#worldbuilding this thing better for second draft

[lumafly]

Trying to design main character for Book1 and want to make her outfit extremely practical for travelling/sleeping outside in a desert while also being inspired by african/saharan cultures (Reef inspo is not 1:1, nothing specific, this is not Earth) and also keeping the theme post-apocalyptic so mixing hand-made textiles with futuristic aspects. Harder to redesign the human cast than I thought.

(For B1 human clothing context- nothing can be mass produced or automated but the fabric/materials/tools/etc are all there and are traded between towns easily. It leaves room to be completely personal per character since everything has to be made from scratch but does need to stay within the realms of 'this had to be made by hand by a living person' so it has to be efficient/practical in terms of how it is used and if it is worth making- ie no capes or flashy garments , but yes to hoods and scarfs because sand, and yes to small accessories because they wouldn't take as much time or resources)

[taswritesstuff]

things i've learned about writing (from writing essays)

this is an expanded version of a post originally posted to my instagram account. for the original post, click here.

1: get your ideas out in the first draft

your first draft isn't supposed to be good. in fact, it probably won't be good. that's not what it's for - it's there to give you a start on getting your story written down. write down all your ideas. absolutely brain dump onto your document. it won't, and doesn't have to, sound good. it just has to make enough sense that you can understand what's happening when you go back to edit your first draft later.

your second+ drafts can focus on removing unnecessary information, combining sentences, and making things flow better. for your first draft, don't focus on transition words. if you don't know how to write something, put brackets describing what should go there (i.e. [fight scene here]) and move on.

2: assume your reader doesn't care

your readers aren't going to care about your story unless you give them a reason. to make your readers care about your story, you need to care. if you ever find yourself getting bored while writing, your reader is going to get bored too. change the boring scene. remove it. change the parts of your story that will make your readers put your book down.

similarly, make sure your readers don't get confused. sure, everything about your story - the characters, the worldbuilding, the names of things - is obvious to you, but your reader is learning it as they read your book. make sure you don't confuse your readers with an overload of worldbuilding or too many unexplained name drops, because a confused reader can easily turn into an uninterested reader who doesn't finish your story.

now, that's not to say you can't have lots of worldbuilding or name drops in your story - just make sure everything is explained clearly or the explanations are spread out over time to keep them from being too much all at once. this way your reader can keep better track of the story and its world.

3: when in doubt, plot

if you ever get stuck somewhere, do some plotting - even if you usually don't. writing down what you want/intend to include in the next parts of your story are a great way to brainstorm and get yourself reinvested in the scene you're working on.

this is also a good way to be productive without writing. when you're outlining, you're still working on your story. sure, you may still have to heavily edit and remove parts of your story that were in the outline, but outlines aren't perfect. sometimes you may have to ignore them altogether. the important things are making progress and maintaining interest in your story.

4: write whenever you can

yes, even when you don't feel like writing. some days, writing doesn't go as smoothly. some days, you don't feel like writing. this can make the task feel daunting. if you can get into the shitty first draft mindset, it can be easier to let go of all your anxieties and just write. no matter how bad this writing is, you're still getting closer to finishing your book.

this can also apply to plotting - sometimes, your outline will suck. hey, it's still progress! just get something on that page.

5: set deadlines

did you know that people actually do their best work when on a deadline? this is because deadlines prevent people from overthinking their writing. sure, spend a lot of time writing and editing and perfecting your story, but don't spend too much time. overthinking your story and overediting are real problems that can make your story worse.

so, set deadlines to motivate yourself. make them as difficult or as easy to meet as you want - whether your goal relates to word count (ex. "i'm going to write 1000 words this week.") or some other type of end goal (ex. "i'm going to finish chapter 7 this month."), it's a push in the right direction.

finally, give yourself a reward for meeting your goal! over time, these rewards can motivate you enough that your deadlines develop into habits that help you write consistently!

thank you for reading!

if you found this helpful and want to support me, please head over to my instagram (@taslo.writes). i post writing advice, book reviews, oc/wip content, and more 3 times per week, and i've also started posting reels when i feel like it. thanks!

[supersoakerfullofblood]

Beta Reading, Workshopping, and Peer Editing for Indie Writers: a Guide

Beta reading is a term you might hear tossed out as a vague buzzword, kind of like how people talk about "character development" and "worldbuilding"; I've made a bunch of posts to demystify words in that latter category, but beta reading is a different type of term. Where those latter words and their ilk are terms of craft, things we can discuss in theory ("this is how I think characters are developed best"), beta reading is about a novel after its first draft and first wave-ish of edits. Pretty much everything before and after the production of a novel or story is purely up to what works best for the writer, so this post will introduce beta reading if it's new to you, and I'll give you my process if you want to tinker with it!

Beta reading is when interested readers work through your polished manuscript and make workshop comments so you can make an extra wave of edits. Publishing houses usually have two waves of this type of reading--alpha reading (AR) and beta reading (BR). If you can find enough people to alpha read for you (and you want alpha readers), go for it! But if you're confident in your grammar, your ability to craft a scene and characters, and the other formalities of creative writing, alpha reading isn't a requirement (as an indie. If you ever query your work to a house, it'll probably go through alpha reading).

Alpha reading is to catch grammar and syntax slips, mischaracterizations, character development that doesn't add up, excesses of adverbs and adjectives, and other craft faux-pas that the average reader wouldn't catch. Your alpha readers should pretty exclusively be other writers.

Beta reading is to gauge what your audience is thinking or feeling while they read your work. If your beta readers want to make alpha reading comments ("I don't feel like [character] would do that here"), that's A-okay, especially if you didn't have alpha readers, but that shouldn't be your chief concern with your betas. These are your audience surrogates! The job of beta readers is to tell you what they think or feel: "I like this," "I don't like this"; "This paragraph hit me hard"; "This word is confusing"; etc. If they add more words to their comments, that's A-okay ("I like this because these words go well together" or "This word is confusing--does it mean X or Y?") but not necessary! If your beta readers are your audience and not people who really get how writing works, then you should be taking any reasonings in their comments as loose, loose suggestions. Maybe those words that go well together to one reader feel, as you look at them a second time, cliche. Or perhaps the confusing nature of a word or phrase was by design. In any case, try to see your beta readers as a "live audience reaction" and not a "live reactionary critique."

One aside about alpha/beta reading: "this is bad" and "this is good" comments are toxic and should be avoided at all costs. Tell your readers to avoid these before they start writing. No good can come from these. Even "I don't like this" and "I like this" are worlds better, though still not great. But absolutely warn your readers against using objective blanket statements like "good/bad" as they read.

Now that we've laid the foundations, I'll go into my own process so hopefully everything above makes more sense.

Before I give my manuscript to beta readers, I go through 2-3 waves of revision on my own. After I finish my first draft, I wait about a month to let the dust settle, to gain at least a little emotional distance from the project so I can look at it a little more objectively. Then, I read it through, revising for content: cut this scene, add a scene here, chop paragraphs and sentences, add paragraphs and sentences, move this chapter here, make sure this character actually functions as he should in the narrative, etc. These are my macro edits.

Then I let it sit a week or two and go into line editing: punctuation and syntax, word choice, tweaking figurative language, etc. Close pruning of your work. Filing your nails after you've clipped them.

The third read-through is at a normal reading pace, as if you were a reader, to catch anything that may have slipped past during your close edits and revisions. This third read-through is likely the first time you've read your manuscript as it should be read--a book! This step, then, is a victory lap, but it's also one last troubleshoot. You might not find the errors in a computer program until you run the program. So too it is with writing.

This is a lot of work! You might want to relegate these tasks to your readers, but DO NOT!!! If you're still heavily revising and editing your work, don't let your readers to the table. This is your work and your story, and outside influence will stray it from what you want. Own this. Buckle down. Read.

