#and everything brandon sanderson writes

[autumnhortsnort]

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

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

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

how we structure a plot (and do pacing)

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

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

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

for how we make the consequences make sense

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

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

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

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

[doemantic]

worldbuilding is so hard when you don’t know how Anything works

[kbookblurbs]

Shadows of Self - Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn Era 2, #2)

3.75/5 - reluctantly not higher, very interesting new concepts and political criticisms introduced

For as much as these books do read as fairly neoliberal due to the police propoganda of it all, Sanderson really invests in a critique of capitalism that I appreciate. The overarching villain is an evil banker? "Money isn't real" discourse? Personally, I'm charmed.

I enjoyed questioning Sazed and his methods of remaking the world. The concept that, by overcorrecting and making it too easy for people to live, Sazed stunted their development is quite fun and builds on how Sazed as Harmony is still a human, fallible entity. It is also such a Sazed flaw to have a timeline for how quickly humans should develop. Furthermore, from a Doylist perspective, war motivates a lot of human invention, so it makes sense that those arenas remain relatively undeveloped.

Other highlights from this book includes the intra-kandra dynamics in the subplot, the Tensoon appearance, and Steris. She's my favorite character and I do not care if she's only in this book for a few scenes, she's easily one of the most genuine and fun. Marasi is a close second in my ranking.

As for the reluctantly low score, and this is truly tragic, I am not attached to the two main characters. Wayne got slightly less annoying and more interesting this book with the introduction of his backstory and how that continues to affect him, so I hope to see that trend continue in Bands of Mourning and the Lost Metal.

However, I just don't like Wax. Nothing against him as a character, I just find that he is somewhat selfish, cowardly, and altogether too self-pitying. These are all traits that could be forgiven if I liked his character attributes, but I don't find him super appealing as is. Moreover, I do not enjoy reading other characters going "well why is it always about him", the character in question going "it is about me", and then seeing that belief hold true. Perhaps, if it is subverted in later books, I will look on this period more favorably but for now I do not find myself charmed by either the titular Wax, nor Wayne.

EDIT: I do also find myself drawn in by this book much more than the first. Somehow, Elendel feels much more lived in in SoS than in AoL. It feels more like we're entering a world and less like we're skimming over the surface of it, but such was the nature of a opening novel focused largely on a noble.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

There have been some really good conversations between Brandon Sanderson and fans on Reddit about Wind and Truth, amd I haven’t seen much duscussion of them here so I though I’d post sone of the bits I found most interesting. One of the things I like best about Brandon is that he tends to engage thoughtfully with criticism (in contrast with his Reddit fans, who can be dismissive of it).

This part is about some of the complaints from fans about WAT feeling too “real-world” and not fantasy-like enough in its language (introduction of real-world swear worlds, the “therapist” joke, amd some of the other jokes).

One Reddit commentor writes:

Brandon has been having quips since the beginning of his time as an author though. I feel like people that compare everything to the MCU are the actual brain poisoned people, not the various authors that now get this insane critique lobbed at them (because it's not just Brandon dealing with it).

Brandon responds:

I wouldn't call people brain poisoned for this.

Warning: long dissection next.

I'd say that this type of humor (which is very much a Gen X style) was overplayed by the people in charge of Star Wars and the MCU, using the humor in bad ways, which has made the entire humor style feel less sincere than it once did.

When it worked, the goal was to humanize characters and make the world seem more real, more "every day life." That was the goal of, for example, Buffy itself--to take fantastic, out-of-this world situations reserved for action stars, and put normal people in those situations. The quips, then, didn't break the fourth wall, but helped make people seem real.

"Puny God" is a good example. It undercuts not the audience, but the arrogance of Loki, while also earning a laugh because we think, "Yeah, that's what would actually happen." It gives a pressure valve and makes things feel real.

But when Poe makes a your mom joke at the start of a Star Wars film, it does the opposite. We don't need the tension relief, and it doesn't feel like a character acting real--it feels like "insert undercut the moment joke A here." See the entire film Love and Thunder.

I think what's happening here, personally, is that readers want sincerity from their stories--there's this growing sense in cinema that we can't take anything seriously, because otherwise we'll be nerds, and only NERDS would like this unironically. So everything has to be ironic and making fun of itself. They long for, say, the sincerity of the LOTR films. (Which still had these moments, usually with Gimli and Legolas, but underplayed them.) Stories that say, "We're not ashamed of the drama, power, and beauty of a fantasy/sf story that takes itself seriously.” Andor and Dune are beloved for these very reasons. EDIT: I also should mention that Deadpool, somehow, manages to be both at once. You have the undercut moments, like when Deadpool trips and falls at the end of the extended fight against all the other deadpools. Yet it doesn't shy away from being sincere at the climax--shockingly sincere. So it kind of uses this humor in reverse; instead of the occasional jolt of humor, it uses a ton of humor, so it can have the occasional jolt of sincerity. Really an interesting storytelling style that absolutely should not work, and wouldn't, without the exact right people in charge. Again, Love and Thunder tried this, and I think largely failed.)

Anyway, I feel that audiences are associating this humor with insincerity more and more, so they're rightly sensitive to them.

