Tips on Using the Meme
Tips for Using the Meme, Staying on the Mods' Good Side, and Writing Smut
Reborn has put together a few tips for using the meme. These are ideas on making you request easier to fill, and how to avoid pissing off the mods. They aren't rules, but they should be rather guidelines on how to make everyone's meme experience more enjoyable.
-------
The more succinct your prompt is, the better.
It will be easier for mods to update the list, and writers will have more leeway, more freedom to write. Freedom to write is a good thing, because it means they have more room to work around possible blocks. "Yamamoto/Gokudera, Tsuna as a voyeur" or a short scenario is easier to work with than a five-paragraph outline description and then an extra paragraph of kinks to include.
Specify your pairing!
You may think "Longchamp/Anyone, mudwrestling" is a great request now. But when your request is filled, it's Longchamp being totally dominated by Adelheid, and you don't particularly like Adelheid. You were hoping more for Longchamp pinning down Ryohei and having his muddy, yaoi way with him. Don't leave yourself open for disappointment like this. We all have characters we don't like, but some other anon may love them (Reborn-Mod loves Haru and hates Hibari, for example). If there's any chance you would hate your gift- because fills are a gift!- because of part of the pairing, don't leave it to chance.
Track the thread you start.
If you have a certain level in LJ (Paid, definitely, and maybe Plus), go to your request and click the image of a tack. The alt text reads "Track this" when you hover over it. It will take you to a screen where you can opt to be notified when someone comments on that comment, or on the whole meme. Tracking your thread will make it easier to respond to comments, questions, and to read any fills. Or you can simply bookmark it and swing back to check on it every once in a while. Reborn-Mod recommends against tracking all comments on the meme post, however, unless you really want each and every request, fill, "Seconded!" and "That was hot!" sent to your inbox.
Don't post multiple similar prompts.
Not only are similar prompts boring and less likely to be filled, but people will be able to tell it's the same person if you post a ton of unusual pairing or kink requests all in a row. Your writing style will also give you away. Then you'll be "that anon with the Sanapi/bowling pin fetish who can't punctuate." It reduces your anonymity, to be "that anon."
It also drives the mods nuts when we make the lists, to be honest. I feel a lot of "Didn't someone already request this?" when there are similar prompts, and then I waste a lot of time checking. The creative stuff is also more fun to write and to code. Variety is the spice of life, and all.
Be patient once you've made a request.
The perfect person to write your request may not see it right away. Stories can take a long time to write. Real Life gets in the way. Fills are not instant, magical things that pop into being (otherwise Reborn-Mod wouldn't struggle so much with that TYE!Mukuro/TYL!Mukuro prompt from meme 2! I've had four paragraphs written for about two years). There are any number of reasons your request hasn't been filled in X number of days, and you should sit back and let any writers work. Don't badger on the meme; it makes the prompt less attractive. And for God's sake, don't repost it to get attention! I will delete that sort of thing.
Fill prompts that ping you.
This one actually is a rule, but I can't say it enough. If you get an idea for a fill, write it out. Don't waste time saying, "I can't write" or "Someone else will get an idea." Because you can and they might not. Sit down with your computer or notebook and get the words on the page. It doesn't matter if you think they're crap while you're writing, because you can always go back and edit. But if you don't get something written, you won't have anything to edit.
Because this is an anonymous kink meme, there's no pressure to write well because your name is not attached to it. Reborn-Mod is of the opinion that your should try your best at writing anything, even for a kink meme, but the fact is no one can make fun of you for the results either way. They don't know who wrote it, and it's a Rule 2 violation to do so on the meme and I will rain IP bannination on those who do. Anon memes are a good place to take a chance and practice your smut-writing.
To help you out a bit, here are more tips from Reborn-Mod, who wrote some of her best stuff for kink memes.
• Can't write without background noise? Put on some sexy music! Mod prefers Kuroda Michihiro (former lead singer of Iceman, who did Shining Collection for the Gravitation OVA /trivia) for his sexy voice and almost-porno riffs on rock songs, but you can listen to video game soundtracks, Korean boy bands, or the sound of a muscle car's engine (the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is Dino's car if you want to stay Reborn-relevant) or whatever. The aural possibilities are endless.
• For ladies, pay attention to your cycle. Most biological women are more horny during their periods, or during ovulation the week or so following. Use your hormonal shifts to your advantage and channel that energy into crafting some smut.
• Reread stories or doujinshi or whatever that you've enjoyed. Don't copy them! Plagiarism is a terrible thing and I will not tolerate it. But read favorite smut stories to recapture the feeling, to inspire the words and tone. Find out what words work for you. Okay with "arousal" but cringe at "cock"? This is where you find those things out, in reading.
• Mood food. To get in the mood for smut writing, eat something decadent. My favorite is gelato- delicate, creamy, melts in your mouth and makes you sigh with bliss. Dark chocolate is another good one. Find a food you can eat (in small amounts is best, or your porn fic will come with a pot belly) that makes you sigh with pleasure just from eating it, and turn that feeling into art.