Once you've got your polished draft, it's time to contact your readers! I would recommend 4-6 readers total unless you think you can handle more cooks in your kitchen at a time (I cannot). I typically just ask some of my friends to beta for me. Here's an example text:

"Hey all! I finished that book about church camp a while ago and was wondering if you'd beta read for me! Basically, I'd just need you to read through the book and make comments in the sidebar whenever you like something, don't understand something, are excited or intrigued by something, or other general impressions. You can comment however often or little you feel comfortable with--some people make one comment a chapter, others make multiple comments a page--anything works great. Really all you shouldn't comment are blanket statements of "this is bad" or "this is good," but feel free even to say stuff like "I like this" or "I don't like this." Just avoid objective language when possible.

I don't have any money for this, so sorry in advance, and if possible, I'd love for all of my beta reading to be done by the end of summer.

Let me know if you're down or not! :)"

I really have had readers comment that much and that little on my manuscripts. This is normal. If your readers are supposed to comment whenever something in their attention triggers, different readers' attentions will trigger differently.

It's also a wise idea to form your beta reading group (again, especially if you aren't doing a wave of alpha reading) as a mix of people from different backgrounds and writing experience. My church camp novel group is below:

Person A who went to church camp with me, is into poetry

Person B is into fanfiction, little church experience, mindful of social issues

Person C has little church or writing experience, mindful of social issues

Person D is very into writing, pretty into church

Person E is very into social issues and church, not a writer

I would advise to find a similar balance of people who are into your subject matter and those who aren't.

It's also helpful to give them a timeframe to read by, and make this longer than they need. I gave people ~two months for my ~60k-word novel.

Also, as a little incentive for your readers, plan something for when everyone's done! A post-beta party! Something like this will also encourage you through the process :)

Once you have your betas' comments, it's time for one last wave of revisions. Compile these comments however you like, and start tweaking. I like to have each beta's document open so I can cross-reference while I work through my own doc. And remember: these are audience comments, not writer comments (unless you explicitly brought writers on). If someone says something confuses them, that might just be their cross to bear. If none of your other betas were confused by it, or if one of your betas compliments the same section, it may be worth ignoring that first comment. Try to rule with the majority when you can, and take everything with a grain of salt. "I don't like this" doesn't mean it needs to be changed. It means you should figure out why that reader doesn't like it.

If you have any questions, my asks are open! Again, this is a pretty open concept where anything works as long as it works for you, so don't feel pressured to "get it right." But if you have any questions or suggestions, I'm all ears :)

Hope this helps!

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Hello! Thank you for every advice you give here!

This might sound like a weird ask, but I don't know how to write the second(or more) draft. I've heard some advice about rewriting and not editing, but every time I try to write the second draft, I just end up copying the first one, with very few differences.

So my question is, what is your way of writing the second draft and if you have any advice on that? I know some things that work for some don't work for others, but I just can't seem to find the right way.

Oh, second drafts. Only the most difficult writing step after drafting, followed by the most difficult step of writing the third draft.

The good news is that almost no one pulls together their story on the second draft. If your first draft is putting down the bones of the story, the second is figuring out where to lay the connective tissue. Maybe you've got too many bones, maybe you don't have enough. Maybe some of your bones are too short, or too misshapen to work. The second draft is getting that story skeleton together, knowing full well you're gonna need to fix some of those bones first.

Get yourself a plan to put that skeleton together - make an outline. I swear I'm not the sworn enemy of pantsers that i sometimes seem to be (it's professional jealousy, I swear), but if you don't have an outline, now is the time to get one. If you do, go back and revise that first. You'll want to know what you want the story to become from the pile of bones you're working from.

Not enough bones - identify what you're missing. If you're like me, sometimes while drafting you write 'figure this shit out later' and then forget to do so. Thanks for nothing, Past Me. But chances are your story needs some added scenes, more character development, etc. Identifying those missing pieces and fleshing out your outline can help you tackle a second draft.

Too many bones - figure out what needs to be cut. Not every scene is going to be worth keeping no matter how attached to them you are. If you're on the fence about a scene, consider if it serves to move the plot forward, develops the characters, or establishes important worldbuilding. If the scene meanders plotlessly, repeats character beats instead of expanding on them, or seems to suck the oxygen out of the story, you may have to rethink or remove them.

These bones don't fit - figure out what scenes are lacking. Another thing I tend to do in first drafts is sell my scenes short. I just don't think of the best outcome, the most dramatic climax, or a great setting when I'm trying to figure out what happens. In going through your novel, think about each scene carefully. Should this argument take place in a deserted library, or would it be more emotional and dramatic on a crowded train? If the villain's plot seems small, how can you make him a greater threat?

Uuuh bro that's not a human bone - revising scenes that went off the rails. If you're gearing up for NaNoWriMo yet again, you might know the feeling of writing pages of bullshit to make that wordcount. It could be good bullshit! It could be really fun! But if it sticks out like a sore thumb in the story, it may be best to set aside to figure out what to make out of it later.

You're not going to get everything right in the second draft either, so don't over-stress in trying to get your story whipped into shape. But you will be better off after giving those bones a little polish and assembling them into what could conceivably pass for a decent skeleton, one that you won't mind sharing with others to see what other work it might need. Good luck!

[365runesoftheamalgamations]

The Not Yet Forgotten Introduction

hello and how are you, fellow Wanderers?

Welcome to the Writing Blog! We are the Not Yet Dead Authors, the Storyverse Amalgamations System! You may refer to us as Natsume as a whole, or say hi to any of the specifics who are also running around within the blog / do the writes!

Our pronouns are we/they, and we are an aromantic / asexual genderfluid cluster of whispers drowning in the Void for more than two decades. So just another set of Wanderers who wish to reach out and touch the Worlds in a more pronounced way!

Full Introduction Under the Cut

A Proper Introduction

We write mostly fantasy but also dabble in horror, science fiction, dystopian and other works and writing styles. It's mostly just whatever it is that catches us in a choke hold and demands words for our continued Existence.

We do hold our own universe, the Storyverse, that we will hint, note, and talk about, depending on things, as well as a multitude of Worlds that will be given over to the Stories happening within them.

Our writing formats include: fanfiction, short stories, drabbles, flash fiction, novels, poems, and prompt responses! We enjoy rolling through forms and trying out different ways of telling and sharing stories, so please note that there will be a lot of everything on here.

We follow from the System's Blog, @365runesofthesystem, and will try to be really active in the community, so if you see us around, then feel free to indulge us! We love to be tagged in games and sent asks and the like and will try to get to all of them in due time.

The Amalgamations of our Creations

We actually have so many Works that we kind of jump around with, but we will present to you a few of them! Hopefully as we grow and get better with things, we will be able to actually display them in a good way!

Links To Be Updated

⊱ ─── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ─── ⊰

Grayland's Shadow

⚜ Original Work | Standalone Novel ⚜ Supernatural Horror | Low Fantasy, Horror Elements ⚜ First, Second, Third Person Present Tense ⚜ Mature Content: Death, Death Mentions, Murder, Blood, Implied Gore, Violence ⚜ First Draft | Revising and Editing ⚜ Second Draft | Scene Writing and Draft Rewriting

Intro Post | Page | Writing Tag

⊱ ─── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ─── ⊰

The Vagabond Child

⚜ Original Work | Series of Short Stories ⚜ Dystopian | Apocalyptic Aftermath, Survival ⚜ Third Person Present Tense ⚜ No Major Mature Content Warnings ⚜ First Draft | Revising and Editing ⚜ Second Draft | Worldbuilding, Outlining, Scene Drafting

Intro Post | Blog Page | Writing Tag

⊱ ─── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ─── ⊰

The Cityscapes of the Dragoons

⚜ Original Work | Standalone Novel ⚜ Fantasy | Action and Adventure ⚜ Dual Perspectives | Third Person Present Tense ⚜ No Mature Content Warnings ⚜ First Draft | Worldbuilding, Outlining, Scene Drafting

Intro Post | Blog Page | Writing Tag

⊱ ─── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ─── ⊰

A Magician & A Curse

⚜ Original Work | Standalone Novel ⚜ Fantasy | High Fantasy, Horror Elements ⚜ Dual Perspectives | Third Person Present Tense ⚜ Mature Content: Murder, Body Mutilation, Violence ⚜ First Draft | Worldbuilding, Outlining, Scene Drafting

Intro Post | Blog Page | Writing Tag

⊱ ─── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ─── ⊰

A System of Corruption

⚜ Original Work | Standalone Novel ⚜ High Fantasy | Action & Adventure, Superhero Elements ⚜ Third Person Present Tense ⚜ Mature Content: Violence, Blood / Blood Mentions, Death ⚜ First Draft | Worldbuilding, Outlining, Scene Drafting

Intro Post | Blog Page | Writing Tag

⊱ ─── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ─── ⊰

If you want some more information about these Works or any of the others, you can check out our Original Works Masterlist or Fanworks Masterlist, to see what we write and how we do things!

