#Outline is up to ~13000 words

[verdantglow]

I’m supposed to be working on my outline right now.

Instead I am figuring out Prosaic Wonders Joel’s Patreon tiers & how many people are subbed to each one.

THIS IS NOT AT ALL PLOT RELEVANT.

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS WOULD COME UP.

WHY AM I DOING THIS.

[ofsilentthings]

'The Vampire Ascendant's Wife', a Postmortem

Just some writer thoughts about finishing my longest fanfiction to date!

Thank you for reading and commenting/leaving kudos.

Data and Commentary below~

I started it October 13, 2023 and finished it May 27, 2024.

With 138,915 words it is the longest fic I have ever written.

Each chapter averaged 6945 words. (Though the largest was like 13000 words.) This is unusual for me and I think going forward I'll try to keep each chapter shorter.

Inspiration:

I was inspired mainly by Dracula - mainly by wanting Jonathan Harker and Dracula kiss. Why a two hundred year gap? An arbitrary number but not really - it's how long Astarion was under Cazador's control (give or take a few decades). Besides providing a nice parallel, it was a funny reference to this line from the game:

Astarion: I'll make you pay for everything you've ever done to me! Cazador: I've known you for two hundred years! Haven't I suffered enough?

Planning:

For such a long fic as this, I do a lot of planning. I like to do a vague outline of where I want the fic to go (or even the themes I want to touch upon). When I get to specific chapters I break them down by scenes or even beats. I also did a lot of background planning. I had to know how Rickard could believably raise the performance of three businesses and quickly. I had to know how Astarion was going to become Archduke. And I had to figure out how to make Rickard fall in love with Taviana AND Astarion. Manipulating all these plots was difficult and part of the fun challenge but I think I did okay. Funny enough Henrik's death was not meant to be such a plot point; it was only supposed to be a way to force Rickard into the spotlight. I never intended Henrik to show up himself.

Successes:

I really love Rickard. I love his journey from nervous uncertain man meeting Astarion to the first time, to the last encounter when he tells him the truth and slaps him. I liked my Taviana who balanced over the line of loving and hating Astarion. I liked Astarion, since it was in a slightly different filter than most fics I've seen: one that is not new to power, but complacent. Realities of life (becoming poor) forced him to reach out to new opportunities, mainly Rickard. Whether he was ultimately changed by his time with his chamberlain is dependent upon the ending you prefer.

I think the multiple plots worked for the most part. The financials and social climbing reflected the intimacy of the three main characters, and vice versa. Also I managed to use an auction as a main plot device so that's fun to me.

Failures:

Vaida and her crew did not get a satisfactory ending. I toyed with having Astarion kill her in the final plot chapter but I worried that if Rickard saw that he would be much more antagonistic towards Astarion and not even try to talk to him.

I wish I had given a bit more attention to the businesses towards the end; however the focus on the story had obviously shifted to the three of them so I think its okay. A part of me thinks Astarion's megolomania should have been toned down a little bit, at least to show that he was listening to Rickard, even when he was angry. But I think that's a very minor point that I'd fuss over no matter what.

'Extra features':

Taviana was going to ask Rickard to kill Astarion. But Rickard does not have D&D player levels (A level 0 commoner), so he wouldn't have a chance.

I considered going a power route and having Ilmater himself get involved, making Rickard a Chosen, perhaps a super-powered monk, but again that was a bit more action-oriented than I wanted to go. It also seemed to take away from the personal strength of Rickard. Why should he stand up to Astarion when he can get the power of a god and punch the Ascendant into the sun?

Rickard was going to be kidnapped by undead inside the Ancunin estate during a grand party; that didn't work because I needed Astarion's house to be '''safe''' so that's why it was out in the streets. Part of Rickard's contract was going to include a clause that, at the end of a year (or some other time), Taviana would have the choice to leave Astarion or stay. I decided to omit that simply for simplicity sake. She's a Consort, she never could leave, even if she wanted to.

I had planned on Astarion creating a crisis of undead attacking the undead in waves. He would then 'bring them down' and be seen as a hero. But then I remembered Mystic Carrion probably still would exist and so he had a natural enemy. Taviana Lovers: Loghain, Nicollus, Marius, Elliot, Imogen. Astarion Lovers: Ellyndia, Millicent, Vero, Mathias, Morgan, Andromeda, Irenica, Miriam, Henrik (most of these are video game characters or D&D/original characters) In a similar vein: Absoleth, Sylene, and Lady Murasaki are some of my D&D characters. Jack Jekyllsby Hamstead is one of my husband's characters. Yes, even the boots. Garu is one of my friend's D&D characters.

What's next?