Reborn has put together a few tips for using the meme. These are ideas on making you request easier to fill, and how to avoid pissing off the mods. They aren't rules, but they should be rather guidelines on how to make everyone's meme experience more enjoyable.
-------
The more succinct your prompt is, the better.
It will be easier for mods to update the list, and writers will have more leeway, more freedom to write. Freedom to write is a good thing, because it means they have more room to work around possible blocks. "Yamamoto/Gokudera, Tsuna as a voyeur" or a short scenario is easier to work with than a five-paragraph outline description and then an extra paragraph of kinks to include.
Specify your pairing!
You may think "Longchamp/Anyone, mudwrestling" is a great request now. But when your request is filled, it's Longchamp being totally dominated by Adelheid, and you don't particularly like Adelheid. You were hoping more for Longchamp pinning down Ryohei and having his muddy, yaoi way with him. Don't leave yourself open for disappointment like this. We all have characters we don't like, but some other anon may love them (Reborn-Mod loves Haru and hates Hibari, for example). If there's any chance you would hate your gift- because fills are a gift!- because of part of the pairing, don't leave it to chance.
Track the thread you start.
If you have a certain level in LJ (Paid, definitely, and maybe Plus), go to your request and click the image of a tack. The alt text reads "Track this" when you hover over it. It will take you to a screen where you can opt to be notified when someone comments on that comment, or on the whole meme. Tracking your thread will make it easier to respond to comments, questions, and to read any fills. Or you can simply bookmark it and swing back to check on it every once in a while. Reborn-Mod recommends against tracking all comments on the meme post, however, unless you really want each and every request, fill, "Seconded!" and "That was hot!" sent to your inbox.
Don't post multiple similar prompts.
Not only are similar prompts boring and less likely to be filled, but people will be able to tell it's the same person if you post a ton of unusual pairing or kink requests all in a row. Your writing style will also give you away. Then you'll be "that anon with the Sanapi/bowling pin fetish who can't punctuate." It reduces your anonymity, to be "that anon."
It also drives the mods nuts when we make the lists, to be honest. I feel a lot of "Didn't someone already request this?" when there are similar prompts, and then I waste a lot of time checking. The creative stuff is also more fun to write and to code. Variety is the spice of life, and all.
Be patient once you've made a request.
The perfect person to write your request may not see it right away. Stories can take a long time to write. Real Life gets in the way. Fills are not instant, magical things that pop into being (otherwise Reborn-Mod wouldn't struggle so much with that TYE!Mukuro/TYL!Mukuro prompt from meme 2! I've had four paragraphs written for about two years). There are any number of reasons your request hasn't been filled in X number of days, and you should sit back and let any writers work. Don't badger on the meme; it makes the prompt less attractive. And for God's sake, don't repost it to get attention! I will delete that sort of thing.
Fill prompts that ping you.
This one actually is a rule, but I can't say it enough. If you get an idea for a fill, write it out. Don't waste time saying, "I can't write" or "Someone else will get an idea." Because you can and they might not. Sit down with your computer or notebook and get the words on the page. It doesn't matter if you think they're crap while you're writing, because you can always go back and edit. But if you don't get something written, you won't have anything to edit.
Because this is an anonymous kink meme, there's no pressure to write well because your name is not attached to it. Reborn-Mod is of the opinion that your should try your best at writing anything, even for a kink meme, but the fact is no one can make fun of you for the results either way. They don't know who wrote it, and it's a Rule 2 violation to do so on the meme and I will rain IP bannination on those who do. Anon memes are a good place to take a chance and practice your smut-writing.
To help you out a bit, here are more tips from Reborn-Mod, who wrote some of her best stuff for kink memes.
• Can't write without background noise? Put on some sexy music! Mod prefers Kuroda Michihiro (former lead singer of Iceman, who did Shining Collection for the Gravitation OVA /trivia) for his sexy voice and almost-porno riffs on rock songs, but you can listen to video game soundtracks, Korean boy bands, or the sound of a muscle car's engine (the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is Dino's car if you want to stay Reborn-relevant) or whatever. The aural possibilities are endless.
• For ladies, pay attention to your cycle. Most biological women are more horny during their periods, or during ovulation the week or so following. Use your hormonal shifts to your advantage and channel that energy into crafting some smut.
• Reread stories or doujinshi or whatever that you've enjoyed. Don't copy them! Plagiarism is a terrible thing and I will not tolerate it. But read favorite smut stories to recapture the feeling, to inspire the words and tone. Find out what words work for you. Okay with "arousal" but cringe at "cock"? This is where you find those things out, in reading.
• Mood food. To get in the mood for smut writing, eat something decadent. My favorite is gelato- delicate, creamy, melts in your mouth and makes you sigh with bliss. Dark chocolate is another good one. Find a food you can eat (in small amounts is best, or your porn fic will come with a pot belly) that makes you sigh with pleasure just from eating it, and turn that feeling into art.