#but also yAYYY plot advancement

[un-pearable]

PK CHAPTER IN MASKS WITHIN MASKS AFTER AGES 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

PK CHAPTER IS ALSO THE [SPOILERS] REVEAL

[gracebethartacc]

EXTREMELY extremely rushed doodles but I’ve been thinking abt rewrite au Ashas friends and by that I mean I killed all of them off and only kept Dahlia and Simon bc they are the only ones I remembered that advance the plot and also because I like them so yayyy :3👍

[ryukisanemochild]

struggling with your plot?

okay, I know I'm not the only writer who struggles A LOT with plot. like, I have the characters, worldbuilding is done, I also have a begging and an end, but what the hell is gonna happen in the story itself?

here's my tip for planning your whole story very easily! it worked incredibly well for me (I plotted in a week a very complex story that I’ve been struggling with for months). it might not suit everyone but maybe it will work for you!

(also sorry in advance if there are mistakes, I’m not fluent in english.)

okay, first, try to have a begging and an end. if you don't, it's fine, but having an idea of the end will really help. also don't put too much thinking into it, it's just a direction to help you know where you’re going. also you can totally change it later if you find a better idea.

now, think of your story as a series.

I mean a series like Games of Thrones, Sex Education, Rick and Morty or whatever you're into. don’t worry, you will come back to the novel format once you're done, but this should help you to build your plot.

first of all decide how many seasons you want your story to have. this means dividing your story into big parts. for this you only need to have a vague idea of your story. if you have none at all, make up one, even if it's poor. you can for example have something like “season 1: Anna and Lucie fall in love. season 2: they confessed to each other, agreed not to see each other again but fail every time. season 3: one of them is getting married, the other one decides to stop the marriage.” in this case the ending is the two characters finally getting together - or not. the most important is to know how and when each season begins and ends.

once you have your seasons, decide how many episodes you want in each one. it's better if every season have the same number of episodes, but it's not an obligation.

now let’s focus on the first season. decide how every episode begins and ends, and what happens in it - without to much details. again, if you really don’t know what could happen, try to make up a story, no matter if it’s good or not. example : Anna meets Lucie at the office, and they immediately feel attracted to each other. a few weeks later they go on a business trip together, during which they get to know each other better. on the last night of the trip, they’re both drunk and they kiss. that’s it, no need to be more precise! one sentence per episode is enough. do this for your whole first season and write everything down. for me it’s easer to plan this on paper. so i made a line for each season, and then divided it in five episodes because that’s what works for my story. i wrote the global event in one or two word (ex: ”they meet”, “trip part 1”, “trip part 2 + kiss” etc) on the top of the line, and how the episode ends (ex: Anna receives a text from Lucie: “we need to talk”). for me it looks like that:

now it’s time to add details. try to picture each episode it in your head as if you were watching it. this is really helpful to me; for example it’s easier for me to imagine the first scene of the first episode as if it was a movie than to write the first words. write down what happens in the episode, but with more details than in the last step. you can extend each sentence to a short paragraph. to get back to our example: how do Anna and Lucie meet? what is their first interaction? what happens next? this, again, is pure imagination. you can invent anything. and don't worry if it's cliché or not as good as you'd like to be. remember it's only a first draft of your plot! also think about the characters: how would they act in this precise situation? what situation could make them evolve? when in doubt, put them in uncomfortable, painful or any extreme situation. this should put a bit of action into the story. do this for every episode until the end of the season. also, try think of a cliffhanger for every episode's end. doesn't have to be a big one, small revelations are good. (example: Anna learns that Lucie is her new neighbor.) the last episode’s end should have a big cliffhanger. (ex: a few days after Anna and Lucie’s first kiss, Anna discovers that Lucie is engaged.) it can also be helpful to decide the approximate length of your episodes, so you know how much action you can put into each one. on paper, for me, this step looks like that:

congrats! you now know the big lines of your first part of the story. but it’s not finished yet.

once you've roughly plotted the first season, it's time to get to the subplots. subplots add action and complexity to your plot. (if you don’t want any subplot in your story, you can skip the next two steps.) each subplot should be based on one character or a group of characters. do the same thing you did for the main plot: just invent a story. of course it is easier to say than to do, but remember it doesn’t have to be good. you can even take a story from another book or movie, and you’ll change it later. write this story down. for example: Anna’s sister just lost her job, so she decides to go back to her childhood dreams and open a restaurant. you can then develop on and on about every difficulty she meets on the way to achieve her dream. make her have money issues, meet new people, argue Anna who doesn’t believe she can make it... it’s the same process as for the main story: make a short paragraph about the big lines of the story, and then expand each sentence to another short paragraph. remember it’s not your main story, but write it as if it is. you can write this subplot from begging to end, or only to the end of the first season.