[rubra-wav]

[Entry #2] Dealbreakers in the Hazbin Hotel universe

A/N This is just lore/worldbuilding with various headcanons, so no x reader for this one - if you really liked pt. 1 of the x dealbreaker reader post I did/want more context for that and the second part that'll be out soon tho I'd recommend reading this one 🙏

I'm mostly talking about those who have soul deals with people in this post.

Yes, I have Audhd, how did you know? /j

Cw: SFW, discussion of corrupt legal systems, violence/murder

The type of sinners dealbreakers are:

Dealbreakers within the Hazbin Hotel universe are demons who review contracts of all kinds with the intention to break them.

These demons are most often extremely corrupt and/or lying about their abilities in some way, however.

The bad dealbreakers

Most dealbreakers in their past lives were some kind of worker for the legal system - either as some kind of law room official (Judges, lawyers, etc) or as law enforcement (ie. Police officers) and got here due to being some sort of terrible person through that.

Due to this, they prey on those who are desperate and dealbound in various ways to exploit them, and usually do this by trapping them into new deals with them - often soul ownership deals with the promise of a better life.

This doesn't happen, obviously. Most of these dealbound sinners find their deals being broken and then are immediately pushed into brand new terrible deals by the ones they sought help from.

Or their deals aren't broken at all, and the dealbreaker was working with whoever owned the sinner in the first place to test their loyalty

- Ending up punished for seeking out the dealbreaker, co-owned by the both of them now, or exploited for every cent they have by the dealbreaker with their interactions being used as blackmail.

These dealbreakers are often lesser Overlords, however most don't ascend past that status as Overlords would feel threatened by their presence. If they attempt to ascend higher, they will be killed or put in their place in various manners.

The good dealbreakers

For dealbreakers who aren't corrupt, however, their fates are often never good.

Most good dealbreakers are taken out very fast as you make some very powerful enemies giving souls back their autonomy fast.

Especially considering most of those who own souls are involved with other people who also own souls in some way.

Actually breaking deals and how it works

The procedure for breaking deals usually follows one particular formula:

Understanding the contract

To break deals, you first need to be completely educated on the contract's terms and conditions; every potential underlying thing that is not fully obvious, anything which is vague and thus bendable/a loophole, the kind of format that's used to make it, etc. Etc.

Any good dealmaker hides their true intentions under false pretences, so you need to fully understand the method and how they do this.

After a dealbreaker becomes sure they fully understand the contract, they can begin to write a counter-contract.

Counter-contracts

Counter-contracts are contracts that contest the things written within the original contract and essentially begin scratching away at/undoing the grey area/loopholes.

Any grey area and between-the-lines terms and conditions get undone in the counter-contract first, and then the Dealbreaker will move on to the more set in stone requirements - basically uprooting it one word at a time.

You usually need to make several counter-contract drafts before actually writing out the real, binding contract.

The reason why dealbreaking for souls in particular is deeply dangerous is because if you get one thing wrong? You're absolutely fucked.

Failure at dealbreaking

Demons who own souls can feel when the soul is slipping from them in some way, so if you don't fully succeed in breaking the deal the first time around? That demon now knows that you are trying to break the deal.

I also headcanon that demons who own souls also can tell where their souls are at all times, so if you fuck up you now have a very pissed off owner of the soul who knows exactly where you are.

Deals can only be broken when the demon whose soul you are trying to break out is immediately in your proximity to agree to the counter-contract being crafted, so yeah, they're like a GPS to your direct location.

You may be able to try and make another counter-contract, but usually its already too late.

Even if you don't fail at breaking the deal and you just have a really complicated one that's time-consuming, you're screwed if the soul owner catches on as well.

Again, you need to review the contract for several days to 100% understand everything because if you take too long, they will feel the soul slipping away and come find you.

Success at dealbreaking

If you do succeed in the creation of a counter-contract, then the new contract will begin effective immediately and the former soul contract will cease to exist - being destroyed on the spot.

All former control over the soul is lost, and all things binding the formerly dealbound ends.

The former owner can no longer detect the soul's location either, so you and the soul are then safe from instantly being found.

After successful dealbreaking

Obviously, what happens afterwards is heavily varied depending on whether the dealbreaker is good or bad. However, the main thing is that you are not 100% safe from the former owner.

The former owner can still find the soul they used to own if they know where they live, or if they know where they frequent, their friends, etc. And thus find you as a Dealbreaker as well by getting the information from the soul.

To combat this, in the counter-contract most Dealbreakers who are smart will hide a non- disclosure statement in the new contract's fine print to avoid this - but if the dealmaker is a skilled one, they will also know how to break deals as well.

It's probably one of the most dangerous careers someone can have in hell - especially as one as the good ones.

Other ideas/headcanon stuff

- Personally, I really like the headcanon that those who become dealbound for their souls take on certain characteristics of those who have made the deal. (One example would be Angel not having the gold tooth before his contract with Val, but then gaining it afterwards)

With breaking a soul deal, those characteristics that the dealbound takes on fade in and out of existence in the middle of the counter-contract being written. When the contract gets broken, these traits disappear completely.

- Elaborating on the constantly knowing the loaction of owned souls headcanon I have is that the chains and collars that the dealbound seem to have (think Husk and Angel) are constantly there for those who have made soul deals.

So even if they aren't visible to others, the leashes are still there in the owner's hand - at all times tied to the soul.

The owned souls also always feel the pressure of their collars, and when the deal is broken, this pressure and weight disappears along with the characteristics.

- There are also other manifestations of deals.

A potential example of this could be that if the contract is signed under the pretences of the sinner getting another name, then that sinner can no longer speak their real name.

Ie. In part 2 of the dealbreaker S/O Angel Dust can actually say his real name after having the deal broken, and before when he would try to say his name is Anthony he would find himself unable to, choking on his words because his collar grew tighter around his throat.

[squarebracket-trickster]

I am exhausted as all fuck right now (the chronic fatigue is kicking my ass). But I am going to try to write anyway. It's been too long since I last added to my manuscript and my brain is getting itchy. (You know, that kind of itch that's like: there are too many thoughts inside you right now and you need to get them out. But also, the itch that's like: at this rate you'll never finish this draft, you need to work on it now. And also, the itch that's like: look at all the amazing things other people are creating, doesn't this fill you with yearning? - that could be your stuff *ahem*.)

I have like 10 million better things I could be doing right now, but I've spend the past few weeks not writing when I wanted to because I was doing those 10 million other things. So sorry, life responsibilities, but you'll have to wait. Besides the only thing I actually have the energy for right now is scrolling on my phone. Which. I have done enough of today. If I have to look at one more TikTok I swear to god

Normally, I don't like to write unless I have the energy to make it good, but at this point I don't care. The other night, overcome with an urge to write something, anything, I just started typing without thinking too hard, and it was actually decent when I reread it a few days later.