(Note to u/kuroinferuno: they did complain about Therapist. I kept it, because at the end of the day, I get to keep a joke now and then that makes me smile, even if I know some won't laugh. Remember, in my books, I try to have a variety of different kinds of humor, because what some people cringe at, others laugh at--and vice versa. I loved that Kaladin, here at this moment of climax, was still baffled by Hoid. And, as I said, this is a genre of humor from my youth that is still powerful for me. From "Boring conversation anyway" to "He's adopted," lines like this really work for me if not overused. But I can see that the current environment of storytelling has made them stand out more, and feel more "hand of the author" than they once were, which in turn kicks people out. Which is something you really want to avoid as an author. At the end of the day, I'd have kept that one, but I'd probably have been a little more careful about other modern language uses so that I could keep the ones I really love, without kicking people out so often.)

I think it’s a solid analysis of when and where quippiness does and doesn’t work, and the problems with how it’s been used as a default for too long and as a substitute for sincerity.

Brandon’s post prior to this one was also very interesting to me, because it got into some of the things that I noticed in Wind and Truth – specifically, how the jumps between character POVs were much more frequent (very few chapters were sole-POV, in contrast to previous books) and seemingly unnecessary (we’d have, say, an Adolin-Kaladin chapter and the a Kaladin-Adolin one, both cutting to a different POV in the middle of what was going on, instead of one Adolin chapter followed by one Kaladin chapter.

Brandon comments on the reason for this:

The goal here was to give a sense of disquietude to WaT by breaking the formula in uncomfortable ways--leading to a sense of uncertainty while reading the book, a sense that something was off, that the average reader (which may not include the people of this subreddit) wouldn't pick up on directly except for a sense of something being "out of tune" as they read.

…The pacing is strange by intention. Instead of an opening action sequence as is common in Stormlight books, there's this disquieting sense of things breaking apart--Kaladin saying goodbye, Shallan and Adolin splitting, Dalinar and Navani being torn away from their kingdom. Instead of fast, slow, fast (as is the general pacing of a stormlight book) it is slow for a distressing amount of time, then jerky--jumping between viewpoints faster than Stormlight books generally do, with far more leaning on a variety of viewpoint characters than previous books have had.

As it goes, there's the uncomfortable sense that none of this is going to get fixed. That it's going to stay this way, despite this being a climactic book. The sense of stress to the book shouldn't simply be "Kaladin is away" it should be all of these things, together, leading to the uncomfortable conclusion that you're not seeing a series wrap up...but a series unravel.

Now, I don't say this to detract from anyone's criticisms of the book--just as explanation for what I was doing. The goal is a symphony going further and further out of tune until you realize, "Wait. This isn't going to correct. It's going to stay that way."

It’s really good to know that Sanderson was doing this intentionally, that the book was supposed to feel jerky. A deliberate stylistic decision (whether or not I enjoy it) is a very different thing from a writing problem the author is unaware of.

Sanderson also talks about the balance in writing for an online fandom who will predict polot developments way ahead of time, while also writing for readers for readers that aren’t part of those lore-amd-plot-analysis-heavy forums. And in retrospect it feels like Sanderson was trying really hard to not blindside the not-online people with the ending – the disquieting pacing and the crumbling chapter-heading art both serving to signal that this isn’t going to be a happy ending. Given that Sanderson’s books, including all 4 previous installments in the Stormlight Archive, tend to lead ypu to the edge of disaster before averting it, I get why he wanted to somewhat telegraph that that wasn’t happening this time around.

But honestly, the most surprising thing to me in the comment was that Sanderson has watched (and liked!) Deadpool and Wolverine. 🤣

[the960writers]

The list of free resources for writing

My current list of things I keep recommending everywhere. I may expand it at some point, but I don't want to make it overwhelming.

These are the basics. This is my answer to the question "I want to be a writer, where should I start? Anybody have tips?"

Yes, I do. It's this list.

2025 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU by Brandon Sanderson

College level creative writing course, free on youtube. Incredible learning opportunity. Go watch it and take notes. Do it now.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3ZvzkfVo_Dls0B5GiE2oMcLY

K.M. Weiland 

Website and books, specifically story structure and archetypes for characters:

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/secrets-story-structure-complete-series/

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-write-archetypal-character-arcs/

Structuring Your Novel https://kmweilandstore.com/b/wkAVC

Next Level Plot Structure https://kmweilandstore.com/b/next-level-plot-structure

Podcasts

https://writingexcuses.com/, especially Season 10 is a full writing course https://writingexcuses.com/category/season-10/page/6/

Ink in your veins (formerly How do you write?) http://www.howdoyouwrite.net, especially http://www.howdoyouwrite.net/episodes/259 How Do You Actually Fast-Draft a Novel?

