Writing With Elfie - The Basics

Hiya all! Happy 2026!! I hope your holidays were low on stress and high on good vibes. Mine were good overall, I took a break from commissions, and writing, and all that business. Nothing better than a relaxing and restful time to get the writing juices flowing again though, because I'm itchin' to get back to it, I have a primal need to tell stories, and I know that I'm not the only one. So, in an effort to use this website more and also talk about writing... I have an idea.

A really long time ago, back when I started writing fanfiction in 2023, folks were asking for writing advice. I didn't feel terribly confident in providing that advice back then because I still viewed myself as a novice rather than the intermediate/professional I view myself as today. But nearly 3 years later, I still get writing advice from time to time, so I figured I'd revive an old project of mine that has lain abandoned on the roadside for all that time. And what better place to talk about my writing process then here on my blog or whatever this is. My website! This is my space, but not the social media site.

... You all know what I mean.

So here we go, welcome to Writing with Elfie, where I talk about the process of writing in what I hope is an instructional and entertaining way. I don't know how often I'll be posting these, but I'll definitely be posting them when thoughts come to mind, or if/when I get questions from folks! I think this could be a fun little exercise for us, and I might be able to convince some folks to start writing. Because I don't know about other creatives, but I'm always SOOOOO EAGER to have more writers in the world! The more the better.

The Most Important Thing

Today I'm going to wax poetic about some of the basics of writing, particularly fanfiction but it also applies to original stories, so there should be something for everyone. Firstly and foremostly I need to make it clear that I have no formal training, I did not go to university for creative writing, I have no education in that regard, my writing style and my process are all stuff I've cobbled together from my obsessions, from hours and hours of video essays on stories and storytelling, from what I can feel about stories, and from reflecting on what I want in a story.

Folks might not like hearing this, but the most important first step in writing is actually writing. Like, sit in your butt down in a chair and getting to it, actually putting words down, be those words on a screen or on a notepad or in a notebook or loose paper or whatever. You'll never actually start your journey to be a writer unless you start writing, so get to it. Your story doesn't have to be good, it doesn't have to even make sense, you've just got to get the words down. Then we can get started on the actual process. But more on that in a little bit.

Next let's talk about something I see a lot, it's a big problem people have whether they realize it or not: perfectionism. You know believe it or not, our modern society actively encourages perfection in nearly all aspects of your life. Be it from how clean your house is, to how your grades are, to how nice is your outfit is, to how your makeup makes you look, to how busy have you been at your office job where you don't actually have anything to do right now but you have to pretend you do. Stuff like that. However, I'm here to tell you it's a big fucking scam guys, you aren't perfect. Nothing is perfect actually, perfection isn't real; it's a construct, a sort of trap that you can fall into and man is it difficult to escape.

I struggled with this so badly back when I was writing There's No One Like You, to date my most popular piece I've ever published on AO3. The issue was that I was struggling to actually finish it, I knew what I wanted for the end and I knew how I wanted that ending to be executed, but I was so worried it wasn't good enough. Worried people would HATE it. That they'd boo me and spread the word that Elfie is a shit tier writer.

It actually prevented me from finishing it faster than I otherwise would have. It took a really long time and a lot of motivation to actually get those last few chapters out there. And you know what happened when I posted those last chapters? The ones I was ssssooooo fucking worried about? Everybody liked them. Big shocker, I know. But here's the thing folks, if you're writing fanfiction or even Original Stories and posting them in fanfiction spaces...

You're doing it for free!!!

Like yeah, I take commissions sometimes, but they're still commissions for fanfiction. And fanfiction has a different set of standards compared to professionally published work, though you wouldn't know that from the amount of absolute garbage that's being published these days (thanks BookTok). I mean no offense to fanfiction, but I think the lower standards of fanfiction are actually a good thing. It makes it the perfect place to be approving grounds, to whet your appetite, hone your craft, to practice and to meet friends and community even if you're lucky.