All that is to say, the exercise has filled me with hubris for what I can accomplish while in the midst of a fatigue flare.

Alas, writing sesh goal for today:

I'm starting with 50755 words (not including whatever I've done of the OOB scene). Idk what percent of /80 000 that is. I have exactly 2500 words worth of second draft (and OOB scene) that I had pasted into my 3rd draft ages ago so I could rework them, which I started doing but have yet to finish.

Today's word goal is not a percent or a number, it's just to finally get rid of those second draft scenes (and be all caught up to the OOB scene). I am tired of not being able just to use the word count meter at the bottom of my doc without having to do math.

And remember, Square: just fill in the missing worldbuilding, description, names, continuity etc. Cut out anything that doesn't need to be there. You can monkey around with the pacing and line edits if you see an easy fix, but no. perfectionism. no. If the sentence doesn't come to you within a minute, leave it. That's what draft 4 is for (that's future me's problem hehe).

--

Oh, the other good news is that I just had a shower and my hair is very soft, so soft. you have no idea. peasants

[pokelolmc]

The Ultimate Enemy is a Disappointment (and How I'd Fix It) (Part 1)

A couple years back, I started analysing a list of DP episodes I thought had missed potential--and my analysis on TUE got SO big I made it its own thing. I rewrote it to death and could never settle on something concise enough, so I abandoned it. But I'm BACK baby. I can't remember where it is now, but I came across a poll on whether Reign Storm or TUE is the better special and the discourse reignited my passion for this analysis, and gave me motivation to trim off some of the fat.

Don't get me wrong, at the end of the day I do like this episode--or at least its ideas. I really liked the episode the less I thought about it, but now I see issue after issue in its execution. Hence, the "disappointment": it could've been great, but it missed the mark. This won't just be a one-sided roast of TUE, though. I have a ton of cool ideas for how to rewrite plot holes or fill in the gaps. The best roasts are constructive! (Though I would be rewriting it in a more mature fashion compared to canon's writing--keep that in mind).

Part 2 is now up: you can find it here.

So here we go: Part 1--the general plot contrivances/contradictions unrelated to Dan's character or the time travel system.

The episode introduced taking off the Time Medallions as a way to immediately return to one’s native time period, but then forgot this late into the second act.

Technically this plot hole involves time travel devices, but I'm counting it as a plot hole by character decisions.

The episode gives no explicit rules on lag time between removing the medallion and returning home, but it takes only one to two seconds to return Skulktech to the future after they dropped theirs, and it had to have been instant for Sam and Tucker to return to the past in time to escape rubble falling from FentonWorks (which was only roughly two to three stories high, not counting the Ops Centre).

Danny should’ve been sent back almost instantly when Dan took his medallion off—which would’ve completely defeated the purpose of Dan’s attempt to trap Danny there in the first place.

If they wanted to keep the plot point, they could’ve just had Dan grab the medallion and turn it intangible while it’s still around Danny’s neck…and that’s assuming that making it intangible while Danny’s still tangible doesn’t count as “removal”. That’s it. He never needed to remove it to begin with.

2. The Nasty Sauce explosion just…sucks. In my opinion, it’s too silly for the tone the episode’s trying to go for (and as a cause of major character death), and it wrecks the worldbuilding.

I tried to put it in way more verbose ways in my previous drafts, but I found another post somewhere on tumblr that did what I couldn’t—say it in three words:

“It’s just stupid.”

Assuming that semi-realistic laws exist in-place in the Danny Phantom universe (so it’s BASICALLY similar to ours) the Nasty Burger shouldn’t have been able to stay in business without a LOT of red tape, cover-ups and NDA’s. They had an explosive substance on premises, being taken care of by unqualified, minimum-wage part-timers instead of trained chemical safety specialists. Forget handling it, they shouldn’t have even had it in the first place! If they got it by going UNDER the law and covering everything up, then one of their employees shouldn’t have been able to just CONFESS to it at a public school assembly.

It also sounds ridiculous that a “certain combination of secret herbs and spices” could catastrophically combust in the first place. They could’ve made the explosion ghost-powered/altered; they could’ve made it not the sauce itself, but a pressure issue with its containment vats; they could’ve made it a gas leak or malfunction of cooking equipment starting a fire, or something. They could’ve made the explosion a Fenton invention at their home (where the whole family had reason to be at once, and Mr Lancer could hold the parent-teacher conference there like in Teacher of the Year). They've used more serious threats of explosion in previous episodes (like the Ecto-Filtrator in Million Dollar Ghost).

And instead they decided “Yep! This commonly sold and digested sauce is a dangerous explosive, and even a small handout serving is enough to blow clean through a wall when it’s heated up!” This is how we're going to kill all of the main characters' loved ones to send him on a villain arc!

Like what?

Nowhere else after TUE did the show acknowledge the Nasty Sauce in worldbuilding. There were no consequences of its risk being publicly revealed, nor did it ever pose a hazard again. It’s understandable, given the show’s episodic nature. Bu at least in The Ultimate Enemy itself, they should've thought about how it affected most of the previous episodes.

During his fight with Boxed Lunch, one of Danny's ectoblasts to a sauce packet demolishes an entire section of wall in the Nasty Burger. So how hadn’t any ghost fights ignited any Nasty Sauce before—or damaged the main vat, god forbid—and caused an explosion already?

If the sauce was always a part of the Nasty Burger’s recipe, then the entire restaurant was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off since season one, and nothing short of a miracle could explain why it hadn’t happened before.

3. This episode committed character assassination of Mr Lancer, for the sake of setting up stakes in the plot. And contradicted his personality changes in previous episodes (such as “Teacher of the Year”).

Mr Lancer, in my opinion, is the character done the single dirtiest in the episode. It warps his entire character around the plot, and turns him into a contrived mouthpiece for how important the CAT is. It leaves him even more malicious and mean-spirited than his behaviour in the first episode of the entire show—leaving him even worse than he started.

He didn’t have much character development, but there were some more positive changes happening in his personality as later episodes occurred. He started out as a selfish, corrupt authority figure (think Mystery Meat, Fright Night and other S1 episodes where he deliberately lets the jocks off the hook for their behaviour), but unwittingly acts in favour of the main characters in “Fanning the Flames”—although ineffective and easily taken down by Ember.

By the time of “Teacher of the Year”, we finally got a glimpse into his (albeit scant) ideology as a teacher around helping his students succeed, and his concern for Danny’s failing grades.

It even revealed his personal interest in Doomed, which gave him more in common with Danny and Tucker and humanised him in way a few other episodes hadn’t. Season two even demonstrated his (albeit brief) willingness to stand up and defend his students from a ghost attack in “Memory Blank”. Lancer, for a brief period of time, became more than just his job, book title swears and his frustration with rebellious students.  

We're talking about the teacher who, in the early 2000s, kept a picture of himself crossdressing at school to convince his students to try their best with a "story about his sister".

The Ultimate Enemy, however, took Mr Lancer’s humanity towards the students—particularly Danny—and flipped it all on its head. It turned him into an elitist, mean-spirited asshole who verbally attacked his students (past and present) based on their performances on this single. Fucking. Test.

They made Mr. “there is no cheat code in school, or in life” Lancer into a cruel enforcer of the hamfisted and childish importance of the CAT. Actual “get rich vs dead-end, minimum-wage job” propaganda.

(Teacher of the Year)

And... one season later:

(that sure sounds like a cheat code in life to me)

To add insult to injury, TUE used Lancer’s death as the butt of a joke directly after spending the majority treating him like a total asshole—following up character assassination with literal assassination , and excluding him from the rest of the explosion victims in their memorial.