The QuitCast for Writers. YouTube channel and audio podcast created around the content of Becca Syme’s “What to Quit, What to Keep, and What to Question” model of coaching writers. https://betterfasteracademy.com/podcast/

Developing a story

https://www.eadeverell.com/idea-to-story/

https://www.valleyofwriters.com/writing-a-novel-using-the-three-chapter-slingshot-method/

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/seven-tips-for-intuitive-writing-the-heart-hand-connection

https://blog.reedsy.com/plot-generator/

Tools

Browser based writing: https://ellipsus.com/

Browser based writing and formatting: https://editor.reedsy.com/

Organizing worldbuilding: https://www.worldanvil.com/

Organizing everything: https://www.notion.com/

Free writing program, full office suite: https://www.libreoffice.org/

Cover design, header graphics: https://www.canva.com/

[llamasofchaos]

The worst thing about being a Brandon Sanderson fan is that while his writing is amazing and almost everything is done to set up or complete a different arc of the overall story he isn't afraid to be brutal and it hurts. Because you could be enjoying a book and he'll just be like "oh you like this character? Dead"

And the worst part is that it isn't for shock value. There is always a purpose behind the death of a character.

[nanowrimo]

4 Alternatives to Popular Writing Advice

Some writing advice get passed off as something every writer has to do. The truth is, these tips might not work for everybody! NaNo participant Nicole Wilbur offers some alternatives to popular writing advice that may be a better fit for your writing needs.

While there are no definitive writing “rules”, there’s certainly writing advice so common it feels like it’s become canon. Most popular writing advice is generally good – but what if it doesn’t light up your brain? What if a particular tip doesn’t resonate with you?

 If this popular advice isn’t working - try these alternatives! 

Common advice: Make your character want something.  Alternative: Ask what your character is most afraid of.

Your character usually wants something – the MC’s goal driving the story is a common plot, after all. That something needs to be concrete, meaning the audience will know definitively when they’ve achieved their goal. 

(Is “found independence” concrete? No. Signed the lease on their first apartment? Yes.)

But if you aren’t sure yet, or what they want doesn’t feel motivating enough to support your inciting incident, start with a different question: what is your character afraid of? 

Katniss wants to survive, with her family, yes. But she’s terrified of helplessly watching them die. 

Common advice: Identify your story’s theme and stick it on a post- it above your computer.  Alternative: Use the character’s arc to create a main idea statement, and craft several related questions your story explores. 

English class really made ‘theme’ feel heavy-handed. In my grade nine English class, we listed the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird as: coming of age, racism, justice, and good vs. evil. 

While these are the topics explored in the book, I’ve never found this advice helpful in writing.  Instead, I like to use the controlling idea concept (as in Robert McKee’s Story) and exploratory questions (as in John Truby’s Anatomy of Genres).

A controlling idea is a statement about what the author views as the “proper” way to live, and it’s often cause-and-effect. The exploratory question is – well, a question you want to explore. 

In It’s a Wonderful Life, the controlling idea is something to the effect of “Life is meaningful because of our relationships” or “our lives feel meaningful when we value our family and community over money.” The question: How can a single person influence the future of an entire community?

Common advice: List out your character’s traits, perhaps with a character profile. Alternative: Focus on 2-3 broad brushstrokes that define the character.

When I first started writing, I would list out everything I wanted my character to be: smart, daring, sneaky, kind, greedy, etc. I created a long list of traits. Then I started writing the book. When I went back to look at the traits, I realized the character wasn’t really exhibiting any of these.

Instead of a long list of traits to describe your character, try identifying three. Think of these like three brush strokes on a page, giving the scaffolding of your character. Ideally, the combination of traits should be unexpected: maybe the character is rule-following, people-pleasing, and ambitious. Maybe the character is brash, strategic, and dutiful. 

Then – and this is the fun part – consider how the traits come into conflict, and what their limits are. What happens when our ambitious rule-follower must break the law to get what she wants? Sure, a character might be kind, but what will make her bite someone’s head off?

Common advice: Create a killer plot twist. Alternative: Create an information plot. 

Readers love an unexpected plot twist: whether a main character is killed or an ally turns out to be the bad guy, they’re thrilling. But plotting towards one singular twist can be difficult. 

Instead of using the term plot twist, I like thinking in terms of Brandon Sanderson’s “information” plot archetype. 

An information plot is basically a question the reader is actively trying to work out. It could be like Sarah Dessen's Just Listen where we wonder "what happened between Annabel and her ex-best friend?", "why is Annabel's sister acting strangely?" and "who is Owen, really?" Those all have to do with backstory, but information plots can be about pretty much any hidden information. Another popular question is "who is the bad guy?" - or in other words, "who is after the characters?" The Charlie's Angel franchise, for example, tends to keep viewers guessing at who the true antagonist is until the last few scenes.

Nicole Wilbur is an aspiring YA author, writing sapphic action-adventure stories that cure wanderlust. As a digital nomad, she has no house and no car, but has racked up a ridiculous number of frequent flier miles. She chronicles her writing and travelling journey on her YouTube channel and Chasing Chapters substack.

Photo by George Milton

[endearing-dalliance]

Reading that the Arcane cocreators were inspired by the works of Brandon Sanderson literally made me snort. Was that what season 2 was supposed to be, a Sanderlanche? Have they missed the entire plot of Mistborn era 1? Did they miss the part where he hires experts specifically to give him insight and feedback on issues he wants to write about? Or how he takes years to write each book and it gets reviewed and edited extensively instead of just writing everything years ago and making minimal changes?

