#and thank you for the complements!

[autumnhortsnort]

Hello coauthor! A Residuum reader here. One thing I really like about your comic is how the consequences of the characters' actions feel so plausible, but what stands out to me the most is the pacing in how they're presented throughout the story. Do you have any tips for structuring a plot? Every time I try to outline mine, it feels a bit incoherent, and the scenes don’t seem to flow well together. I’d appreciate any advice 🐢

best advice? Write the whole outline down as much and as far as you can, doesn't matter if it makes sense, that's for editing you to figure out. Then edit the ever-loving daylights out of it, add in connecting actions, and take out things that don't work. Residuum has had Five different drafts, with major tweaking as we go. The outline is not set in stone.

Also don’t share it outside of friends, that can make you feel pressured to stick to (the previous plot) even when it doesn’t work for how your story has progressed. There’s a reason we didn’t share any of the potential endings when we were still trying to figure out where the story was going. When the first arc was being posted we had an idea of the plot til about halfway through arc 4, but we didn’t actually have a concrete ending.

how we structure a plot (and do pacing)

Write out your main plot points and then write what the characters need to do to make that event happen. We basically do the plot mountain structure, but for each arc (there are 4 of them) we tend to make the climax of each arc into turning points or decisions that the main characters have to make that they cannot undo. here's a good article to read about structuring plots. (Note! This is for the broad spanning major plot beats, each update actually gets written as needed, they aren't written into the outline.)

When it comes to character decisions it’s more about, “what would make the character do this?” rather than, “would the character do this?” You can make characters do things they normally wouldn’t if you give them the right incentive.

For the pacing with residuum, because it’s serialized, we try to have something progress with each update. Either you learn something new, the plot has progressed (aka the status quo has changed), or there's set up/foreshadowing for later, most updates actually have all three. When writing in a serialized format (each chapter getting its own release) it’s a good idea to treat each update as a complete chunk. Try asking yourself: what is the goal for this part? are you using this update for anything actually important? are you conveying anything new and/or important to the plot? Is this something you want to focus on? Are you writing this to meet audience expectations or because you want to? There are parts where residuum gets almost no interaction but, importantly, those parts still meet our individual update rules. If you're writing for audience engagement you are going to get discouraged from writing long spanning plots very quickly. The audience doesn’t know whats coming, so they won’t interact with anything that doesn’t have their current blorbo™, even if it’s plot important.

for how we make the consequences make sense

Make things make logical sense? honestly i don't what to tell you.

We read. a. lot. I used to read 400 books over a school year, beaze has read about 13.6K fanfics on Ao3 over the course of 4 years. plus a ton of manhwa and manga, and that doesn’t include nonfiction, stuff from sites outside of Ao3, course assigned books, reddit fiction, royal road. Most of how we understand and structure plots is instinctual because we fire hosed our brains with them for years.

I'd recommend watching watching Overly Sarcastic Production’s Trope Talks, and reading stuff that's not rise related, as well as researching nonfiction stuff that's relevant to what you want to write we are at a place where we aren’t writing the outline anymore, just editing it if needed. We use the outline structure to make each update because it gives us a objective for the update, and gives us a road map for when to place the set up for future updates. But if you struggle to use outlines you can just… not use them. Garden writing is a valid writing strategy, I use it for one shot AU’s of residuum.

For long spanning stories written garden style the first draft can be your outline. Just edit and flesh it out once you’ve written it.

[little-pup-pip]

hi there! i love your work, you have such an eye for color!! i was wondering, could you do a "sick by the seaside" board? sort of like the hospital in 'the wind rises', just cozy old-fashioned care. big blankets, bay windows, warm veggie soup, all those vibes!! thank you kindly 🌊🐚🥣🛌🐚🌊

Here you go!!

[crocsfroggo]

study..? w flirty doods

[canisalbus]

Fanart of Ludovica and her unnamed girlfriend! I based her girlfriend off a Gordon Setter, one of my favourite dog breeds!

Also, cowboy Vasco and Ludovica

.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I haven't read these books at all, but your art is so fun and cute that I like seeing your comics a lot regardless. Fantastic Silly Little Guy energy.