It feels to me, that it'd make more sense for Mr Lancer to be sceptical of the importance of the CAT based on TOTY. Replace him in the assembly with Principal Ishiyama or something. A stickler-for-the-rules school administrator looking to boost the school's image by pressuring kids on a standardised test? That ABSOLUTELY makes sense.

Mr Lancer could still be seen as a threat (or someone Danny can't reach out to for help), but in the department of simply being an authority figure Danny's used to dodging around with his ghost activities. Someone who'd still enforce consequences for Danny getting caught cheating. Someone who'd get his parents involved. He's the closest thing Danny could have to any level of support at Casper High, and Danny could think he's even lost THAT.

4. The way Danny got the CAT answers was contrived, and broke the previously established rules of ghost intangibility.

To cut a long story short, Boxed Lunch’s fight with Danny shouldn’t have gotten the test answers stuck to Danny’s back. Danny immediately turned intangible in anticipation of the explosion, and was thrown outside the Nasty Burger and through Mr. Lancer’s briefcase before turning tangible again.

That didn’t make sense; the series previously established that ghosts (in this case, halfas) were physically unaffected by explosions when intangible. “Million-Dollar Ghost” even demonstrated it when Vlad escaped his castle’s explosion in the same manner, and was left completely unmoved from his position at ground zero. The sauce packet explosion shouldn’t have even moved Danny out of place, let alone flung him out of the building (especially not compared to Vlad and an Ecto-filtrator explosion).

On top of that, the test answers couldn’t have gotten stuck to his back while he passed through the suitcase, as Danny was intangible and the answers sheet was solid. Even if it were possible for already intangible ghosts to grab onto tangible objects and bring them into intangibility, that’d certainly require conscious intention that Danny didn’t have in the episode.  The test answers got stuck to his back by sheer accident on his part. Bringing other objects into tangibility always previously involved a tangible ghost grabbing hold of other tangible people/objects and consciously willing them intangible together. Ergo, he should’ve simply passed through the suitcase and its contents all at once—go to the other side, pass go, do not collect CAT cheat sheet.

The solution for this one is pretty simple—just remove the scene entirely. Not only does it break the lore, but it’s entirely pointless and redundant (more on that later when I talk about Clockwork—giving Danny the answers was his idea, and it was a terrible one). Instead, it would’ve been much more compelling if Danny stole the answers on purpose with his ghost powers—being put under so much pressure to succeed that he felt like he had to forgo his morals and use his powers to cheat.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia! I was curious, as I understand, this story was written long time ago? Did you edit it with almost 10 years of practice on writing since 2014 now? And more in general, do you feel like writing is easier or not withos much practice (I read about smut, that it is harder now, but in general - worldbuilding, character creation and so on) ?

Hi hi anon!

Yeah the story was first drafted in 2014, and has gone through big edits since then (the latest being 2017, though I did some cursory stuff this year as well to just double check that it's not terrible).

Tbh, prior to 2014 I was writing like... very serious award winning short stories with tragic endings and winning awards for them, so I'm moderately confident the story is readable. I've been writing novels (for fun mostly) since 1995. And I have a university education in writing that started in 1999.

My fanfiction/serial style is very different to my 'I'm writing a book / I'm writing a short story' style.

I think it will feel different to my serials because I wrote it like a book, there's less sprawling character exploration, and the pacing is much, much tighter. There's a lot more focus on plot, and folks used to my serials might feel like the story ends really quickly! Because it's like much shorter (100k) than my serials.

If anything, I think these are the things to watch out for in Tradewinds:

100k novel means much tighter pacing and prose, and often very little time for too much character reflection.

Possibly not as much character exploration as people are used to from me (though there's still some!)

More plotting

Less smut, and the smut is also more 'vanilla' than what I normally write, because at the time I was a lot more wary about putting BDSM into the market. There are power dynamics though (i.e. a vibe where one character 'feels' more submissive to the other)

Robust scene-setting (i.e. description, place, anchoring)

Lively dialogue

I actually think I was probably a better literary writer back in the 00s but it wasn't much fun for me. I quit writing for a while and then picked it back up again to write fanfiction, which was easier and more relaxed for me. (And still is! The Ice Plague is an exception to that because it had more robust plotting and was structure more...formally.)

I honestly think writing gets easier or harder depending on the project and writing style involved.

Some writing gets easier with time, some doesn't. Sometimes that will flip or switch. Sometimes one thing is easy for years and then becomes harder with certain stories.

It was Gene Wolfe who said:

"You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing."

And yeah, I tend to believe for the most part that's true with how hard or easy something is. How ambitious a project is, its genre, its length, its complexity can all play into that.

I pick easier projects as my main projects right now, but I have hard projects coming up too!

I would say overall writing does become "easier" in the sense that foundational skills become second nature (I know how to build a character and their dialogue now without thinking about it, and while there's always more to learn, I can now start in a place of just knowing how to do that instead of knowing I need to learn how to do that), but that the stories themselves will still pose unique challenges to a writer.

Er so TL;DR yes writing for me is easier but I'm choosing easier things to write, and sometimes it's still very hard!!!

[chaifootsteps]

The issues with Stella are so goddamn easy to fix it's actually painful any time she comes on screen and they have to find a way to bend over backwards to make her as unlikable as possible to artificially prop Stolas up as well as avoid the classism plot that THEY WROTE INTO THE SHOW.

Just establish very clearly AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SHOW that both of them were okay with the other sleeping around (since neither liked each other and neither wanted to get married) but have Stella get mad specifically because Stolas was caught sleeping with an imp, and that reflects badly on her. If you want her to be a villain, you don't need her to be cartoonishly evil and completely bereft of personality and likeability beyond bitch (derogatory) even as a child; she can just be classist and obsessed with status. (Also maybe don't make her stupid? Maybe don't have her creepy incest-vibes brother around at all? Give her some agency as a villain, you know? Maybe let her be funny? MAYBE LET HER TALK TO HER FUCKING DAUGHTER ON SCREEN?)

But fixing Stella would force the show to actually acknowledge the classism that they've set up and have been trying to ignore in lieu of writing fluff one shots of their favorite ships. And it sucks because she could be a really, really interesting and entertaining lens into how the upper-crusts of this setting actually behave. She SHOULD HAVE BEEN the face of that plot. If you want her to be this evil scheming funny girlboss bitch (affectionate), LET HER BE ONE. Hell, she can even be sympathetic and redeemable if you play up the fact that her behavior comes from a fear of being othered by the Goetia.

As a side note, why are arranged marriages even a thing when divorce exists and vice versa? If it's a eugenics thing for blue bloods why is marriage even a factor when they could just have the kids without it? If they're immortal outside of specific weaponry why do they need heirs in the first place? How DID Striker get all of his angelic weapons? How did Stella even meet Striker, who HATES the upper classes? Why does Striker even work for her when she's the ONE CHARACTER explicitly shown in-canon to embody the things he hates about the system at large?

I guess my point is that fixing Stella's writing would kind of cascade out into actual worldbuilding, stakes, more screen time for female characters, and more coherent better-constructed plots so Spindlehorse won't do it because they want to focus exclusively on a middling romance between two characters who have ZERO CHEMISTRY. If they wanted to focus on that, great, but why on EARTH did they set up all of this other shit? Season one set up conflict and interest and season two has done nothing but blue-ball me by dangling those plot threads in front of me and yanking it away at the last possible second. I WANT the show to be good, but it desperately needs better editing at the script level which I am CONVINCED only goes through one draft and are written several weeks apart.

ALSO THE LATEST EPISODE GAVE ME MOTION SICKNESS WHY WAS THE CAMERA MOVING SO MUCH WHEN THE CHARACTERS WERE STATIC HOW MUCH BUDGET AND TIME GOT WASTED WITH THE UNNECESSARY FUCKING SHAKY CAM?

