#I mean like obviously I’ve written outlines and text only drafts of my plans

[takamoris]

For the first time in what seems like forever. I have begun work again on TSTMNE Paper Edition.

[hummingbird-games]

Dev Diaries

June 15, 2023

Y’all it wasn’t (just) my asthma out to make me see the pearly gates...it was COVID ☠️ it zipped through everyone in my household, and unfortunately me and my mom got the full punch to the face. I was already pro-mask + pro-hygienic practices, but now I’m extra pro-mask complete with a death glare directed at all the uncalled for commentary from strangers.

Enough about being sick LOL, I’m making this because I want to talk about games, also sometimes I cope with humor.

Current WIPs

I know y’all sick of my shit (me too), but as far as I’m concerned, Crushed is coming out this summer!! Really!! I will make it happen even if I have to do a few updates post-release, so help me God. I want to move on to other things and I’m so antsy and pitiful looking at a nearly-done-but-not-quite-yet-project 😭

And I know Sundays and Tuesdays have been super light on content recently but I feel like I don’t have enough to share once or twice a week? (And the stuff I do have is too boring 🙂) I’ve been told to reblog older posts but as you see, the only thing I reblogged was the pinned one lol. (I promise to do better with consistency on HBG Project #3) 

(ALT text isn’t working for me right now, so below is the concept sketch for Ariel!! Obviously you see her on the key art buuuuut I originally planned to share this with y’all anyway!)

Ariel’s role...evolved during the production of this game, for lack of a better word. When I sought out to tell Corey’s story and decided against a kinetic novel experience, there were certain things I wanted to bring attention to (and certain decisions I wanted to leave in the player’s hands). This discussion will get dangerously close to spoiling the content of the endings SOOO we’ll put a pin in it!!

(The below image is a screenshot with Corey, Florence, and Jacob. The text reads “I kinda forgot she was standing there too...”)

This scene was written and coded with the rest of Corey’s friend group being off screen, but eventually I got sprites for Keegan and Oke. But I can’t help reimaging this scene with either of them and it makes me laugh so hard! That being said, I don’t imagine what you see in the demo will change in the final build buuuut who knows??

Randoms

I hinted waaay back when that I planned work on an HSDJY sequel this year. To my dismay, it’s still in the throwing spaghetti noodles at the wall stage. My ambitious ass lowkey hoped I’d have a finished draft for at least one of the routes by end of the year--because self-made deadlines 🎉, but I’m stuck in outline HELL!!!

That being said... it’s okay to work on other things, I am giving myself permission to work on other things, and I’ve been eyeing game jams. But the low stakes one where I won’t jeopardize my sanity. There’s Yuri Jam, which I participated in last year, and then there’s Once Upon A Time VN Jam WHICH LOOKS LIKE SO MUCH FUN???? 

I’ve been doing a lot of reading while recuperating (which probably means nothing because I’m always reading??? Unless I’m in a slump. Or playing viddy games. Dude. Don’t get me started on the pitfalls of being a game developer + bookish content creator. Time management?? We broke up) and the beginnings of an idea are starting to gel! I want to make another short project, and I’m curious if I can come up with something that fits the parameters of both jams. Fingers crossedl!!

Conclusion

I...don’t have anything else to add. 

But go check out the games and projects I’ve reblogged posts about recently!!

Some are fully released, some are out soon, some have Kickstarters, and/or some are WIPs!!!

(Oh, and I guess check out High School Daze: Junior Year to see my humble beginnings)

- Gemini ✌🏾

[blund3r-bust3r]

I love your writing sm and was wondering if u had any tips?? Just on anything really lol, bc I sort of wanna try writing more lol

oh thank you so much! super flattered you want my advice lol. i’m just a hobbyist but i do have some tricks that i’ve picked up from the internet over the years that might be useful. wall of info inbound:

i’ll begin with workflow optimization because that’s more likely to be put into practice. staying comfortable is important :D for starters, i never type on a white background. the first thing i do when i open a new document is change the page color to a light green (my go-to is #C5E0B3). looks a little like this:

doing this helps to lower the contrast between background and type to reduce eye fatigue. idk about you but my job already has me staring at a screen for nine hours a day and the last thing i need is go blind from working in a default word doc. google docs can do this too. this also goes for themes -- change your word processor’s theme to a dark mode!

