write longfics (especially the plot heavy ones) I’ve started planning everything ahead of time. That’s not to say things don’t change as I go sometimes, but I line lining out the main plot/conflict points. So I always start with a list of characters and info about them (this helps with omegaverse cause I always forget what their scents are lmao) and then bullet point everything I want to happen in the story, some more detailed than others. I’ll post this on Twitter after with some examples! But with DTM, for example, I always knew what a lot of the conflict between Seonghwa and HJ would be, and what the main motifs and symbolism would be etc (the paintings, the collar, the stars and golden hour) but the order the events have happened has changed quite a lot to give the relationship more depth. I also love writing found family, so as I go through the story and come up with more pack dynamics scenes etc then I add it and it just gets longer. I do something add things that readers ask for or I talk with friends about haha but the main outline and events are always written ahead of time so I don’t lose the plot and details. I hope that makes sense! (There are some things I don’t plot out… for example, the newest milfhwa multichap I’m writing is just vibes and what smut I want to write next lmao)

When I first joined rps twitter I started joining any and all d!scord servers I could find! I also just started talking to writers and engaging with their tweets, because I loved so much of the fics. One oomf invited me to a smaller server and I’ve made a lot of friends there, but some of the closest people I know here was because we just started talking in dm’s about fanfics!! It takes courage to dm people, but it takes time to build a friendship and regular conversations are really important I’ve found: sometimes you instantly click with people, and when you don’t and the conversations feel like you’re forcing them then perhaps that’s not the person meant to be your friend, and that’s a difficult realisation to come to. But honestly, just dm people!! And engage with their works and their tweets and thoughts and ideas. I’ve met so many wonderful people (and some not so good ones lmao) and I speak to them pretty much every day!

I will say though, this idea of “popular writiny” is just so ridiculous, I really dislike people who pretend to be celebrities here because of fanfic. We’re all just losers making our barbies kiss and that’s what bonds us 😂

I think writing smut is like writing any other scene, it’s all about the ebb and flow of it. I always map it out ahead of time: what I want each to give and receive, specific places I want them to touch or focus on (hand around the neck, focusing kisses on collarbones, sucking bruises into x, rimming etc etc) and choose the position that works best for all those. If you were writing an action scene, you’d be mapping out where everyone is in the room, their stance, does anything in the room help them and how they’re going to move through the scene. Then you’d think about the bits throughout (the action shots and movements) and then the, well, climax. Which is the same for smut. I like to make quick notes to plan out the movements just like that and everything I want to include and that also gives me excellent prompts for later.

Most of my own experience writing yaoi comes from years and years of reading it. Sure, real porn helps sometimes, and watching BL shows etc is a good source of inspiration but ultimately your imagination is always going to be the best thing to fill in the gaps. What you need to remember is that you’re not looking to write realistic porn; that’s a whole different genre of writing and we don’t do it that much unless you’re looking to portray that realistic take on it. If you are, then I’d say look at various Reddit threads and people’s recounting of their own experiences there, that’s what really helped me with research for my own BDSM fic. I’ve been in a relationship with a woman for 10 years lmao so I certainly don’t have first hand experience of male/male (and variations of) sex.

Otherwise, just map it out and write. You might have seen I’m a big supporter of writing sprints as well because I find oftentimes we just overthink our writing, so it’s easier to get something on a page and get out of your head, especially when it comes to writing smut. Once your head is in it, sometimes your brain leads the charge to some wonderful ideas you didn’t even think about lmao I hope that helped even a tiny bit! I could talk about stuff like this over and over haha sorry for the rant 😅