(Sorry for dropping this huge chunk of text on you, it was supposed to just be about Stella originally but holy fuck that last episode made me nauseous and I got a bit carried away.)

No apologies needed; it was an excellent chunk of text.

Stella deserved better, and we as an audience deserved better, which isn't to say she needs to be redeemable or even likeable. But she does need to be human...to do something outside of scream and drink wine and exist. She needs to do more than just prop up the show's main ship. Give her something she thinks about, cares about, and like you said, let her talk to her fucking daughter.

Nothing about this shaky-cam show makes sense or feels fleshed out. Agreed completely that there's no way it's going through multiple drafts, and the longer these 30 car pileups of plot holes and characterization problems continue to go on, the closer the show gets to a point where no amount of revising is going to save it.

[bisexualmcqueen]

For the ask game…How to Fish!

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Link for anyone who wants to check it out: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58195156

YAYY hi vincent :D

how to fish, the second fic i published in my return to writing in 2024!

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

the idea actually came from a brainstorm during writing the first draft of part one of my 'cars 4' series "PYBO": "The Practice Plan" <-currently an unedited 10k+ behemoth. i was taking a break from writing my two main characters (OC roger and LMQ) having a big argument and wanted to write something silly in the aftermath. so i started brainstorming in discord...

'car bearfishing' i made it the fuck up. like "how does a car go fishing?? hell if i know. it'd be funny if they just bit them right out of the water like freaks." and i just wound up writing it for joy and whimsy. this was all around the time i decided to really lean into the 'racecars is creatures' headcanon. 'how to fish' was actually a really big step for me because it's a little weird- which is exactly the sort of thing i want to be writing. i need to get much weirder, actually. it also is one of my first attempts at 'writing to explain the larger headcanon' [aka doing worldbuilding]. most of my fics take a small aspect of the 'feral racers hc' and sort of spotlight it. i was also figuring out writing 3rd person limited present, which is the other part of the inspiration. i'd tried so often in the past to write fic but as it turns out, my brain clashes BADSTYLE with past-tense and i was simply Nottttt grasping what 'character perspective' really meant + how to use it. 'how to fish' is definitely part of that early triumph in learning where i'm strongest/most comfortable. and it's very very fun!! apparently present tense isn't for everyone, but it translates the "movielike" image i see in my head to the page seamlessly. i actually wrote the last little scene first and went back to write about the prior events second!

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

i grew up going to the beach a bunch. not a fan of the ocean, but i always find being outdoors to be so peaceful. i'll complain about the sand being irritating, but damn i'll be relaxed on that beach. i love Cars fanfic as a vessel to 'tour' the continental united states (points at the apocalypse au, which is just one extended road trip). fireball beach feels like a place i've been to a hundred times. (in retrospect i could have done a much better job conveying this, i don't even think i mentioned the Wind, lol. but cars is my little playground/gym for my writing muscles and nothing is perfect. i have a few other beachside plotbunnies lurking tho, so perhaps next time.) there's def more inspo that went into this fic but i found i wasn't great at explaining it. its more of a background radiation of Vibes rather than any direct draw.

[writing ask game]

thanks for the ask!

[youhideastar]

Fit for Purpose Deleted Scenes VII: Grab Bag

The final batch of deleted scenes from Fit for Purpose are scenes that didn't fit any of the previous themes, featuring Jin Guangshan, Xue Yang, and WWX's feelings about being resurrected. Other deleted scenes posts are linked in the masterpost. I hope you enjoy!

This next scene is more of a sketch than a draft. Warning for Jin Guangshan being Jin Guangshan and Madam Yu being Madam Yu.

Jin Guangshan comes to visit.

He tries to talk to WWX alone.

WWX likes sex; likes making people feel good. Even guests, who he usually doesn’t know well. But he doesn’t like Jin Guangshan.

Still, he knows he should say yes – it would be good for Yunmeng Jiang, it would make for better relations with Lanling Jin, and it would especially be good for Jiejie, since she’ll marry into Lanling Jin someday—

Yu-furen interjects. “What do you want to discuss with our Wei Ying, Jin-zongzhu?” she asks, eyes like steel. “I insist on being part of the discussion, so I may share Jin-zongzhu’s insights with Jin-furen. I know she would be interested.”

Jin Guangshan backs off.

“Don’t be so shameless next time,” she tells Wei Ying.

Wei Ying says “yes,” says “sorry, Yu-furen.” He doesn’t know how to say, “I wasn’t.” Doesn’t know how to say, “All I did was be what I am.”

Then we have a little bit from the first encounter with Xue Yang. Again, mostly me getting high on my own worldbuilding—but for real, I didn’t want to make it seem like the mating-related stuff is the only thing that distinguishes betas from alphas and omegas.

“I still don’t get it,” A-Cheng fumes, after Xue Yang is defeated by Xiao Xingchen—Xiao Xingchen! Wei Wuxian’s heart is aflutter—with a little help from Wei Wuxian. “We didn’t smell a thing—”

“Xue Yang is a beta,” Xiao Xingchen says simply. “Stealth is his gift.”

A-Cheng narrows his eyes at Wei Wuxian. “Then why are you always as loud as a herd of water buffalo?” he grumbles under his breath.

“His amorality and viciousness, though, are purely his own,” Xiao Xingchen continues.

Then there was the phase where I felt like I needed to get into detail about WWX’s take on his second life. This was one of those scenes where it was useful for me to write it just to figure out for myself how this version of WWX felt about being resurrected, even though I didn’t use it.

When Wei Wuxian was brought back to life, traded for Mo Xuanyu, he hadn’t seen the point. His entire first life had been a failure – what was he supposed to do with a second one?

But then, there had been Wen Ning: not burned and scattered as he thought, still capable of being saved. There had been Jin Rulan – not a tiny infant who could be protected with charms and spells, but a snotty, insecure teenager who needed something more complicated: a teacher and a mentor, someone who would let him take risks but not let him take himself too seriously. There had been Lan Zhan: not his enemy after all, but his ally and friend, still true to him and to their vow to uphold justice. There had been A-Cheng, even, who learned the most terrible secret left between them and had brought him Chenqing in the end anyway.

And most of all, there was A-Yuan. The Wens’ A-Yuan, Lan Zhan’s Sizhui – grown up so well. Smart and sweet and kind and brave and humble – full of every virtue that the people who raised him had possessed, and yet entirely his own person.

So many people had died at Wei Wuxian’s hands, or by his faults and failings. And yet—A-Yuan had lived. Because of him. For all the things he did wrong, he did this one thing right.

Finally, here’s a second take on WWX’s feelings about being resurrected. I took multiple swings at this because it seemed weird to me, for a while, that I would have all these flashbacks and not have a flashback that deals with basically the most consequential event of the last 15 episodes… but then I figured out that I could do one ex post (with NHS), which would be way faster, and I also nod at these resurrection feelings in the flashback with LWJ on the bridge in the moonlight. So I think we got there in the end, without having to spend a whole flashback with WWX summing up his life so far.

Jiejie is dead. So are Wen Ning and Wen Qing and A-Yuan. Lan Zhan hates him. Jiang Cheng tried to kill him, and Wei Wuxian couldn’t even give him that. Jiejie’s son is an orphan, at Wei Wuxian’s hands—and the first time Wei Wuxian meets him, he taunts him for it, steals his dead father’s sword, and leaves him facedown in the dirt.

He’s a failure of a beta – everyone knows that. But that’s no excuse not to at least try. And his responsibility here is pretty clear.

YU-FUREN QUOTE

So he decides, staring down into the river water, to devote his second life to protecting Jiejie’s son. Sure, there’s a slight snag in that Jin Ling doesn’t know who he is and would probably try to kill him if he found out. And a slightly larger snag in that Jin Ling seems to be hanging around Jiang Cheng a lot, who almost certainly does know who he is and will definitely try to kill him.