Who knows? I need a mental break. I am busy with a family, a job, and a life and writing so much takes time from that. I want to enjoy the up coming Elden Ring DLC as well as FF14's Dawntrail. I want to read a bunch of books and be inspired. I want to do some painting. I'm even going to start up a Curse of Strahd D&D game (someone has to DM...) But I'll always come back to writing. I love it too much not to. So expect some one-shots, maybe? I am looking at some crossovers as well (Astarion and Micolash WILL BE A THING, there's too much about blood and ascension between them to ignore). Thank you, thank you, thank you lovely readers, each one of you.

[winterrose42]

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

So...tumblr glitched and said I had 65 new notifs for this blog and I was like???? Did they send all of the questions???? I mean I dont mind but gosh- and then it was just tumblr being dumb lmao

Anyway, surprisingly I was asleep! Alkaselzer knocks me out so my sleeping schedule has been almost normal, though the night before I was up til about 3 or 4 separating and adding to a 13000 word wip outline so theres that excitement

[legit-writing-tips]

Legit’s Guide to Outlining - Day 4

If you’ve followed my previous steps in the outlining post - Day 3 being here - you should at this point have the basic structure for your story. So what comes next?

Filling in the details, of course. And today in your outlining journey, we’re going to be focusing on the introductory section of your story. 

Before getting into that, let’s talk about what makes up a good story “structure.” I want to STRESS that this is by no means a rule you have to go by. But for many writers, especially those who have a bit of trouble with pacing, the following advice can be very helpful. (I know it has helped me quite a bit when it comes to creating better story structures.)

For many stories, a good structure includes - 

An introductory section where all the basic elements of the story are, obviously, introduced to the reader. (This includes the reader getting to know the main character, learning the main character’s motivations, some cursory worldbuilding, and the basics of the plot.)

A middle section that includes most of the driving action of the plot, leading up to the “climax” of the story.

An ending section that includes the climax and resolution. At this point, you can tie up the subplots as well, though if you’re writing a series or even if you just don’t want to tie everything up in a neat little bow, you may leave some subplots open.

In general, your intro section and concluding sections will make up about 1/4 each of the story, with the middle section making up about 1/2. AGAIN, and I stress, not a hard and fast rule, but one that can work very well if you need a guide for pacing. 

So, let’s say you’re writing a 50K story for Nano. The intro and ending sections will be roughly 12500-13000 words, with the middle section being about 25K words. 

*Note: Don’t obsess over word count, especially in a first draft. This is just to help you with planning, figuring out where chapters should be placed, etc., - IF that is something you want. Some writers don’t even start with chapters in mind. This is just MY process and something that has helped me.

Planning Your Introductory Section

So, let’s get to that introduction.

By now, you’ve got an “inciting incident” in mind, as well as the introductions to your subplots. For the most part, this will all fall within the introductory section, with the “inciting incident” marking the end point for this section. 

Our inciting incident for this example story is this - 

Turning Point - At this point, our demon detective learns that his former lover is not only back in Las Vegas, but that he is somehow connected to the crime.

So what is going to lead up to this point? I already mentioned that I wanted to introduce the “idea” of the lover and his betrayal before the lover comes back into the story. (That’s part of Subplot 1). I also wanted to introduce the human murder suspect into the story. (Subplot 2). 

Right now, I also want to figure out where my story begins. There are tons of tips out there on figuring that out, so I won’t go into detail. I’ll just say that I don’t want to start with the plot, but I do want there to be an element of action. So how about we start with our demon detective wrapping up a previous case, AND showing our reader that he is, in fact, a demon?

If we make up a chapter or two for each of these plot points, and to introduce the MAIN plot, we’ve already got plenty for a good introductory section - 

Ch. 1 - Demon detective wraps up former case, reader sees he is a demon and learns what that entails. 

Ch. 2 - Demon detective in his daily life, he meets up with his assistant and they end up talking about his past with his former lover. (Figure out a reason for them to have this conversation). At the end of this he gets called in on his next case - the fae princess’s murder.

Ch. 3 - We’re introduced to the fae courts and we learn about the potential for war between the two fae courts if the murder isn’t solved quickly. (For the purposes of this urban fantasy story, we can think of the fae courts as fantasy versions of mafia families).

Ch. 4 - Demon detective starts researching the fae princess, taking him through the fantasy underbelly of the city he lives in. This gives us a good chance to do some worldbuilding. He meets the fae princess’s human lover, who at this point seems very distraught by her death.

Ch. 5 - The demon detective gets a lead on the murderer (we’ll say it comes from something the human said) - someone staying in a motel inhabited by fantasy creatures in the “bad” part of town. He tracks the guy down and it turns out to be his former lover, so we’re introduced to the two. The former lover claims he is being framed, but our demon detective doesn’t know whether to believe him.