then divide this new story into episodes. again, think of the begging of the episode, and try to have a cliffhanger or a complicated situation at the end. write down what happens in each episode just like you did for the main plot.

repeat the last two steps as many times as you want. i think having three subplots is enough; if you choose to have more it may take some focus off the main plot, and will also make your story more complex. but of course that’s entirely up to you to chose! to keep the example of our love story, you can add the story of Anna’s best friend, who has feelings for Anna’s sister, and as a third subplot, show one of Anna’s coworkers who is extremely jealous of her and would make everything to destroy her life. making links between your subplots will add tension to your story; and of course, each subplot will add interest to the main plot. the link between a subplot and the main plot doesn’t have to be obvious from the beginning, but they all have to get together at the end. (also, when you start a story, you have to finish it. so no matter if it’s a happy ending, a heartbreaking one or in-between, each subplot should have a clear end.) write everything down! looks like this for me:

now, last step. let’s go really into the details. make a timeline of every episode, and write precisely what happens, from begging to end, as if you were writing the script for this episode to be filmed. this is the moment where you decide which scene is following which scene, how many space you want your subplots to take... for example, write what happens in the first scene: we see Anna at the office, having lunch. her friend who tells her there is a new director. right at this moment, Lucie comes in. she’s the new director. her eyes meet Anna’s eyes. Anna blushes. “oh no, she’s hot”. cut. next scene. we see Anna’s sister, crying. she’s just been fired. but then suddenly a picture falls from her bag. it’s her, age six, a cooker hat on the head. she smiles when she sees the picture, and wipes her tears from her face... etc etc! do this to every episode, take all the time you need to do this.

now you already have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen in every episode of your first season. yayyy! at this point, ideas should start to come more easily. links will appear between your different plots and different characters, and this will bring even more ideas for plot twists, secrets, revelations... this is a great moment to go back and read everything you’ve written, as your story probably evolved since you started. don’t be afraid to change what you wrote, cut off or add some parts. as always, when in doubt, think about your characters. what would they do? what could happen to them that would make them grow up and learn? what relations are the most interesting to develop?

once you’ve finished the first season, go back to the first step, and do it all again for your second season, your third etc. of course you can have only one or two seasons, or for example decide each season will be a book for your novel series. again: this method worked for me. take what works for you, leave what doesn’t!

now, it’s time to write. forget the series (unless you have decided to send your series to Netflix), go back to the novel format, and write. write! this is also a very difficult and scary thing to do, but it should be easier now that you know what happens next. also don’t forget that everything you’ve planed can be changed at any moment! this is just a tool to help you. so get a cup of tea/coffee/anything strong, stop procrastinating, and just start writing.

your story is going to be amazing.

[eerna]

“me freshman year of high school? yeah thats a protag” PLEASE elaborate

You got it. I shall now dramatically overshare how cliche my first high school was. God I went to a different place writing this. Watch me wake up tomorrow and delete it in panic, but just for tonight, let us relish in the drama

So, at 15 I was weirder, more shy and unaware of my own worth, had a resting bitchface and a 500 page book in hands at any given moment, had like 2 friends, kept a detailed diary, wanted to become an architect, had a not-like-other-girls mentality, and looked EXACTLY my age. Here, you enter high school based on your academic success and career path, and none of my friends made it into my Wow We’re So Smart school, which means that year I had the opportunity for a completely fresh start. I did it by spending the year growing into my very feminine nature, learning how to break my Cold Honors Student exterior and actually make friends.  What a great premise for a high school drama heroine.

Drama plot no 1 was the BOY PLOT YAYYY but not really. Looking back, there was 5 recurring boys interested in me, and it ranged from childhood friends whose advances I was completely oblivious to, to jock classmates who hit on me head on for the first time in my life. But, being your everyday YA heroine, I didn’t really get it, because WHY would ANYONE be interested in borin ol me??? I must be SEEING THINGS~~ Enter resident Mean Girl- she sat behind me in class, our surnames were next to each other so we’d always get paired for assistant duty, and had her gang of annoying rich fashion girls who thought they were better than everyone else even though no one else did. She dated both of the jocks during the year, and the second one became her serious boyfriend for the rest of the year. Now, I have no idea what exactly went down, but apparently she couldn’t get over her boyfriend(s) paying attention to me, so she started doing the typical Mean Girl spiel. She gossiped, mocked, threw eraser particles at me, cut my hair when I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t take it silently, but I didn’t exactly fight her, either, because, um….. Her precious boyfriend was abusive. We all knew it. We all pitied her. What was I supposed to do but ignore those petty provocations.