Still, he has to do something with this redundant life of his. And if he ends up dying at Jiang Cheng’s hands or for Jiejie’s son, well… second time’s the charm, right?

Only it doesn’t work like that. Wen Ning turns out to be alive; Zidian fails to kill Wei Wuxian; and when he passes out, he wakes up in Cloud Recesses. In, as far as he can tell, Lan Zhan’s bed.

I spent a lot of time trying to get here, sixteen years ago, he thinks, still a little delirious.

And Lan Zhan looks up at him, eyes soft and hair unbound, and Wei Wuxian thinks… that maybe he was wrong. About a lot of things.

Maybe this is what a second chance looks like.

I hope you have enjoyed these deleted scenes! I probably spent just as much time figuring out how not to write this story as I did figuring out how I should write it 🤣 but I’m happy with the end result, and that’s what matters.

[nmjackson]

Lost in the sauce! (⸝⸝๑﹏๑⸝⸝) | Overcomplicating Plot or Worldbuilding

You have wonderful ideas! That in and of itself is a beautiful thing! ...But trying to stuff all those wonderful ideas into one project may be causing you to feel overwhelmed with your story and is preventing you from finishing your work. It's like overstuffing a burrito until the tortilla rips from the strain.

All you're left with at the end is a sad pile of yummy goodness that doesn't feel as appetizing anymore.

It's so easy to burnout on a project, so, don't do this to yourself. Because, I don't know if you heard me the first time, but IT'S SO EASY TO BURNOUT ON A PROJECT. (ง ͠ಥ_ಥ)ง

These are four questions you should ask yourself if this is the reason for your current writer's block.

Is it necessary?

Does your audience really need to know all of the bloodlines of royalty in your story, how different species of trees trigger fairies mating seasons, how to craft ivraëneen violent projectiles with step by step instructions? Start with the bare minimum of getting your story from point A to point B. You can add more, if it makes sense too, when the first draft is finished.

2. Could this be a sign for a sequel or series?

You really, really want the details of bloodlines, trees, and ivraëneen violent projectiles in your story. (っ- ‸ - ς) Fine. But now you've got 10 side plots that you're sure is absolutely needed for character development and plot building. ......<( •̀ᴖ•́)> Fine! Keep notes of those ideas and details, set them aside, and stick with the bare minimum of getting your story from point A to point B. When the first draft is finished, you can rest assured that those things won't be lost since a sequel is coming up.

3. Would it work better for a different project?

And by "it" I mean all the ideas of side plots and details of the bloodlines, trees, and ivraëneen violent projectiles. Make sure, beyond a reasonable doubt, that those side plots and world-building details are crucial to your writing piece. If they aren't, then consider rehoming them to a different project. Even if you don't have a place where they could go right now, you can always revisit them when you don't have any ideas in the tank.

4. Is it really necessary?

If you haven't let them go already, that's okay. Maybe they are really necessary to getting your plot to make sense. But don't be afraid to make cuts! Let your readers use their imaginations to fill in some blanks. Start with the bare minimum to get your first draft finished and then make sure without a reasonable doubt that those details need to be in your story's in your second/third/fourth/fifth/etc. draft.

Hope this helps! Happy writing! ✌︎︎♡⃛

Click here to find out which of the 7 potential reasons for writer's block you may have.

[chaptersonetoinfinity]

You asked me, so I ask back <3

11, 20, 41, 69 and 74, if it's okay for you.

Thank you for the ask, Vil! Your curiosity is ALWAYS okay with me <3

Fanfiction Writing Asks

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around?

Oh, I bunny-hop like there’s no tomorrow when I’m drafting. I might have fully drafted scenes that will take place 20 chapters from now, while my upcoming chapter is still missing half of its scenes. Heck, a lot of times I jump around within one scene while I’m writing, too. I’ll have an idea of how to end the section so I’ll press “enter” a bunch of times and write the last paragraph when I’m only halfway through, then go back and fill in the middle part. Then in my second draft, I might even switch my paragraphs around, or move a sentence I like into a later paragraph where it will “pack more of a punch”.

20. Do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics?

My favorite setup is Canon Divergence, which is technically an AU but is usually set in the canon world (unless the divergence involves world-hopping). 

That said, I’m a huge fan of worldbuilding, and it’s often what draws me into a series before I get attached to the characters (e.g. the intricate magic system in Black Clover), so I’d prefer to write fics set in the canon world, at least, or an AU where the magic is slightly different but still there. I guess the best answer I can give is “I like to write canon AUs the most” :P

41. Who’s your favorite character you’ve written?

So I can never pick just one favorite character in a series, but I do have certain “favorites” to write for (in terms of POV). In general, I’d say I prefer to write from POVs of characters who have a lot of attitude, whether that’s internal or external. 

The most recent examples I have are Mereoleona with her brash temper, or Yuno with his sarcasm (both internally and externally XD). Yami is turning out pretty delightful too, because of how he makes fun of everything and breaks the fourth wall. Charlotte and Noelle POVs have also been “easy” for me to adapt to because they’re very no-nonsense and judgy (for better or worse) so I just channel my inner Hermione Granger. 

And any character who’s notably passionate—Cyrus and his all-encompassing green thumb made me love him so much more when I wrote from his POV, even if I had ten Google tabs open about random plants. So I’ll probably enjoy writing Fuegoleon’s POV as well when I get there. In comparison, I have a harder time writing from the minds of characters who are very “uncertain” or repressed in terms of their thoughts and decisions, or those who aren't as notably opinionated. William Vangeance's POV will be a hell of a challenge! 

69. What are your favorite fics at the moment?

Again, I have a hard time picking favorites (exhibit 1, the previous response where I picked like 8 “favorites”, LOL). It’s been a while since I’ve binged fics, but I have a feeling that your “The Scent of Lavender” and “Revenge of the Bride” will be right up on my list! Also FFAC, the Zobra collab from @f-oighear and @kalolasfantasyworld (yes, I’m referring to it by the acronym because it sounds like “fuck”). And I read a oneshot from @wildflowerwoodsworld which tickled my fancy recently, so I have a feeling I’ll enjoy their other works, too.

I’ll keep my to-read list a secret. so other authors on my radar can have a nice surprise when I get around to their fics and unleash myself in their comments sections! And I’m sure countless things from my to-read list will end up as my favorite fics, too :)

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

I’ll be real, no matter how much love my fics already got, I would ALWAYS love (ha!) for them to get more love. And I tend to veer toward niche topics (and ships), so I never know exactly what the reception will be like, and the surprise is part of the fun of posting by this point, haha. Maybe it’s because what I want to read for “bigger” ships (ships with more fics) have already been written, so I’m content to read what others wrote, and my ideas are filling a “void” in my imagination that only my own chaos can fulfill! 

All that is to say, I’m very “glass half full” about any interaction (I happy-screech over any love I get!), while I’d also love for anything I write to get more love <3 But since my heart is fully invested in Scarlet Cross (a Black Clover Canon Divergence and Gender Changes AU!) at the moment, I’ll choose that as my final answer! 

[karkkidoeswriting]

Bear Castle Cycle - Reintroduction

BASIC INFO

STATUS | re-outlining | FORMAT | trilogy | POV | multiple 3rd person limited | TENSE | past | GENRE | gunpowder fantasy, dark fantasy, political fantasy, horror elements, mystery elements | AUDIENCE | adult | LANGUAGE WRITTEN IN | zero draft Finnish, 1st draft English

CONTENT WARNING | graphic violence | war | child abuse mentioned | torture | psychological horror | toxic relationships | drug and alcohol abuse | mental illness | sex | suicidal ideation | stillbirth mentioned | abortion | tba

INTRO

In the militaristic Angusian Empire only the clergy is allowed to use magic, which is seen as dangerous and terrifying by most. Magic has it's own will and while it can be helpful, other times it can be vindictive, malicious and unpredictable. There are also some terrifying great powers, like dragons, that most think are better left untouched and undisturbed. This is one of the things that has caused friction and an endless string of wars between the Empire and it's northern neighbor Dir'ahin, where magic is freely practiced. Dir'ahin has kept it's independence from the expansionist empire with it's advanced magic, but as Angusian Empire rapidly industrializes, a new decisive war of conquest looms ahead.