[femslashbigbang]

[Masterpost] May Challenge

This might be a little late but here it is - all the wonderful pieces created for the May prompt. Thank you again to everyone who participated!!

ARTWORK

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OC/OC by @odyooles

Fandom: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Ship: OC/OC

WRITING

in the muddy water, we're falling by shadowings (lanternglass)

Fandom: Original Works Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: OC/OC Summary: Rue is still frowning. A reminder that isn’t necessary: “Only one of you is going to walk out of the seal if you don’t do it right, you know. If you don’t do it right, one of you is going to eat the other alive. Or both of you.” She doesn’t say, you used to love each other. Sai doesn’t brush a kiss against her cheek, affectionate, but she thinks about it. Languid and never, ever kind, she says, “I know.” — Or: last chance to get out.

Bon Voyage by merryfortune

Fandom: Hololive (Virtual Streamers), Virtual Streamer Animated Characters Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Gawr Gura/Takanashi Kiara Summary: Gura decides that it is time to return to her home in Atlantis and Kiara decides that she wants to come with.

my whole world is the girl over there by frankenjoly

Fandom: Coffee Talk (Video Game) Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Aqua/Myrtle (Coffee Talk) Summary: “Thanks.” Aqua said, once that computer box had been placed carefully alongside the other over their sturdiest table, leaning in to leave a peck on her girlfriend’s lips. “Anytime, hun.” Myrtle said, grinning from ear to ear. for femslash big bang's may monthly challenge: moving in aqua & myrtle move together into a shared appartment.

blood as rare and sweet as cherry wine (M) by strawberryshortcake (AquamarineMemeBender)

Fandom: Original Work Rating: M // Rape/Non-con Pairing: OC/OC Summary: "Stay in bed with me,” Rose murmurs. “Stay here, baby. You should just move in, you know, things would be so much easier. “I’m leaving in the morning,” Ginny whispers, and Rose’s laugh vibrates through her chest. Her nails are manicured, shaped and painted. Ginny’s are bitten to the quick, her cuticles shredded. She hates them. “Of course,” Rose says, eyes laden with amusement. Or: Rose wants Ginny to move in with her.

Learn with you by Rocknoutfrthdead

Fandom: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson Rating: G // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Jasnah Kholin/Venli Summary: Jasnah and Venli have been courting, and in so many ways, they share everything. But what happens when Jasnah encounters something that Venli doesn't want to share with her?

Greylags and Brants... and Goose by RynRose4 

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Marvels (Movie 2023) Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Carol Danvers Summary: Marv's smile is soft. Maybe it's time, she says with her eyes. That is, if you're ready. She squeezes Val's hand with her own and the answer shines clearer than any choice Val has ever had to make. "Get Love on the phone. I have a big, horrible, awful, painful favor to ask."

though i never thought that it would come to this, just know i'll be here by noaxtora

Fandom: The Owl House (Cartoon) Rating: G // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda Summary: She pictures it: a miniscule flat (she is fairly realistic with the imaginary future she builds; it's unlikely they'd be able to afford anything more), yet homely. Crooked, but charming, stuffed with colourful furniture. The walls would be lined with bookshelves, their collection of Good Witch Azura books front and centre. Perhaps there would be posters upon the walls, and Luz had told her about these human inventions called "fairy lights" (what they have to do with actual fairies, Amity still doesn’t know) - strings with lights attached, those could be dangling from the ceiling! Or perhaps it would've come later. A larger house, with many rooms, that they could afford once they’d been working. A kitchen that could make dishes from both worlds, a shared bedroom with a double bed. Maybe there'd be paintings on the walls, and patchwork blankets upon the sofa. It’d be just as comfortable and vibrant, only bigger. Amity didn't expect to be moving in with her girlfriend so soon, yet, somehow, it ends up being better than she could've ever imagined. Written for the Femslash Big Bang May Challenge: Moving In [Title from The Challenge from EPIC: The Musical]

New House by yorit1

Fandom: Bridgerton (TV) Rating: G // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Francesca Bridgerton/Michaela Stirling Summary: Michaela and Francesca move into their new house. Does everything go as planned?

feel it all, despite by GallifreyanFairytale

Fandom: 时光代理人 | Link Click (Cartoon) Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Qiao Ling/Xu Shanshan Summary: “Why don’t the two of us live together next year?” Qiao Ling blinks. “What?” “Seriously,” Xu Shanshan continues, gesturing vaguely. “My roommate is a total bitch, and it sounds to me like you need a break from the boys. It would be a win-win! Plus, they’ll be able to move into a better apartment too.” She considers this for a moment. “Which would actually make it a win-win-win!” qiao ling and xu shanshan move in together before their second year of university; qiao ling pines.