adding onto that, never use your pc in a dark room. like, in general, but doubly-so for writing. the blue  light isn’t good for your eyes, and on top of that, if you need to look at your keyboard to see what you’re typing, you’ll strain yourself further just trying to see the keys. i always have a lamp on when i’m writing, even during the day

not a bad idea to invest in a good chair if you use a desktop. if not, be sure to take frequent breaks so your spine doesn’t implode. additionally, and completely unnecessarily, mechanical keyboards can make writing really fun cause they go CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK super loud and it can be pretty satisfying. but maybe reconsider if you have a roommate lmao

fonts. my first draft is always written in comic sans cause it’s a silly little font and i like to look at it. however, when i go to edit, i switch it all back to calibri because the font shift helps my brain recalibrate and catch those errors i might have missed initially. two pairs of eyes are always better than one, but if you’re like me and you don’t use beta readers, this might be your next best option

cloud services! preferably a free one, like google docs. since we’re working with type documents, we really don’t need a lot of storage, so the free ones work just fine. super useful for access across devices, something i use frequently since i switch between desktop and laptop depending on how i’m feeling. more importantly, it allows you backups in case something gets lost or corrupted. take it from an animation student: CLOUD SERVICES ARE YOUR FRIEND. i always upload my wips and completed documents to a dedicated folder online. it’s a good habit

do you listen to music to focus? i sure as hell can’t. even instrumentals throw me off sometimes. what i like to do if i can’t focus, or if there’s some external noise distracting me (which is often), is pull up some 10 hour oscillating fan video on youtube and crank that shit until my ears are pure white noise. works like a charm

alright now on to the actual writing tips. these are what i found work for my process but maybe some could benefit yours too

at minimum, know your beginning and ending. it doesn’t have to be super specific but it does help having a goal in mind of where you want your characters to end up. the details can come later

outlines are nice! but they don’t work for everyone. some fic writers just blast on through without anything guiding them and i consider those people to be above mortal weakness. others like to plan so they always know where they’re heading next (i’m others). an outline should never be too detailed though, at risk of it becoming too rigid. leave yourself room for freedom by saving the intricacies for the writing process

also, outlines don’t necessarily have to be finished! as long as you know your ending, partial outlines are sometimes enough to get you started. that’s how i’m doing things with my story

don’t get married to your ideas. sometimes things change and those plans you had for later don’t fit anymore. this is totally okay, because odds are, whatever those changes were, they're necessary enough to warrant removing those ideas to begin with

you don’t have to write from point A to point B all the time. sometimes i get bored with a scene and i put it on hold and move on to another one that i think might be more fun in the meantime. you’ll always have time to stitch it together later

set a word count minimum whenever you sit down to write. it doesn’t have to be recurring, and it doesn’t have to be big. just whatever you feel like you can hit. a thousand sound like too much right now? go for five hundred. or three hundred. it doesn’t matter the size of the goal as long as you’re able to reach it. helps keep your mental happy

use periods more often. this might sound kinda silly, but trust me. snappier sentences are easier to follow. it also inadvertently avoids run-on sentences, which, in my experience, give me a sense of anxiety because i tend to read through those faster, like i’m in a hurry. idk if it’s the same for everyone, but whatever feeling it invokes, it’s probably not the one you’re intending. so, periods

which reminds me! fight scenes: shorter sentences, less detail. your readers don’t have to see everything as it perfectly plays out in your head. just give them a general idea and let their imaginations fill in the rest. dialogue: the less you can say in quotations, the better. saves wordcount too. sometimes it’s unavoidable and that’s whatever, especially in informal writing like fic, but it’s good to keep in mind. another good thing to keep in mind? you don’t have to lay out a whole setting in the first paragraph. sprinkling in details throughout a scene to slowly paint the picture of a subject / setting is a lot more engaging

i think my biggest thing when it comes to fic is FORMAT YOUR STORY!!! by which i mostly mean paragraphs. you don’t even have to know the rules when it comes to indenting necessarily. just remember that too many paragraphs is better than two little. reading long, singular blocks of text can not only be intimidating, but draining. here’s some simple rules to keep in mind if you’re ever not sure when to indent: if a new person is speaking, indent. if the subject switches, indent. if you REALLY want to put emphasis on a particular sentence, indent. and then indent again so that sentence is all on its own :)

obviously the rules of writing are super flexible and nothing is set in stone so you can do whatever suits your style. i know it’s a lot lol but i hope at least one thing in here makes your life a little easier! good luck with your future stories :D

