Ribs (Armin Arlert x Reader)

Author Q&A Part 2 !!

Hi lovely readers! I hope you all had a great day and drank lots of water.

I've gotten quite a few questions DM'd to me and asked in the comments on my most popular Tik Tok videos, and though I was planning to answer them on my Tik Tok, my videos keep getting taken down. So, instead, you guys get another Q&A here! Also, thank you so much for 10k reads in JUST 10 days! Yes, hard to believe this story had only been out for 10 days.

Without further adieu, here are currently the most asked questions and my answers to them!

How many chapters will Ribs be?

Good question! I don't have an exact number for you since I DO NOT prewrite chapters, but I do know it will be more than 20 chapters. There really isn't enough good, quality slowburn around here.

Do you have the whole story planned out already?

Yes and no. I have the basic outline of the story, like how I wanted it to start and how I'm going to end the story. However, my chapters are improvised. What I mean by this is I come up with a major event I want to focus on for a few chapters, but that's about it. The smaller events in between, the dialogue, the direction the chapter goes in, all of it in improv that eventually leads to the major event I come up with on the spot.

My writing style since I've started writing has always been improvisation. I prefer not to plan my chapters out because it causes me to stress on tiny details and abandon my work, so being able to fly by the seat of my pants is my preferred method. I'm honestly surprised a lot of you feel that the story is clicking together because in some moments I felt like I rushed things and could have done better, but oh well.

What do you write outside of fan fiction?

I actually have a few books I've written that have been sitting in my google docs for a long time. My originals range in my favorite genres like historical fiction, supernatural and dystopian, but I always add my own little twist to give the genres a fresh new perspective.

I wasn't planning on posting my originals on Wattpad since my crowd is here for Attack on Titan content, but if you guys desperately want to read my books I'd be happy to write a more up to date one.

What is your update schedule for Ribs?

Honestly, it's whenever I can. I've been putting out chapters pretty frequently (every day to every other day) to have my story hit the ground running, but I'm starting to slow down a little bit now that starting with chapter 7, we're really getting into the meat of the story and writing chapters will take a little more time; especially since I improvise.

What sort of writing tips do you have?

I love this question because I have so many I'd love to share.

The first one has to do with romance. This is going to come as a surprise to many of you, but I actually hate reading romance. Now, I LOVE drama in romance, but too often writers will make the drama be internal rather than external. Allow me to clarify; internal drama happens between the two lovers in question. It's usually issues that surround one controlling the other, constant fighting to keep readers on their toes, and problems being shoved in our faces that could easily be fixed with decent communication. How are we supposed to route for a couple that's pulling each other apart? It creates a toxic environment for the characters, and frankly quite exhausting to read about.

When the drama is external, that means the dilemmas the lovers in question face do not stem from issues within the relationship, but rather outside of it. Some examples of good external drama is an ex sabotaging the relationship, a character being forced to move across the country, a character even dying. These are issues that pull the lovers apart but still keep us routing for them to get together because they're fighting the odds for each other rather than with each other.

Another tip I have is dialogue. If you notice yourself feeling like you don't know who's talking sometimes or why the dialogue feels so dry and unseasoned, it's most likely because there's no character. When writing dialogue, it's important to keep in mind that everyone has a different speech pattern and their personality will affect the way they respond to situations; so the same applies to characters. If you just force all of your characters to speak the way you do, it sounds uniformed and boring.

For example, in Yelena's dialogue, I make sure to keep it short and straight to the point. Her personality doesn't beat around the bush and she makes what she wants clear; she's also very clearly apathetic and doesn't care much for the feeling of shame or embarrassment. In Armin's dialogue, I have him ask a lot of questions or give advice, even when the situation does not call for his advice. I take into consideration that he is a very calculated person and sees everything objectively before he decides his opinion; thus making him naturally curious and finds the need to ask questions before forming an answer for himself. However, smaller scale characters like Porco and Eren, I do not stress too much on their dialogue.

Will there be sex scenes?

This is a question I've been beating around the bush with when it comes to answering it. I understand with my answer there will be a good few readers who will be quite unhappy with me and will no longer have interest in my story, but alas, I was going to have to answer nonetheless.

No, there will not be explicit sex scenes. The biggest reason is because I want to maintain my story's image of being gender neutral and I can't deliver that with sex scenes. The comfort and inclusivity of my readers is my top priority when writing, and I would be unable to maintain the safe, neutral space I have here for all identities if I assign my readers sex organs they may not have or may not feel comfortable about.

HOWEVER, this does not exclude scenes remaining on the spicier side. I have many events planned that I'm sure will have you all running laps, but once the characters are about to perform the official act I will cut the scene with a time skip.

Though I am upset knowing many readers will no longer feel interested in my story, I will not apologize for having a space where all identities feel accepted, especially since that is so sparse in fan fiction.

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That's all the most common questions I've been asked thus far. I implore you to use my Tik Tok Q&A in my bio instead of commenting questions because I get so many notifications a day sometimes I'll miss a comment and I won't be able to respond. I try my hardest to respond to as many comments and questions as possible.

Also, my DM's are always open for private advice, questions, or if you just want to talk to me! My mental health has been suffering for the past few months, but ever since I started writing this story I've been feeling a bit better. Being able to talk to the people who support and love my work means everything in the world to me and is the highlight of my day, so my DM's are always open!