The Space U-Haul Episode (E) by Shane_for_Wax 

Fandom: Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Legacy Rating: E // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Seven of Nine/B'Elanna TorresRaffi Musiker/Seven of Nine Summary: Raffi, Seven, and B'Elanna all decide that playing musical quarters is annoying as hell (especially when duty schedules don't match very nicely). Given the size of Seven's quarters as Captain of the Enterprise-G, it's decided everyone will pile in there. The only problem of course is the conflicting ideas of how to situate a living space, from letting plateware linger and not go into the recycler promptly after eating to the user interface theme on the computer. (Smut in chapter 4, everything else is T to M) Part of the Femslash Big Bang May Monthly Challenge: Moving-In Questions, comments, etc., always accepted.

every pain has a name (i want to know yours) by hannieuphoria

Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Kayama Nemuri | Midnight/Tsutsumi Kaina | Lady Nagant Summary: She can’t explain in any way that matters that Kayama used to be like a light on her darkness. That she would’ve stripped herself off her skin to show what was hidden underneath, had she indulged her desires—hadn't she thought Kayama didn’t have to carry the weight of her own sins. The truth is she didn’t know if Kayama wanted to be loved, and she believed she would forever be undeserving of doing so, but she wanted to do it. She wanted to love her so, so badly. after the war, kaina moves in.

she's the headlights, i'm the deer by sonyswings

Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) Rating: G // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Ashido Mina/Yaoyorozu Momo Summary: Momo watches them bicker over dinner and there’s an unsettling feeling that appears and finds its home in her stomach as she tries her best not to comment on it. She knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, after all. or Momo moves in with Mina and Kaminari who seem to be closer than she expected which does not make her jealous. at all

Fran vs. The Void (Not Rated) by KapandherScratchpad

Fandom: Bridgerton (TV) Rating: Not Rated // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Francesca Bridgerton/Michaela Stirling Summary: Fran is not a cat person. She's The Void's favorite new person. May entry for the Year of the OTP 2025 Prompts used: "we're dating? since when?" | stalking Femslash Big Bang May Prompt: Moving In

the house she built for me / i made a promise to keep it haunted by inkpoisonblood

Fandom: 鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Anime), 鬼滅の刃 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Manga) Rating: T // Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Pairing: Kochou Kanae/Original Female Character Summary: “Yes,” she replies, without pause, with a trace of sharpness. “I did.” It’s gone soon enough. And then— a lovely flush staining Kanae's cheekbones, her mouth trembling from something entirely new. Saki knows the look of it on her so well. Kochou Kanae has been in love with her since she was fourteen. Dyed red and pink and green— what a fool Saki was, to think that three years of distance were enough to cut it away. or, hanamura saki, on being a saviour.

home is wherever you are by Grollow

Fandom: RWBY Rating: G // No Archive Warnings Apply Paring: Joanna Greenleaf/Robyn Hill/May Marigold/Fiona, Thyme Joanna Greenleaf/May Marigold, May Marigold/Fiona Thyme, Robyn Hill/May Marigold Summary: It takes running away from her family in the middle of the night for May to finally get what she's always yearned for.

No place like home… [Story and art] by Butimachrldr2 

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan Summary: Femslash Big Bang May Entry for ‘Moving In’. Emma Swan has lived in a lot of places, but none has really been home, until now… Potential Trigger Warnings: reference to foster care and struggles with placements and feeling abandoned, negative reference to Hook Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time nor the original characters from the show.

The ad in the paper by ErrolsFeather

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: G // Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Pairing: Tinker Bell/Wicked Witch of the West | Zelena, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Alice Jones | Tilly/Robin | Margot Summary: When Zelena asks for a roomate in an ad in the paper, Tinker Bell answerd. The two find it's an agreement that suits them both and their feeling slowly develoups.

she calls my name, pulls my train by littencloud9

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon 2005) Rating: G // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar) Summary: "I want to move out," Ty Lee declares. Her fingers twiddle together, a habit she never outgrew since childhood. "I want to make my own home, find a place for myself. I want to live in a place that's distinctly me." or, a few years after the war, mai and ty lee move in together

where the ocean meets the sky by theriveroflight

Fandom: AI: The Somnium Files (Video Games) Rating: T // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Bibi | Kuranushi Mizuki/Doi Amame Summary: After three years, Amame is released from jail under probation. Her supervising officer? Mizuki Kuranushi.

Moving onto worse feelings (E) by Tinglecannon

Fandom: 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney Rating: E // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Houzuki Tomoe | Lana Skye/Ichinotani Kyouka | Angel Starr Summary: With one final kiss, whatever relationship Lana had with Angel was dead. As she pulled her lips away, she murmured with almost the amount of venom Lana deserved, "You're the devil, Lana Skye."

in love with your fingertips (E) by skylarkblue

Fandom: Batman (Comics), Batwoman (Comics) Rating: E // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: Kate Kane/Harper Row Summary: Unpacking her new place, Harper thinks about her life and Kate, and how much she means to her. Meanwhile, Kate finds a very good reason for them to take their clothes off.

Carrot & Stick (M) by LizLimone998 

Fandom: What We Do in the Shadows (TV) Rating: M // No Archive Warnings Apply Pairing: The Guide/Nadja of Antipaxos (What We Do in the Shadows TV) Summary: Construction of the nightclub is underway, but the Guide is doing everything she can to disrupt the moving in process. Nadja finds a way to deal with her.