Drama plot no 2 was when one of my middle school friend started acting like a movie cliche, too, and was personally offended I chose not to do it myself. Without going into detail, at the beginning of the year I was convinced I had to stay with her or she would do something horrible to herself, but she was a horribly unhealthy influence on me, and my heart was broken when we parted ways. (She’s great now btw!! She found help and is happy and content) 

Drama plot no 3 was that, the longer the year went on, the more I realized I hated being there. Among the students, I was known as the smartest kid of the year, but suddenly I was facing- *shudders*- S E X I S M. My teachers were ignoring me, the rest of the Smart Squad TM (fully composed of boys) did too. Once we got a special assignment for math, and I uncharacteristically teamed up with the boys to solve it. I was the one to crack it, only to discover they took my work and presented it as their own, and I had no proof to go against a gaggle of teachers’ pets. 

Drama plot no 4 was just a lot of parties and going clubbing for the first time, ya know, the music montage parts of movies except it alternated between me having fun and crying in the bathroom bc I kept getting overwhelmed. I never got further than tipsy, though, so I don’t have a corresponding story for that part of YA experience, sorry :///

There were a lot of small things too, like the time a friend shared a hotel room with the jock bf during a school trip and he kicked him out to spend a wonderful night with the Mean Girl, so he joined our sleepover and there were like 6 of us in one small bed and we were all cramped but happy. That same night we had a forbidden party in our room, and had lookouts for security and secret signals and had to hide from lights being shined through our window. 

First day of school, I realized I already knew Mean Girl’s best friend, but not because I’d met her before or even seen her picture, but because one of my middle school friends knew her and her descriptions throughout the years were incredibly vivid (she hated her guts and went on rants about her ugly nose mole - which was not that large - and her inability to stop talking about her sister - during her “tell something about yourself” she showed us a note her sister, who’d graduated from our school, left in her pencil case - and how annoying her trumpet voice was - self explanatory). There was that time a friend’s friend asked me for nudes and, after a small heart attack, I spammed him with pictures of gorillas in heat.

Then, the obligatory sex ed episode, when the Mean Girl and her squad, being the only sexually active girls, bragged high and low abt some stuff I knew wasn’t biologically correct but had no interest to argue. I also found friends who liked anime, and we went to local cons together and had a blast. On my sixteenth birthday, I returned from the lunch break only to find the entire class (or most of them, I guess) standing around a desk and singing Happy Birthday, as a cupcake with a candle waited for me, and ngl I cried a lil bit. For New Years’ I had to attend three parties throughout the night bc I didn’t expect to have any plans, so I accepted three different offers without thinking (funny story, I didn’t get the photos from one of them until a month ago. Talk about a blast from the past). The first day after spring break, when a friend intercepted me as I was entering the classroom and requested me to close my eyes. I refused, very suspicious and caught by surprise, but he kept perstering me until I reluctantly did it, only to find an Eiffel Tower keychain in my hand- a gift from his vacation.

And the triumphant ending of my YA story, the conclusion of the character arc, came in October of the following year, when I realized I was so successful in reinventing myself my life flipped upside down and I decided I was more suited to a life of pursuing art and small pleasures than having to spend my life proving myself to people who didn’t make me happy. It was a tearful goodbye, no one really understood why I did it, but I transferred to music school, and from then on, my life became HSM and was like ten times less dramatic and wayyyy happier. The end

[pertinax--loculos]

Happy STS! Can you tell me more about your WIP?

Thank you! (I am late, and I'm blaming computer trouble today but the truth is I'm useless yayyy!)

Ahaha yes, I do need to do something about that. However, have the unadulterated truth:

My current WIP is in its infancy. I have a *very* vague idea for the plot, and currently a handful of characters. Two of those (Dash and Raleigh) I've been playing around with in different universes (all my own), and I've finally found one where I can take all the bits of them that have emerged and basically combine them. That was the jumping off point.

Stats so far: it's contemporary fantasy, a world similar to ours after a War between humans and what they derogatively call the brainbent, or people with advanced mental abilities. Some of those abilities are genetically dominant, and the humans (placeholder name: fundies, for fundamentalists and also they're rich) therefore have tried to stamp them out. They're using religious ideology as an excuse (the Bible says man was created X way) and have more or less regressed to the more toxic tenets of fundamentalism as a result.

The brainbent (placeholder name for themselves: psycheberal, portmanteau of psychologically liberal) are quietly gathering forces, putting a lot of faith in a shadowy and perhaps mythical figure known as Dantalion, supposedly a Coercer - a very rare type of psycheberal that has the ability to control minds.

Current plot is essentially Raleigh meeting Dash, who's a Partner (placeholder name for supportive of the psycheberal) and Raleigh as a result beginning to question his beliefs, just as someone who claims to be the fabled Dantalion emerges and begins to encourage the nascent rebellion.