[goldenkid]

plans would be:

-reread it all, obviously. the important stuff first: what i’ve written of draft 2 (85k words and about 1/3 of the way through. this story is a behemoth. or is it just bloated? there is definitely streamlining to be done), and the outline, and my most recent brainstorm. and then i’ll take my thoughts from that, and move on to other stuff: my older brainstorm document, the one that’s a spreadsheet, and all my first plans for draft 2, and the bits and thoughts in notepad. and also the ideas for a prequel, showing how scar and thalia meet and get together, because somehow that could be (should be, because their backstory was always in pieces in the actual book) incorporated into the text. morai is not something that should be multiple books: it’s one standalone story, i think, and though there are a lot of other stories that could be told in this world (think of a president snow-esque prequel, as well as scar and thalia’s prequel, and the story of the war that sets up the events of the book), they are ultimately backstory for how the three main characters change their world irrevocably ((((oh my GOD i should write a twilight au for morai. but not today)))

-i also want to reread the original document, which has the seed of the idea for morai. it’s changed so much since then, but it has the basis of the story i want to tell, which is still at the core of morai.

-once i’ve reread it all, and probably written down my thoughts about it in a document with references to the original documents so i don’t get confused (this will take a while: see 85k words of draft 2, plus nearly 4 years of assorted thoughts and outlines and brainstorms), then i should have a rough plan of what i want to include from the million outlines and things, with the most recent having the most importance but all of them having good ideas that i could have forgotten along the way.

-i’ll note down what the new plot will be. probably quite similar to the outline from last september, which contains the huge plot restructure i planned. but also differences to character traits, cutting out useless plot threads, streamlining characters and character arcs, bringing these people closer to who they are in my head, and bringing this story closer to the one i want to tell. i need to find the important parts of the story (what happens to scar. what happens to scar and thalia and their story. ari and maia. scar’s plan, thalia’s plan, ari with the rebellion, and silver: a story of rebellions clashing. the story of the mission. of being inside the city and how it shatters the three of them. almost a negative character arc for scar and thalia, except with hope at the end because i’d let them crash and burn but ultimately i will always save them). there is a complex story i want to tell, but in the end it’s not that complex: it’s just five characters who each have their own plans, and how they clash. the story of morai.

-that’s what i need to do: reread everything, starting with the most recent stuff (the recent draft 2 outline, and then the draft) but really going through the whole thing, alllll my morai documents. and putting my thoughts into a master doc with references to where those thoughts came from, so the master doc doesn’t get horribly cluttered and become another thing i need to reread in a month’s time. and from there i’ll have a starting point: knowing i haven’t forgotten any important details, any character arcs or plot points, i’ll start to form an idea of where to go from here. that could mean carrying on with draft 2 as it is, or starting a whole new draft, depending on how much dead weight i find and how much i think i could change (plot points that have been unchanged for so long that i take them for granted - what would happen if i shook them up?).

-and then, from there, only once i’ve combed through everything and drawn my own conclusions, once i have an idea of where to go with this story and the writing of it - then i can start a new outline, or pull all the information i want into a new series of documents for the characters and the plot and the themes. i almost hope the plot will change significantly - i expect it to, really, with the way the characters have changed and how i have changed. i’d like to start a new draft, a slightly more mature version (not content wise, but in a way where the story is more cohesive. closer to the story that is there to be told, that i haven’t been ready or able to tell yet). a fresh start, from the ashes of my old ideas.

-then, maybe, i could write morai again.

[mediawhorefics]

Ever since you had that writing spree and wrote like 10k in two days I can't stop thinking about it. I want to be productive like that too. What's your writing routine? How do you motivate yourself to reach certain word counts?