[mortish-writes]

Hello! I hope you’re well. I discovered your work only a few days ago but I have been playing nonstop with different choices each time to see the different play throughs I can get, so far I’ve really enjoyed it! Your writing is phenomenal, I’ve been looking for something dark, sexy, romantic, and smutty involving vampires and this is absolutely perfect. I can’t wait to buy it when it’s complete! <3 if I may ask, what inspired you to begin writing Bride of Shadows? Did you take inspiration from any other works when beginning this story?

Thanks! So I initially started drafting Bride of Shadows during the pandemic when my job closed and I was suddenly at home at lot. I binge read The Vampire Chronicles at that time so I'm sure that had an effect, but in general I've always loved vampire fiction from the Anita Blake saga to the Sookie Stackhouse series. Probably a series that made me see how vampires could be written differently was the Carpathian series by Christine Feehan. I loved the whole life-mates and being able to reproduce aspect. I'm a big fan of fated mates and pregnancy/family building in romance and those tropes don't generally intersect with vampires.

For fantasy, my favorite author is probably Brandon Sanderson. I rarely read non-romance, but his books are so captivating. I love the twists and turns, the setups and the payoffs, and I find his writing very inspiring. Anyone who hasn't read his work, go read Warbreaker. It has enough romance to suck you in and then you'll be immersed by the epic plot. I can definitely see shades of Vasher in Valdricht and Lightsong in Serax.

My biggest inspiration I haven't written about yet because I don't want to throw shade on other authors, so I won't name it specifically but right before I started drafting Bride of Shadows I read a contemporary fantasy book series with a compelling love triangle, good smut, and a pregnancy subplot that was so promising and then dropped the ball in such a profoundly terrible way in the final two books that it was the first time I ever finished a story and said, "That's it?" I would have been happier if the author had just abandoned the story it was such a God-awful ending. She ruined both the ROs and the MC became intolerable. I think maybe it was one of those cases where the author had one RO she liked better even though the fan-favorite was another so instead of appealing to a plurality of readers or following her heart she just broke everything and lit it on fire then went off to work on her more popular book series. Basically I was so mad about that series it made me want to write a better one and, all ego aside, it won't be difficult.

I mean it must have been good if I'm still mad about the ending half a decade later. Either that or I get too emotionally attached to books with hot fae.

[madwomansapologist]

notes on Storm's Illumination

"Thath. Justice." - Navani Kholin, chapter 69.

I wanted to leave this for the end, but let's start with: how it feels good to be right. I am, once again, Miss On Sight.

Elhokar is a stupid fucking asshole. What a dumb king. Stupid. He weakened his family in the vision of others, and without his stupid decision of CUTTING THE FUCKING SADDLE the whole battle of The Tower wouldn't happen.

The way everything would be so much easier if he was cruel. But no, he needs to be only thing that is worse than that: stupid.

Elhokar, if you have no haters than I am dead. Fuck you, and bless Dalinar's cock inside your mom. You fucking child, say sorry for stepdad/uncle.

The Tower was an arc worthy of prizes by itself. The way I could see all the threads Brandon Sanderson created just becoming one knot, how every single thing finally had an answer, is just mind blowing.Dalinar.

I judged Dalinar for his behavior, but there he goes and proof that my argument was exactly the conclusion he came to. His moral is right, the moment isn't. And if the moment isn't for a man like him (and what a man), then he will change what's happening.

The Way of Kings wasn't written for people in a war, but after it. For now, he can be the only adult in a room full of childs.

The way characters decide to give others they armors and swords just makes so much sense. Szeth now wanting one more shardblade to aim other, Kaladin not seeing honor in gaining something from a battlefield filled with his friends corpses, Dalinar understanding that he will never allow himself to be Blackthorn again.

Sadeas, I liked you for a instant. I'm waiting gladly for the moment Adolin kills you. And c'mon, there is no way anyone but Adolin is killing Sadeas.

Bridge 4 finding their freedom only because they were honorable. And them being honorable only because they knew what it felt to trapped in a position in which the only thing they could do was to die. Not a "I was hurt and because of that pain I will protect", but "I was hurt and despise that pain I will protect".

Syl being a honor spreen. Still not sure about what it means exactly, but I have a theory about Shallan that soon I will see if it's right or not.

In general: I slept four hours that night because of that book. And I am writing this while at work. That's how much it affected me.

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[veliseraptor]

Top 5 favorite moments in your favorite villain's stories!

the counterpoint to this ask because there was a slightly distinct flavor to these two options! okay okay let's go, limiting this to one per character for challenge mode and this is obviously an incomplete villain selection, just the ones I thought of first

1. I could've put down the final confrontation between Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen again for this because it is legitimately one of the scenes of all time, just, globally, but I think for some variety I'm going to go for the scene right afterwards, specifically the CQL rendition with Xue Yang setting everything up and making dinner and sitting there with a lovestruck expression waiting for Xiao Xingchen to wake up and...everything to be fine again, I guess? Oh buddy. And then the inevitable meltdown when that isn't what happens. It is so painful in the best possible way. CQL gets this one for a few reasons but bonus mention to the way the novel scene specifies that Xue Yang also remakes A-Qing's bed and the fact that he doesn't tend to his own stab wound until after he's got Xiao Xingchen all set up for resurrection.

