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I had to think about this a bit, but stopping writing altogether is not the way to stop the stagnation. That only ossifies the problem and makes it even harder to start again. I think stagnation is another flavor of block. I think a writer or two that I really liked in an earlier fandom, kept reskinning the same period and setting. The writing was still good, the new leads had different issues, but the spark was either missing in the writing or the reading-repeating. If you don’t figure out why you’re in a rut, you will just repeat that cycle later in a new rut… until you find the off-ramp by luck. Some paperback writers make solid careers of a marketable rut. Stopping writing is like selling your car because you’re sick of the daily commute to work. It misses the issue with dramatic overkill. It only makes new problems, especially if you live somewhere without a good rapid transit. Is the stagnation because you keep writing the same kind of story over and over? (does it shift back to ‘a script’) Or because no noticeably different stories appeal to your muse? (you can’t force your right brain to follow your logical plans) Listen to that muse, it doesn’t speak clearly, but it gets bored in ruts. Look for fresh air in a new fandom, new genres, or even strike out into original works to sell. Those will refresh everything. The basic romance that is the core of a large portion of fanfic is a formula, a rut, but that doesn’t mean you have to feel stagnant. Pride and Prejudice are as much in the genre as Twilight, so there is a LOT of elbow room in that genre. A new penname is only useful if your fans will not be willing to accept a change in your writing. And maintaining them as separate can be a lot of work, and alienate them anyway. One writer I liked their earlier penname better, and since then they abandoned that subgenre, I’ve gradually stopped reading them and the newer ones are really in ruts. Chasing after the other pennames got too confusing and tiring. (I plan to keep only two, fanfic and original fic) If all you write are kidnapping hedgehogs and are thinking of changing but afraid your fans won’t accept your story of stopping the evil milkmaid empire, start with a smaller story to test it. Your fans may surprise you and thrive on buttermilk! (this was supposed to be a short answer but...)

That’s an interesting (and kinda depressing) take on it. I’m not sure that I agree that it’s the only way to avoid stagnation. I think if you feel stagnation setting in, taking a break as I think you’re suggesting, is absolutely one way to handle it. Take time away so you can come back and look at things with fresh eyes, but it’s not the only option. You can fend it off by taking risks, writing in a different genre, or indulge in something you wouldn’t normally indulge in. For some writers, writing exercises and prompts help. Also, I just wanna say I love your definitions.

Write it and the appropriate readers will (likely) come along and enjoy it.

Exactly my thought. Plot should dictate when and where smut is added so that an emotional investment carries to the reader. Then again, writing smut also depends on the audience that a writer wants to attract. I know many readers only want plot what plot gratuitous sex. I’m not one of them. When I get the chance to read fan fiction, or any kind of non work related stuff, I want something to help me escape the stress, and PWP sex won’t do. Some people feel the opposite, so that’s why audience does matter when it comes to how much sex is added to a story. Others feel the exact opposite of myself and want no emotional involvement, just pornographic fap material for their fantasies. Both styles are fine, but it does make a difference in the kind of readers that will congregate to a story. In my reading experience, a smut scene happening out of the blue without fitting an emotion or plot is jarring. Tosses me right out of the story because I like deeper and meaningful tales. The main reason is that I feel no investment in the characters hopping into bed with each other because it seems to have zero reason to be happening. Not even if I adore the show or books that the story is based loosely off of because of a fan driven love for a pairing that I can actually relate to being reasonable or even preferable. Again, I am a reader that needs the context of emotion to make the smut feel realistic. A lot of folks are unlike myself. Some folks want zero emotional investment in what they are reading. If I cannot feel connected to the characters, then I really cannot read the smut without yawning. I need immersion in one specific character’s head and heart to enjoy smut personally. If I cannot be on their shoulder and seeing their emotional responses, it feels like I’m reading yet another Psychology study on the latest findings for SE Table work in helping to alleviate anxiety attacks. Instead of titillation, the smut feels like dry and uninteresting case studies for me. However, I adore reading plots which evolve character relationships into the deep emotional connection that makes the sex feel meaningful. When you consider how mechanical sex can start to feel if there is no real context/reason for it happening, having the emotional and mental cues added can take an otherwise dull feeling scene and make it sparkle. It conveys emotions and that is what sucks me in as a reader. Doesn’t matter if it is angry make up sex, or seduction engineered to bring the object of one’s fantasies to their knees, so long as there is the sense of genuine emotions, I’m going to be sucked into the scene and adore it. A lot of plot what plot type gratuitous work feels too shallow to me when I do get a bit of time to do any reading. Since so much fan fiction is about character emotions and evolution foremost, (see tags like angst, hurt/comfort/romance/unresolved sexual tension) it only makes sense to match the sex to the evolution of the characters emotional attachment to me. So the amount of sex added should fit the readers that you enjoy writing for the most. If you like raunchy PWP, then by all means write a lot of it. If you want readers to be invested in the sexuality of your characters, create a plot and let it dictate where the best emotional driven sex fests happen.

I’d like to be able to fly. Just because really.

Buttermilk is great for making pancakes!

Agreed, but some fans are weird enough to like it for the creepy, cloying feel.

@Anesor Beautifully said… But seriously, buttermilk is gross.

No, not ‘Will you marry me’. I’m talking about the REAL big question. You’re all fellow nerds and geeks, you should know this! If you could have a superpower, what would it be? I need to know. Because I thought of mine, and that made me wonder about yours. If I had a super evil super power, it would be the ability to control people’s words. Not their thoughts, their action, or their message. I pretty much just want to edit the way people talk. Especially the way they talk to me, because lack of tact and TMI moments in public really grate on my nerves lol. Okay, supervillains, talk to me! (I guess you heroes can talk too, but… you know, use your inside voice.)

Hope all the moms on here had a Happy Mother’s day yesterday. One of the kids I helped raise nabbed me for a Sushi Meal yesterday. Was great to spend time with her, since I hadn’t in 6 month. Really miss some of my heart adopted kids. They all grew up and got busy in their own lives.

I had a lot of fun writing the dialogue for this story. Writing Lisa’s required a lot of consulting with Dictionary.com and Wikipedia.

I have cover art! NineStar Press is republishing my Witch’s Apprentice series, and Ghost’s Sight, the first book, has cover art. I’m really excited, and I can’t wait for the release date!

I now follow the author dedicated to fighting her on Twitter, so I can follow the insanity without adding to her follower count. So I can be amused/baffled/angry daily.

Too much sex? Such a thing cannot be.

I don’t know… I suppose it depends on the characters, really. My chapters are around 5k, and some of my scenes span over two or three chapters at a time. But then, there are three of them, so that might make a difference. If there’s such a kind of idiot, then I am definitely it, and I make no apology! I think of the characters first, then wonder how I’m going to get them to go ‘at it’ then the story comes along. In that order. But that ’s fanfic. It’s probably different if you write original.

I don’t have any plans for a sequel, although I do plan to write more Loud House stories. I’m not big on aging up characters. My feeling is, if I want to write fanfic about adults, I’ll pick characters who are already adults.