That’s a big big question. I don’t necessarily think of myself as someone having a routine tbh ? Like… a lot of it comes down to deadlines for me. I function better with a looming deadline, I need that performance anxiety to kick in. It’s not a great way of creating tbh and I wish I wasn’t so addicted to it… 

But there are a few things I do when I know I need to have a couple of really really productive days: 

get out of the house: that’s a big big big one for me. i don’t have a desk in my bedroom and our kitchen table/chairs are so fucking uncomfortable that i can’t write there comfortably. writing in bed works sometimes but if i’m trying to push for a 5k day i know it’s not gonna cut it to just be in my pyjamas in bed trying to make it work. i need to be dressed and i need to wear shoes and everything. it sounds stupid, but it really works. i’ll just go to my favourite cafe (and try to get there as early as possible), order snacks and a hot drink and just write until it closes. 

try to plan ahead what i’m going to be working on: i don’t write in order and sometimes my outlines are more about the whole character arcs then specific scene by scene docs. i often figure out specifics only a few scenes in advance with all the Big Important Emotional Beats obvs having been planned out from the start. but when i know i’m going to need to have a big word count day, i try to outline in advance and plan the scenes i’m going to be working on beforehand. that way, there’s less time wasted on figuring out little details on the actual day. 

i go through my 2nd/3rd rounds of edits straight away: one of the things i often do to boost my wordcount and improve my scenes is edit as i go. a lot of people don’t like doing it, but i’m a big perfectionist so for me, a scene being in its “first draft” stage/ready for my beta means i’ve rewritten it/gone over it 2/3 times already.  and by rewritten it i literally mean retyping it in its entirety line by line. not only does that make the scene 100% better BUT it can often easily add 1k of details/layers to it. 

know when to switch it around: if a scene isnt working, if i’m blocked, if i’m getting frustrated, i’ll just jump to something else. ideally something with a different vibe/different mood. because i don’t write in order, i’ve got different points in the story i’m working on at the same time, so if the angst isn’t doing it for me in that moment, i’ll just jump to a fluffy point and treat myself by writing a fun making out scene or something like that. and vice versa obviously. 

give yourself mini goals throughout the day: if i’ve got a big wc goal, i’ll often try to slice it down in smaller manageable chunks. i’ll make little games out of it. like…. i’ll wait until i’ve written 2.5k until i buy a snack. i’ll wait until i’ve done another 1k to buy a second hot drink. i’ll wait until i’ve done another 1k until i can have a 15 min tumblr break etc etc. 

have a friend on standby to talk through issues in the plot/writing and share snippets: i usually text my beta CONSTANTLY when i’m having one of those big days. to ask for advice/thoughts on whatever i’m writing but also share stuff i’m proud of. that instant feedback/enthusiasm is really helpful to keep going! if you don’t really have people you text about your writing, posting about it on tumblr is a really good alternative. i do that too and it’s so helpful to see people being supportive/encouraging you as you try to power through. 

aaaaand that’s all i can think of tonight. i’m super tired so i’ll stop there but i’ll try and reblog/add stuff if i think of any tomorrow :) hopefully that’s a bit helpful ? ultimately every writer is different and it’s all about finding out what works best for you! 

[swissmissing]

Fan Fic Ask Meme (self ask edition)

  I saw this going around and I figured no one is going to actually respond and send me any of these asks because I have like maybe 2 followers who ever interact with me, but I felt like doing it so I’ll just ask myself all of them. :)

A: How did you come up with the title to "The Best Picture of the Human Soul”?

I wanted an artsy-intellectual title because I felt like it’s a kind of pretentious little story that takes itselt too seriously. It’s about images and soulmates, so I googled picture, soul, and quote, and that’s one of the hits that came up. So it is actually a quote by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: “The human body is the best picture of the human soul.”

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Probably all of them. But the one where I consciously put in something from a real-life experience was in “A Capacity for Love” (HP fandom fic). I don’t want to go into detail, but there are characters in the story whose experiences and actions were based on things I had knowledge of in real life.

C: What member do you identify with most?

I am guessing this means which character I identify with most, from the stories I’ve written? Hermione Granger, definitely. From the Sherlock fandom, probably Molly. But I don’t find her an interesting character to write about.

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?

No, I am not into music in that way.

E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?

The most obvious one of my fics to get a sequel would be “The Way to a Man’s Heart” which would naturally be about Sherlock and John’s wedding.

