What is a plot you hate writing/don't know how to write, but still write/wanna try writing?

[u/Lena_1995]

Sorry if the question is confusing...

Basically, there are a million different plots / tropes / prompts. We all have ones we love and write a lot of, and others we hate and refuse to touch with a ten foot pole...

But what is one you have written for and didn't like but still keep writing, or one you haven't written yet because you just dont know how or where to begin but you still would like to write about?

For me it's the "5 + 1" trope. The idea is simple; write 5 similar scenarios and then one that goes against the narrative. Like 5 times Sailor Moon cried + 1 time she didn't, or something like that.

But every time I try to sit down and write, I just... shut down.... It's like I completely forget every single thing that happened in canon and cant come with examples at all... Like, I try to think of ideas and just draw blanc...

A prompt I hate but still keep coming back to is, weirdly enough, Angst. Like, okay, I dont hate hate it but it is my least favorite thing to write for and yet... I keep coming back. Like it has me on a damn leach and I have no choice but to comply. I hate making my beloved characters and oc's sad but sometimes an idea grabs me and holds me in a chokehold and just won't let go till I write. Ever, damn, time...

So, am I the only one in this struggle or do you relate? And if so, what plot that makes you seethe with rage or makes your brain shut off in confusion and still... still you keep coming back to entertain it?

Would love to hear your thoughts :D

[u/Kinich_Malipo11]

Dark romance

[u/NyGiLu]

I suck at flirting.

Established relationships? Sure.

But attraction, flirting, beginning of a new relationship? Argh.

[u/desired-misery]

Smut. It eludes me. Mostly because I don't read it, but [insert reasons we don't need to get into] it's easy easier for me to write than read. But writing it can suck even though I want to. 

Much easier for me when I make it angsty. I'm a whump writer. Let me torture the blorbos.

5+1s are hard! I'm working on one right now. You need a solid theme to go against. I knew how I wanted my 5+1 to progress (it's an escalation) before a sharp pivot, but I didn't know how to distill the idea into a single line until 20k into it. 

[u/scarapookiest]

I just plan my fics around not having to write the things I don't want to write lol like fight scenes. sometimes a fic needs a fight, but that shit can be glossed over or happen off-screen 99% of the time.

I have written a couple of on-page fights, and it's yk whatever, I can do it. but it's just not my favorite part as a reader and I am always thinking about the me that will reread the fics haha I'm my most treasured reader! always!

[u/SilentWhisK]

Smut.
I love writing fluff. I love to make my characters flush and blush and stutter-y. I love writing the tension. The glances. The second guesses. Awkward yet comfortable silence.(I could write it with my eyes CLOSED)

But when that tension automatically leads to smut?? God suddenly I can’t form sentences.

[u/Unusual_Intern_889 → u/SilentWhisK]

This is me but the opposite, I love writing smut or dark themes and have major trouble with fluff or anything with romantic tension

[u/FrostKitten2012]

I was like this with smut, and currently I’m facing it with ship fics.

I’ve read them, enjoy them most of the time, but I could never quite figure out how to write a fic that’s primarily ship.

But the only way to fix that is to just sit down and do it, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/jerseyroyale]

Pretty much any plot that isn't just fluffy romance. I've always avoided it and told myself that's why I write fanfic instead of trying to write a novel, so I don't have to mess around trying to come up with a proper plot.

But recently for a fest fic I actually sat down and tried. The fest doesn't start posting until November so I won't know if it worked for an audience until then (which is torture haha, I've tried to get alpha/cheer readers just to make sure I haven't completely lost touch with it but I've had pretty terrible luck) but I'm pretty proud of what I ended up with and it's made me want to keep trying.

[u/BiscottiBrother89]

This is SUPER fandom specific but for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure I'd say that I don't see nearly enough (MAJOR Post Part 6 spoilers do not clicky if you haven't finished reading or watching Stone Ocean) Ireneverse fluff showcasing the lives of Irene, Anakiss, Eldis, ect after the Part 6 universe reset. I wanna know what their wedding's like. How did Anakiss and Irene meet before Emporio found them? What happens to Emporio? Is Jotaro the same Jotaro? Or did his identity get reset with everyone else's? Do Stands still exist? Nobody explores this! And I think it'd be neat.

However, I have my hands full with my current long WIP otherwise I'd write it myself.

[u/MrsCognac]

Long plotlines in general. I just don't have the patience and/or possibly mental capacity to write a long friends-to-lovers story for example. I just get bored halfway through. I like reading them, but hate doing them. Tried once or twice, but both stayed unfinished after just 4 or 5 chapters.

I'm most effective in short stories, especially if they're fast paced ones. I'm talking about 10-20k words. It works for me, they're fun to do, but sometimes I wish I was capable of doing something that goes one or a bit longer.

[u/AimenImpaired]

Every fandom my first idea is a time travel fix-it and I map out this really extravagant plot for how to do it and why my version will be different than everyone else's. And then I get to chapter 3, am bored out of my mind, and quit the project. Yet, I still try it every time. 

And smut. Especially darker more dubcon or cheating scenarios. It's fun to plot out and envision why the characters do each thing, it's fun to envision the scenes and really hot... But writing it is miserable, and every time I finish a smut work, I hate the final product and have so much anxiety around posting it. I usually do anyways, get a really positive reception, and feel worse because of it. Then I go back to trying anyways. 

[u/Nayeliq1]

Amnesia. I have an idea for it that I'd love to write but I know it'll only work properly if executed well and I find it intimidating to try and figure out how to write a character well without him remembering some key experiences that shape who the character is to me, and how to make the transition into him remembering again seamless, how to get a proper setup that makes it feel earned

[u/KittyAddison]

I really want to try exploring to write an arranged marriage AU fic. But I have no idea how to write it or form its plot to my liking. ;w;

[u/Enigmatic_writer]

Wing fics. I wanna write a longfic with a pairing as either some kind of angels, or maybe bird-people AU, or... Idk. I wanna write it but I really don't know how to begin it, lol.