2. The entire goddamn pool scene (Kinnporsche). I mean, scenes that have me lying on the floor making pathetic noises for 500, cycling around in my brain, thinking about on the regular. There's so much happening there and as one of the several !!!! vegaspete moments for me this is a scene that regularly punches me in the face. Also delivered choice painful whump on about five different levels but didn't actually kill off my fave (for once). Incredible.

3. I feel like this is rich of me given I was just complaining about Brandon Sanderson but I have to flag the bit with Moridin in The Gathering Storm where Rand intrudes on his brooding time and he is so clearly Tired and Done with everything. @neuxue wrote an incredible write-up on that whole scene that pretty perfectly explicates why it means so much to me, so I went and dug it up so I could link to it for someone who can talk about this better. My (possibly inordinate) affection for Ishamael/Moridin is well fed.

4. look, I'm still embarrassed about this but he did sort of rewrite my brain so I'm going to include it regardless of my vague sense of shame: Loki's death(ish) scene in The Dark World made me feel so hard and continues to be very emotional for me even knowing that it was, ultimately, a fakeout. It still doesn't read to me as a scene where the character who is(n't actually) dying knows that they're. not actually dying. The way the whole sequence plays out is great, but in particular "I didn't do it for him" is one of those lines that like. I felt that. Still feel that, little bit. Loki died (ish) three times and this one is my favorite. The Dark World is objectively not a very good movie but! it is near to my heart.

5. Had to think about this one for a while because there are so many options and I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch, but I think I'm going to hand this to the moments immediately after Jun Wu has been beaten at the end of TGCF, because as I've gone on record saying before, it never ceases to drive me completely insane and while he is a villain I don't talk about as much as some others he is one who gives me a whole lot of feelings.

Bonus mention to Maeglin's death in The Silmarillion though because I'm a big fan of narrative circularity and characters who doom themselves while also possibly being inevitably cursed as well. Also thought about (most recently) giving this one to a bunch of possible Rasten moments in North Star Guide Me Home but I feel like at that point he only barely qualifies as a villain so.

[lifblogs]

Can we appreciate Brandon Sanderson understanding the finer morals of revolution? He writes the horrors of tearing everything down to try and start over, the destruction of art, the destruction of innocent lives. He shares the important spirit of rebellion while also writing a cautious tale about the evils of too much power, rage, and bloodlust. He shows that there are ways that don’t encompass unadulterated hatred. Kelsier’s arc was in fact about this. Right before his death he recognized that Elend being a nobleman and at the whims of the same powers that put them where they are in society does not make Elend a bad person.

[onlycosmere]

Editing

tahollow: I always wondered exactly what editing was, but I figured it was more of making sure things align with the main focus of the story/characters instead of truncating the novel.

Brandon Sanderson: There's really three big stages to editing.

1) Substantive Editing. This is usually the editor reading the book and offering an "Editorial Letter." The editor often doesn't leave any marks on the manuscript in this stage, but instead writes everything out on the large scale. They might offer suggestions for improvement, but more often than not, they just highlight the problem areas and ask you to rethink them or ask for more clarity. Sometimes, you'll do a call an explain what you were trying, and you'll bounce ideas off each other of how to better achieve it.

I have four people usually doing substantive edits with me. Devi at Tor. Gillian from the UK. Peter from my own company. And Karen, my continuity editor. All are seeing the book early, and all are making large-scale notes about problems to work on. (Karen's focus is on continuity first--large scale continuity like timing of days, and comparisons to previous books. The others don't worry about that much, and focus on things like character arcs and structure.)

2) Line editing. When I had Moshe, he did both substantive and line editing. These days, Gillian is our primary line editor, and she does a second pass to cover this after doing her substantive editorial letter. She's a very good line editor, by the way. This is the "Make the page bleed" type thing you might hear of an editor doing. They go through and try to help you clarify. During this stage, they will trim, though the focus is on helping you find the right words, identify trouble sentences, and the like. Gillian usually has a handful (four or five) of these per page, depending. Some pages have none. Some have more. Tightening IS a focus during this stage, but it's again more about clarity.

After this stage, I do my own revision where--with a spreadsheet and wordcounts in hand--I cut 10-15% of the book, line by line, to really condense and make it pop. This is where I pay attention to language most. If I'm writing a book with a strong voice and distinctive prose, like one of Hoid's novels, I look to really implement it here. If I'm trying something more clear and concise, where I want character voice to dominate not narrative voice, I really try to get the writer to vanish here and let the character and story reign.

Because of this, I can track exactly how much I trimmed from Wind and Truth.

3) After this, a separate set of editors take over. The copy editor is focused on maintaining a style guide and making sure that there aren't line-level contradictions in the book. (Did you say his eyes were green here, and blue in a different chapter?) A copy editor is also a "first line" proofreader. They aren't supposed to make, or suggest, sweeping changes--at this point, the page numbers and the like of the book are getting locked in for pre production.

Peter Ahlstrom, my editorial VP, oversees this. I make changes during this stage, but when I do, he actually puts them into the text. He then works with the proofreaders, doing multiple passes.