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Nothing specifically comes to mind and I’ve written too many stories to go back through them all and find anything. I think I’m pretty good at dialogue in general and enjoy writing it more than the prose in between. When I write dialogue, I really try to hear the characters/actors saying the words, with inflection and volume changes and speech patterns all of that. I think that makes it work well and feel real, rather than just me putting my own thoughts into the characters’ mouths.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

Mostly from start to finish, but I usually have one or two key scenes that I may jump ahead and write because I want to capture them in the moment. But the problem is, I will always end up having to rewrite them anyway because there are details that come up as I write that I hadn’t anticipated, that will need to be worked in.

H: How would you describe your style?

I have no idea. Probably too wordy.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

For reading, really raunchy PWP. And I suppose for writing as well. I do feel some residual puritanical guilt when I write a PWP.

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

I’ve seen other authors say they don’t want to answer this because they don’t think it’s fair or something, which I don’t understand. Why not? Anyway, an alternate ending for “Revenge Averted”, which is itself an alternate ending of VizardMask’s fic “Best Served Hot”, would be that Sherlock and John come up with a plan to neutralize the threat from Mary without John having to go back to her.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

Sticking to the ones I’ve actually written, probably “A Capacity for Love”, which shows the aftermath of Snape raping Hermione from both of their perspectives. Usually we only see things from the victim’s perspective in those kinds of stories, but I wanted to get into Snape’s head as well. In the Sherlock fandom, I guess “More Earth Than Fire”, which deals with the death of John and Mary’s baby.

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

It’s constant. I never just write a whole first draft, then go back and revise. I re-read and revise every single sentence constantly. Like even writing this entry, I have already gone back through all of my previous responses a couple of times, re-reading and adjusting things. I’ll write a few sentences, then re-read everything from the beginning. Then write a couple more. It makes for extremely slow progress but it’s how my brain works. I can’t leave something untended.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

I have a couple of things that I’ve started that I’ll probably never finish. The one that’s furthest along is a Sherlock/Whisky Tango Foxtrot crossover. I also have an ACD werewolf fic that I started years ago for some Halloween exchange that’s pretty far along. I have probably around 10 other stories as well, in stages from vaguely sketched out to fully outlined to having a couple of scenes written.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

All of my WIP’s! Probably especially the WTF crossover. I really want to read that one. ;)

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

I mean, if it’s a fic, then the characters obviously. They are already a given. I’m going to write about Sherlock and John (or whoever my current muse pairing is). I have some original story ideas too, and there it’s the plot that comes first. I have a harder time coming up with original characters, so it’s unlikely I’ll ever write one of those stories.

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

I like to plot out the entire story before I start writing so that I’m sure I won’t get stuck anywhere. Of course then as I write, things happen that necessitate adjustments to the outline. But yeah, mainly architect because my biggest fear when writing is getting stuck.

Q: How do you feel about collaborations?

I have seen some really brilliant products come out of collaborative writing projects, so clearly some people work really well that way. However, I don’t think I could ever be part of a collaboration, other than as a beta reader.

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

Every time I read a text, it influences me. I don’t have anyone whose style I consciously attempt to emulate, or who I aspire to be like, though.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

For reading? All the favs: Fake relationship, only one bed, roommates.

For writing, I have a soft spot for being in a relationship already without realizing it.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

When I see Coffee Shop AU or Teen AU in the tags of a fic, it turns me off. Although I’ve read quite a few really good ones in those categories, so it’s not like they’re an automatic nope. Just, they make me wary.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

There are too many to name and I don’t want anyone to feel left out. But basically, there are certain authors who I know will always deliver top-quality writing and a highly satisfactory reading experience, regardless of subject matter, fandom, genre, or pairing.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Too hard to choose a specific one. Basically anything by any of those authors referenced in the previous question!

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?

I have a hard time writing to prompts given by other people. So I guess I prefer general ones that I can take in my own direction rather than a tailor-made commission.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Sherlock and John both do it so beautifully. :)

Y: A character you want to protect.

Children, I guess. I have a hard time seeing a child character be hurt.

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

I am okay with it if it is a natural death, such as occurs in retirement fic. I don’t see the point of it in other situations. The whole point of reading fan fiction for me is to have a happier conclusion than in the original.

Anyone who wants to do the thing, feel free to copy and share your own answers! And of course, if anyone wants to ask me one of these about another fic than the ones I chose, please do. :)