Snowflake Challenge 8: How The Trick Is Done

I feel like it's very hard for me to describe my creative processes.  Maybe it's because I haven't spent much time actually thinking about what makes them happen.  Maybe it's because I'm so used to them that there doesn't seem to be anything worth talking about.  Maybe it's because 99% of my process is extremely internal, just turning the idea over and over like a rotisserie chicken until it's ready.  Which, I mean, isn't not my process, so I guess that's descriptive???

Maybe if I break it down by types.

For fics--specifically fics written for fun that actually have a plot and aren't just elaborate set-ups for jokes:
There's a lot of poking at a plot to see if it's worth being Fic Plot or just Fun Daydream Idea.  Pretty much all my fics start out as Fun Daydream Ideas anyway, but if something keeps coming up and I can see the story being written--I mean this literally; I see the sentences in front of me and will start rewriting/rewording them as I go--then it's time to start writing them down.

For fics that are basically elaborate set-ups for jokes:
A punchline gets me, or a pun, or a meme format makes me think "how could I put this into [fic universe]?" and then that's it.  My like my full fics, I start writing and rewriting the idea over and over in my head.  Sometimes I'll swap in different characters for whatever places they need to be.  For example, I'm being haunted by the "Robert and Barbara Wire" Tumblr post, and I have a different word in mind but using that format, so I've been trying to figure out which of the Batfamily I want to use for each speaker.  So, like all of them, I keep turning it around and trying new characters in different roles until I find what I like.

Fandom related posts, not fics:
Pretty much the same as above.  I don't write a lot of serious meta about my fandoms because that's just not my preferred way to fan, so most of my fandom posts are jokes.  I will say, though, that I tend to work these the same way I work my stand-up comedy bits:  I try it out in my head to play around with it and see if there's a funnier way to do the bit.  If I can't decide what version works best, I start inflicting it upon testing it out with my friends and family.  Usually, I'll start IRL with my mom (as she knows at least of most of my fandoms) or a friend via text.  Then I might move to a Discord friend, test it there.  Once I think it's got the right feel of what I want, then I'll usually share it on Tumblr (which is pretty much my only social media presence nowadays).

And there you have it!  Or some of it, at least.