And ta-dah! A good introductory section, the ending of which leads us into the main part of the story - the demon detective trying to figure out what’s true and false re: the case. 

Thanks as always for reading, and remember that if you want to support me, you can do so with a small donation at Paypal.me/legitwritingtips - even a small donation helps me keep creating great content and answering your questions! 

[juanlwilliam]

Ryobi R18PS-0 ONE+ 18V Corner Palm Sander Review

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Ryobi R18PS-0 ONE+ 18V Corner Palm Sander

Buy On Amazon

If you’re a woodworking enthusiast, there’s no way to escape the sanding stage of your project.

Different applications call for different sanders. For detailing and finishing work or paint removal, you’ll want something that’s lithe and compact while still packing a decent punch. After today’s Ryobi R18PS-0 ONE+ corner palm sander review, you can determine whether this neat tool would make a smart addition to your toolkit.

A glimpse first at where the Ryobi stands and falls before we drill down further on its core functionality…

Pros

Tailor-made for light and medium sanding, fine finishing and paint removal so highly versatile

Triangular pad means you can angle the Ryobi into tight corners with ease

Weighs a fraction over 2 pounds without the battery so work for long spells without getting fatigued

Remove stock swiftly and efficiently thanks to 1.8mm orbital motion

Highly impressive 22,000 OPM (oscillations per minute) helps with rapid removal of material while also shaking dust from the pad

Lithium+ batteries interchangeable with all your ONE+ cordless tools offer 2 hours of fade-free runtime

Attach your sanding pads stress-free with slick hook-and-loop system

Dust extraction port supplied so hook up to your favorite shop vac

6 sanding sheets thrown in so get to work right out the box

Cons

Bare tool only so no charger included which is a disappointment

Removing the battery is a slightly fiddly undertaking

Lifespan of the charger is called into question

Cordless power tools offer maximum maneuverability but sometimes lack in power. This is not the case with the Ryobi. A potent 5.0 Ah lithium-ion battery gives you a clear 2 hours of runtime. This should be more than enough for most finishing endeavors. You don’t get a charger thrown in but Ryobi sell their ONE+ range as bare tools so you can harness a single battery and charger across 40 or more power and garden tools.

Small and ultra-light at just over 2 pounds, don’t confuse these miniature dimensions and the cordless nature of the sander with a lack of performance. The sander delivers in fine style. Oscillating at 22,000 OPM, this power translates to a double-win… Not only will you have sufficient grunt for most light and medium finishing jobs, the rapid undulation also shakes away dust and debris from the pad letting you work unencumbered by sawdust.

Thinking of the dust and mess kicked up when you’re sanding, there’s a dust port included. Connect the Ryobi to your preferred shop vac and keep things in the workshop safe and comfy

The 1.8mm orbit action is designed so you can sand away material at a respectable rate without needing to apply too much pressure to achieve this. Not only will you enjoy a top-notch finish, your sanding pads will last longer into the bargain.

Attaching sanding pads can be a grind with detail sanders. The hook-and-loop system in place means you can swap out your sandpaper without breaking your stride. All you need to do is peel away the used sandpaper and slip in a replacement. You’ll get 10 pieces of sandpaper chucked in (4 x 120, 3 x 80 and 3 x 60 grit).

Unlike some competing detailing sanders, the Ryobi comes with a fixed base so you won’t enjoy the same flexibility.

The only other real negatives worth reporting concern battery and charger issues…

As we pointed out, rather than bemoaning the lack of charger, think of it as a saving over time if you plan to buy more Ryobi tools. You won’t end up with a drawer fall of needless chargers as one fits all. The charger itself, though, sometimes gives up the ghost prematurely. Removing the battery is also awkward.

Overall, the minor downsides are more than compensated for. The 3-year limited warranty also offers decent protection in the event of unexpected malfunction so you can buy without a headache.

Final Word

Ryobi has a hard-earned reputation for producing rock-solid power tools at an affordable price point. The R18PS-0 ONE+ is no exception.

Finishing work and paint removal calls for a different order of sander, something small and nimble. This stylish little triangular beauty will serve you well for all your fine finishing needs or paint removal while allowing you all the freedom of a cordless tool.

Pop one on your shortlist and you will not be disappointed!

Drop us a line if you have any power tool related queries or feedback. We love to hear from our readers and we’re very responsive to messages.

Make sure you come back soon to check out our upcoming list of the 10 best detail sanders on the market. We’ll outline 10 of the most effective tools for the job and tip you off to a sander you should avoid!

Review Table

Ryobi R18PS-0 ONE+ 18V Corner Palm Sander Review

A potent 5.0 Ah lithium-ion battery gives you a clear 2 hours of runtime. This should be more than enough for most finishing endeavors$$$

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