(This is why I don't have a WIP page yet; I'm horrible at condensing information. :D)

But yes! That is the main gist of what I have so far. Obviously there's other characters/themes/bits and pieces I haven't mentioned here, but with any luck it's enough to pique some interest! :D

Thanks for the question! ^_^

[wigwurq]

WIG REVIEW: ANT-MAN AND THE WASP

Ok, yes: this movie has been out for weeks and weeks and I’m super late in seeing it but you KNOW I had to find a work around for MoviePass’s so not Raven “peak pricing” nonsense. And that meant waiting until this movie could be seen for $0. Yay! I did it!

Ant-Man is my favorite of the Marvel Universe movies and not only because PAUL RUDD but also because it’s scrappy and funny and just a good heist movie. The sequel is just as fun and but how could it not be because both are directed by the man who gifted us with not only Bring it On but also DOWN WITH LOVE:

NEVER FORGET THIS MOVIE MASTERPIECE EVER.

Back to Ant-Man and the Wasp.... like all movies in the MCU: OH GOD THE WIGS. Let’s discuss.

We begin with a horrific flashback to Evangeline Lilly’s original Ant-Man wig. I didn’t do a wig review for the first film because this wig gave me such nightmares yet here we are again. I don’t know who thought this was a good idea but thankfully for us, this wig is shortlived.

We move forward to “present day” (whatever that means in the MCU?) where Evangeline ditches the wig for this lewk which I can only describe as flatiron purgatory. Honestly, Evangeline is the weakest link in this (and any other) movie and can best be described as a humorless athleisurewear model but at least she wasn’t wearing a terrifying wig the whole time?

We then move on to the true star of this movie: MICHELLE EFFING PFEIFFER! Yes, she has a terrible terrible brown Farrah Fawcett wig but LOOK AT THAT FACE. Marvel has the money and technology to do a lot of things, but obviously the most important technological advancement it has gifted us with is being able to bring Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas’s faces back to their 1980s selves. Which begs the question: why can’t Marvel just make a bunch of 1980s Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas movies? 

We don’t need another Avengers movie; we need another Married to the Mob and Witches of Eastwick. Make it happen, Marvel! YOU HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY.

Anyway we learn from said flashback that Michelle Pfeiffer has been lost for 30 years in the quantum realm, which is this psychedelic subatomic disco swamp. So basically the entire plot of this movie is: SAVING MICHELLE PFEIFFER. I have never been so on board for the plot of a MCU movie before.

Along the way, we need a villain (I guess?) and this time it’s this bish, who is a straight up ghost witch (yayyys?) with really dried out bleached ends. Her whole deal is walking through walls in an off-brand Star Wars outfit and complaining about constant chronic pain. Debbie Downer, huh? Yes: that is a lot so I guess you don’t have time for hair maintenance but you do have time to maintain your eyeliner so...priorities?

Oh and she also sleeps in a huge olde timey railroad light! That a very corduroy-clad Laurence Fishburne made! That is pretty cool and you know this is gonna be the new bespoke Brooklyn bed trend now. 

Anyway, after a lot of car chases and excellent use of Michael Pena and Paul Rudd in varying sizes (all perfect), Michael Douglas finally takes a Jacques Cousteau submarine into that subatomic disco swamp to save Michelle Pfeiffer. If you were wondering if you age in the quantum realm, the answer is: yes? I mean, Michelle Pfeiffer stil looks GOOD but who decided on this crazy old lady wig??? MICHELLE EFFING PFEIFFER DESERVES BETTER. And those raggedy old clothes on her? NO THANK YOU. YOU KNOW THOSE DISCO ALGAE WOULD HAVE FIXED A GURLFRIEND UP. Side note: I still have many unanswered questions about the quantum realm, mainly: how do you eat there? How do you pee there? How do you sleep there?  And where do you buy and maintain flawless makeup there? PLEASE ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS, INTERNET. PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

So after being rescued, out of the goodness of her own heart, Michelle Pfeiffer decides to fix that ghost witch villain THROUGH THE SHEER POWER OF BEING MICHELLE EFFING PFEIFFER (it works!) I cannot say the same for this terrifying wig!

Don’t worry: it gets worse! Michelle and Michael decide to find happiness on some beach and truly WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS WIG. The only explanation I can find is that somehow Michelle Pfeiffer requested to look like the old lady version of Winona Ryder in a Tim Burton movie but I’m pretty sure no one would wear this wig ON PURPOSE. LEAST OF ALL MICHELLE PFEIFFER. FOR SHAME.

VERDICT: DOESN’T WURQ