The Bear, the guardian of the Bear Castle, is ancient and forgotten magic. 14 years ago it watched as it's people were massacred by Imperial forces in a bloody civil war. It followed the four heirs of the castle as they grew up scattered in distant places. One of them in the imperial court, one of them in the northern occupied border, and two of them in a southern metropolis. Now the Bear watches as it's children struggle to find their way back to it.

FAERATHOS, THE OLDEST | While Faerathos has been hostage at the court, he has not been idle. He's physicist, researching electromagnetism, and he is still trying to understand why did the Cabalusian civil war happen and unearth the mysteries of the court.

CASSIA, THE SECOND OLDEST | Cassia has committed on getting vengeance on the Imperial family and the Angusian Empire as a whole by any means necessary. To work towards her goal, she is aiding Dir'ahin by spying for them on an occupied area.

VALERI, THE SECOND YOUNGEST | Valeri joined the ranks of the Imperial army with a false identity against his will, to protect Fiolew and provide for him. He becomes quite successful as a cavalry officer, but when he is reunited with his uncle, who is allied with another enemy, Manoa, he becomes an uneasy spy for them.

FIOLEV, THE YOUNGEST | Fiolev is not the innocent younger sibling Valeri thinks he is, but rather a quite successful and infamous con artist and thief. He steals magical amulet, accidentally releases a demon upon himself and gets entangled with a dangerous gang of criminals, who are involved with the Cabalusian separatists.

LINKS

CAST | Quick intro to the main cast | Faerathos | Valeri | Faélci

WORLDBUILDING | Maps

SCENE EXCERPTS | Julius x Marcus kiss scene - Prequel | Prologue - Julius scene | Faerathos has a (son-father) moment with Marcus

TAGS | #bear castle cycle | #bcc | #bcc art | #bcc aesthetics | #bcc excerpt | #bcc worldbuilding | #faerathos | #cassia | #valeri | #fiolew

Brief intro to the main cast and the tag list under the cut! I'll keep the tag list here updated.

CHARACTERS

Faerathos cor Mantgamia | 27 | he/him | intelligent but lacks practical skills | depressed | a little pretentious | dry humor | empathetic

Cassia cor Mantgamia | 26 | she/her | cold rage | detached | calculative | cares deeply but would not admit it | amoral

Valeri cor Mantgamia | 24 | he/him | very competent soldier | practical | stoic exterior but highly emotional interior | lacks emotional regulation | anxious

Fiolev cor Mantgamia | 18 | he/they | smart and quick thinker | compulsive liar | easy going | opportunist | attachment issues

Agrippa noé Moireau / Gal'eivil Daughter of Moon | 21 | she/her | Ahinian princess | political tool | possesses destructive magic | painter | naive

Marcus K'irhinzaham | 49 | he/him | Faerathos' bodyguard | greatest swordsman of their time | prickly | one-eyed | emotionally distant

Julie noé Mapin | 31 | she/her | Cassia's target | celebrity opera singer | lesbian casanova | hedonist | unmatched duelist

Cúén "Fechín" cor Faélci | 22 | he/him | Valeri's rival in the army | Cabalusian nobility | spy for the Cabalusian separatists | brooding | great with words and insults

Gid'alon Child of Stars | 45 | they/she/any | Agrippa's tutor | the one who Fiolew steals the amulet from | scholar of spirit realm | reserved | endless thirst for knowledge

Fianne | ??? | they/it | Cassia's talking crow | really a malicious forest demon bound to a crow | ate Cassia's twin sister | snarky | inhuman

Cateline | 19 | she/her | Fiolew's childhood friend | assassin for a criminal organization | mute | lacks empathy | protective

Vauquelin | 27 | he/him | leader of the gang Cateline's in and Fiolew get's involved with | opportunist | power hungry | controlling | soft-spoken

Verginia Emerentius | 59 | she/her | empress mother | probably behind the Cabalusian civil war | cult-like following | controlling | savior

Lucretius Emerentius | 37 | he/him | brother of late emperor | current duke of Cabalusia and the lord of Bear Castle | ruthless | ambitious | manipulative

Augustus III Emerentius | 29 | he/him | emperor | puppet ruler | Farathos' friend | not interested in being the emperor | a bit of playboy

Eirdene “Erene” Sarantachaizak | 26 | she/her | empress | unhappy marriage | toxic affair with Faerathos | manipulative | perfectionist

Alexis noé Moireau | 53 | he/him | duke and general of Virén | Agrippa's adoptive and doting father | master strategist | gambler | easy to like

Ignatus cor Mantgamia | 50 | he/him | uncle of the siblings | wife and kids died in Cabalusian civil war | severe | ambitious | vengeful

Mánoheahpi Son of Moon | 28 | he/him | Agrippa's brother | powerful priest | plots to take power | reserved | visionary

TAG LIST

@siarven @worldbuildng @emilyoracle @frvnwrites @kainablue @writingrosesonneptune @contes-de-rheio @faelanvance @outpost51 @dotr-rose-love

[mistbornhero]

Hello my dear. Do you have. any book recomendations ever. I'm talking stories that would suck me in and spill me off when I finish it like I went thru a whole lifetime in a few pages. Any genres are cool.

ohhh boooks I'll try to not forget every book I've ever read now lmao

this has been in my drafts for days because I did in fact forget every book I have read. Cutting this into things I am fannish about and books I just liked in general and books I could probably be fannish about with the right incentive.

Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson

honorary mention, mostly lmao

obviously like the books just look at my username

I like the first Mistborn Trilogy best, even if the Stormlight Archive is probably technically better

It gets bonus points for being shorter and already finished

It gets extra bonus points because book one has a heist

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

idk if you've read this? but! robots! in space! and found family!

witty and fun

I would die for murderbot (it would roll its eyes at that)

murderbot could have killed many people, but instead it just wants to watch tv, which is a mood

I blame blackglass and her enthusiasm for podficcing every fic for everyone.

All For The Game by Nora Sakavic

gay crime sports anime book

found family!!

so like. this is not a good book, I think

but it also definitely is a fun book, kind of like. self indulgent fics where things that are objectively Too Much happen but in a fun way?

also! canon demi character!

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

kid has magic! he must now go to magic school!

immediately falls in love with an elf girl and declares noble!guy his nemesis

he thinks this nemesis thing is mutual, but noble!guy is just very in love with him

realized he was bisexual and actually in love with noble!guy (dated elf!girl for a bit, but decided they were better off as friends)

.... would add TLT here, but I think you've read that, seen you post about it,

Not fannish about, but I could be:

The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan

two bros doing crime and being Good at it

fun fantasy worldbuilding

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

fun political things!

slow burn romance

started to reread to say more but then got busy 🥲

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

I just love people who are really good at what they do (stealing)

Great worldbuilding

It's part of a series, but I haven't actually read past the second book because there was an event I didn't quite like at the time (not like it's bad, just. different mental space needed?)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

I'm in this for the worldbuilding

Should reread honestly

there's a spin-off series that I also love

Not fannish about, but I love:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

time travel!! cool rules for it!!!

emotional?? basically you can only meet other people who have been in the cafe, so it's usually people who go back to see the ones they were in the cafe with? so yeah, emotional

It made me cry so much

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

fun animal facts!!

if you feel like Learning Things this is also pretty interesting?

Literally just spent the entire time I read it telling people fun facts about how animal senses work

this is not going to be sucking you in and spilling you out with a mess of feelings, but I liked it