So, not counting beta readers and alpha readers, I have five main editors on a Stormlight book.

Devi

Gillian

Peter

Karen

And Terry (our primary copyeditor.)

Each has a different role, though all of them but Terry offer a lot of substantive changes.

[monstrousproductions]

Impromptu book club! What have you all been reading lately? Anything wonderful? Anything terrible? If you've been swapping presents this week, were any of them books? I got a lovely edition of Pride and Prejudice and the complete Sherlock Holmes short stories, as well as a copy of The Standard Life of a Temporary Pantyhose Salesman by Aldo Busi - a book I know nothing about but whose title and author name have already delighted me.

Currently Reading:

The Philosophy of Love by Rebecca Ryan, a surprisingly heavy rom com that manges pretty well as it balances a profoundly silly premise with some really strong character stuff as the female lead realises her ex was abusively controlling. I'm also relistening to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, performed by Simon Prebble, for the millionth time. It's still good, who knew!

Recently Finished:

The Sunless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - Badly needed editing, from a story level (there was no plot! Kind of a big deal for a book about storytelling!) right down to a basic sentence level (the line, "A dim light shone above, not bright" stands out as an example. You already said it was a dim light, Erin. I know it isn't bright. I'm beginning to worry you aren't, either.)

Gods of Jade and Show by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - I had so much more fun with this than I expected! The writing wasn't particularly strong, but it was a lot of fun and I liked the blending of 1920s Mexican culture with Mayan mythology. Could have done with a bit more pizazz for the 1920s stuff but overall, I had a blast.

Flatland by Edwin Abbot (audiobook performed by Kevin Eldon) - For a book about geometry, again, I had way more fun with this than I might have thought. I enjoyed the satire of Victorian society, but audiobook maybe isn't the best medium for a book that apparently includes quite a lot of diagrams.

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson (audiobook performed by Talon David) - Absolutely god-awful. No idea why I finished this. It fell into that pitfall that so many hetero romances do, of trying to have a protagonist who is simultaneously "sooo relatable" but is still a wish fulfillment. Cut to the protagonist calling herself "a whale" because she's... a US size 6 (UK 10) 🙄

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse (audiobook performed by Dion Graham) - A tidy wee novella that makes me want to read more by this author. Dion Graham's voice is simply too delicious for words. I liked the world created here - essentially a demonic sort of wild west - and that it didn't outstay its welcome.

Binned Off:

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (audiobook performed by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer) - I know he has a million fans, but I couldn't be doing with that much guff about the magic system in the face of so little characterisation. Also, maybe he unpacks the whole "this group of people are naturally suited to slavery" thing later in the book/series, but I wasn't in the mood to give him time to try.

What about you? Anything you want to shout about - for better or worse? Tell me everything 📚✨

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

https://www.tumblr.com/letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/778946032113532928/which-will-come-out-first-the-winds-of-winter I feel there’s lore behind here I don’t know about winds of winters so far all I know is that it must suck to be George have not only people that pay you but fans constantly telling you to write ,as a fic writer that hates where’s the update comments my hearts goes to him

LOL yeah so basically the rundown is that GRRM wrote the Song of Ice and Fire series the last book of which (number five out of seven) came out in 2010. Around this time the TV show based on the books started coming out and became a global sensation.

Game of Thrones (the show) was very popular but GRRM was very busy on other projects so in the meantime, the book series hasn't gotten the sixth book (Winds of Winter) out yet. Sensing the show would outpace the books, GRRM told the showrunning duo a couple of key plot points so they would know what to aim for when doing the next seasons.

The showrunning duo, however, were sick of the show and had a lucrative deal for other shows including a Star Wars film series (or show? not sure on that point, either way a SW project). So while other writers stated that they would need several more seasons to cover all the plot points and wrap everything up satisfactorily, the duo pushed it all into just a couple of seasons, rushing everything, and also literally changed major plot points because they didn't want the audience to guess what would happen.

The finale basically infuriated everyone. It's considered one of the worst and most-hated finales in television show history.

And all this time, Winds of Winter has not come out.

Now, relatedly, there is a very popular fantasy book series called Wheel of Time. The author became terminally ill and as a result compiled as many notes as possible on the series, so that after his death another author could finish it. Brandon Sanderson worked with the author's wife and finished the series working off those notes, but it was a very scary time for fans of the series on if it would be satisfactory or not.

GRRM has discussed that issue and has promised that the Song of Ice and Fire series will be finished before he dies, and he is not going to die with it unfinished.

So, my pet little theory, is that he has actually finished the series. It's in a vault. And it will be published after his death. After the television series ended so badly, the pressure to deliver on the book series to people's satisfaction is through the roof. It's the kind of pressure I wouldn't wish on anyone. But if it's published after you're dead... so you don't have to worry about fan reactions...

MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO ME, THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING.

So yeah that's the lore about Winds of Winter - GRRM is pretty obviously doing everything except publishing it/working on the series, and my personal theory regarding it is that he has finished it and it will be published posthumously so he doesn't have to deal with reader reactions and pressure.