you’re the sixth person who guessed it was me ahead of reveals…. am i that obvious? 😭 aaaaa thank you so much. it amazes me knowing you carved out space in your schedule just to read voyagers. at the same time it’s reassuring. being a fic that took years of wild revisions and self-scrutiny to create, it rightfully fell into the gentle and patient hands of someone like you who appreciated its every word… thank u thank u. i can’t promise yet when the next chapter will come along, but i do hope you will still be here to catch it when it does.

now, on writing. it honors me that my work makes you want to start making your own, and at the same time it’s a lil fascinating bc that is exactly the answer i have to your question: my writing today is made of echoes of those who came before me. explaining this practically, it’s been said it before and i’ll say it again: to become a writer, writing is half the work. the other half is reading. i read as an active task, consciously observing the author’s words on the page and asking questions—what do i like about it? what don’t i like? what can i “steal” from this, i.e. re-interpret to express my own ideas? what about it inspires me? the craft is a neverending conversation between writers and the world and themselves, always evolving. and another thing that may have molded me is that i practice other genres too. though fiction is where i started, i have pretty strong backgrounds in nonfiction and poetry. i flit between all of them. reading and writing other genres frees the mind from any imaginary limitations, exposing it to inventive structures and eccentric modes of thinking. often, even, it dares me to experiment by blurring the lines between those genres! and fanfiction is just my playground for linguistic experimentation, and it’s really fun when i know what im doing haha. i have so many fave essays and short stories these days, i’d be happy to recommend some if you want.

though you also mention the idea of inspiration and feeling motivated. for that i can’t give you a surefire solution, because i am not you. on my end, i suppose the reason why my writing, as you’ve said, “moves” others is because they are born from ideas that move me. my inspiration is sourced mainly from the umbrellas of grief and love, though im a rather emotional person, so a lot of things tend to move me. but when something tugs at my heartstrings just right, whether it be an irl event/a song/a memory/something a stranger did/a fleeting thought, i know there’s a story in there somewhere. my only role then is to channel that energy into the right form with the right words, and communicate it so that others understand why it’s relevant, and why it moved me at all. i guess that’s all i can say. find what moves you.

if you have any more questions about voyagers or writing in general, feel free to send them over. thank you again, sweet anon 🩷💐