The point I'm trying to make here is that it doesn't actually matter if your fanfiction is perfect or not, readers are still going to love it. Readers are still thirsty for more of their favorite characters in new situations and scenarios, readers don't care about the grammar or the spelling, or even if you have a good grasp on the English language; some of my favorite Owl House fanfictions ever are absolutely ghastly from an editing standpoint. The English is bad, sometimes you lose track of who's where and what's happening, sometimes people say just the most hilariously worded nonsense and it completely knocks you out of the scene... But none of that matters to me, because the only essential ingredient to having success as a fan fiction author is there.

Passion.

I can tell reading those stories that the writer is passionate, that they were passionate while writing their stories. The most important thing for getting started, is to have the hunger. To want to write. To want it deep down in your bones, or even just wanting it cuz you think it might be a fun way to spend an afternoon. It doesn't have to be a burning passion, it only needs to be some kind of passion. So long as you inject some real emotion in there, people will detect it, people will poke their head in to check, and you'll have just found your first fan, no perfect story required. Just make it; make it, and the people will come.

Some Less Important, But Still Important Things

Okay now that we have the most important element out of the way, let's talk about some other things that will help you get started. Finding a time to write every day or every other day, even for a little bit is going to really help you get into the habit of doing it. Even 10 minutes, surely you can spare 10 minutes out of your day right? Hell, you can even write while sitting on the toilet. Getting into the habit of writing is going to make it way easier to actually write the things you want to in a timely manner. If you get used to the mechanical action and the mental state of writing, then it should be easier to purposely do even outside your usual writing time.

This little tip might seem counterintuitive, but it's important to take breaks from writing too. Let your brain recharge, maybe read some new things that you haven't before, get some new ideas and new notions in your noggin. Then when you come back to writing, you're going to come back with an expanded repertoire and recharged batteries. Take breaks so you can write better. Lots of artists and writers forget this bit, and end up burnt out. Head that shit off at the pass!

I'm not going to make this inaugural post too long, I don't want to waste an hour of your time lecturing about the minutia of this shit. So I'm going to leave y'all with one more tip, then we're going to wrap everything up with a neat little bow. My last bit of advice for the very basics? Have fun. If you don't have fun writing, you probably shouldn't do it. It can be stressful, it can be annoying, it can be really fucking frustrating when you can't figure out how to make a certain scene work. It can be AGONIZING to juggle a bunch of ambitious projects while you're consistently coming up with more and more ideas that you're probably never going to have time to get to. It can be discouraging, sometimes you get haters. Sometimes you get people who threaten your life and try and find where you live. If it's not fun to write, then what's the point man? Is it even worth it?

I do this because I love it. The mechanical process, the mental exercise of conjuring up plot beats and deciding how characters would act in certain circumstances. I love knowing that my writing makes people feel things, be that horny from some cheap porn or deeply and profoundly emotional because of something contemplative. Knowing that my writing has touched even one person out there makes it all worth it, but I never would have started if it wasn't fun.

TLDR

Start writing today! No fucking excuses, I know you have an idea in that head of yours, you're just being shy or anxious. Open up a word doc, pull out a fucking sheet of paper from the printer, start writing that shit today! Do it! Or I'll find you... In all seriousness, it's important to have fun with it, to pace yourself so you don't burn out, and to not worry about being perfect. It's just fanfiction guys, it's for fun, now go out there and write some stuff and post it somewhere damn it!

If you do write something and end up posting it, maybe leave a comment about it so I can check it out? Do you have any questions about your writing? Or are you struggling with something? Maybe ask on my Tumblr or on Bluesky, I might be able to help out. Even if you don't write anything, which you should because I told you to start writing today, you did right today didn't you?! You better have. But even if you didn't, which you should have, leave a comment anyway. Share your thoughts. Lemme know what you think about this idea, do you wanna see more?

Next week I'll talk about my exact writing process: initial concept, first drafts, refining the piece, and knowing when it's ready to publish.

Until then, stay safe, and go kick some ass out there.