Thank you for enjoying my silly little guys and my comics B*)

[stargirlstabber]

Hello! I'm sorry if I'm being too much but um will you do a part two of TF141 accusing reader falsely of being a traitor? No pressure or anything!!! I just really ate up the idea and how well you wrote it!

no no, don't apologize sweetie. there definitely will be a part two. but uhhhh, i don't know when :)

happy to hear you liked it hihi☺️

[disposal-blueeee]

doodles

edgar vargas and squee by johnen vasquez

scriabin by zarla-s

[citrus-sours]

I like Henry Hotline bcuz he's SOOO clearly sexy bait, and that's so funny, like objectively mocking the trope of people always finding a horror game character to get horny over. But I love him because he's just a dude with a nasty ass headache. Let's take ibuprofen together ❤️

[arithestrawberry]

My partner saw something in the shape kinda like an ass and limited and went “look! It’s just like yours!” And soap would absolutely do this. I stand by it. And for a girl whose fav is John. I definitely am marrying a Johnny. (And I love him. So what.)

[coquelicoq]

just got a thank-you card specifically for a christmas card. like, this woman (my dad's best friend) sent me a christmas card, then i sent her a christmas card, then she sent me a card thanking me for the christmas card. here is what she wrote:

Thank you for the best belly laugh of 2024. The Fucking Deer card is the hit on Christmas card wall. I will keep it FOREVER and put it up every year. So from now on it will always be the FIRST card up! (and the last one down!)

here is the card in question:

[ID: Outside of a Fresh Frances greeting card, illustrated by Demi Schlehofer. The card has a repeating pattern like you might see on a Christmas sweater, featuring reindeer and fir trees. Five of the reindeer are standing alone. There are also three reindeer couples having sex, with one reindeer mounting the other. /end ID]

the message printed on the inside of the card read:

Oh deer! Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

in addition to which i had handwritten:

Help. I bought this card thinking it was a nice holiday sweater/cross stitch theme, only to discover when I got home that those reindeer are definitely getting busy. I was only looking at the reindeer that are just standing there alone but there is reindeer erotica mere centimeters away. Kinda makes sense to do this through the medium of cross stitch I guess...it comes pre-pixelated. Anyway, I have this card now and I'm going down my list of people I know trying to think who would not take this in one of the multiple possible wrong ways to take this, and I landed on you. So, congrats for being the recipient/lucky winner of the fucking reindeer card, I guess??? [paragraph of responses to specific things she had said in her Christmas card] Keep on keepin' on, and remember, reindeer babies gotta come from somewhere. Happy holidays! [my name]

[binary-bird]

just saw your latest oc template post for david and it was so wild seeing your tags about how he's been an oc for nearly a decade because i ran into david via your hamlet comics in high school while we were doing hamlet!! and that was uhhh also nearly a decade ago so it's kinda crazy to learn that those two events happened so close to each other! i think there's been some weird coincidences too, like i had a first year uni essay on "o what a rogue and peasant slave am i", and you published your comic for that monologue around the same time. reading your comic blew my mind made the experience of writing that essay so much richer! i really do have to thank you for it. it's been a real joy to see your art for the past few years!!

:O!! the stars aligned... what a lovely coincidence! while the monologue comic was created for a competition, i'm really happy to hear it contributed to your essay writing process :,D

[yeye23]

Gyfkyfkyfyifoyd DUDE!!!! DUDE DUDE!!!!!! YOU ANIMATICS AND STORYBOARDS ARE FANTASTIC!!!!!! WTHHHHH

YOU ARE AMAZING AND YOUR WORK IS AMAZING!!!

[kuromi-hoemie]

i looked so cute today too ♡⁠

[hide-your-bugs-away]

been thinking about these photos of Alan and Eric backstage at the Scene Club in London non-stop for the past two weeks........

[raggedypina]

*skitters out of your basement* haii Pina!! I just wanted to say that you're amazing! I love your art and your fanfics! Im a big fan of yours and I'm so happy that we could be friends <3333 *skitters back into your basement*

Sammy I don't have a basement!! Where did you come from and where did you go??!?! Sammy!! Sammy!!!!!! Come back here!!!

[medichamcham]

Very normal about the fact that you've suggested Rose twirling his hair as a nervous trait. Because it's both silly as a gesture but 100% makes sense, down to that one loose strand being curlier than the rest of his hair because he bothers it so much <3

YESYESYESYES hehehe its his built in stim toy. :3c i adore thinking about his hair twirling so much!!! i think its not just something he does when he's nervous, it's also the physical equivalent of saying "like" or "uhm" for him,,, the hair noodle is Essential!!!!!