dominoeswrites - Tumblr blog

[dominoeswrites]

I've had this little idea in my head for a while now, so I decided to sit down and plot it out.

Disclaimer: This isn't meant to be some sort of One-Worksheet-Fits-All situation. This is meant to be a visual representation of some type of story planning you could be doing in order to develop a plot!

Lay down groundwork! (Backstory integral to the beginning of your story.) Build hinges. (Events that hinge on other events and fall down like dominoes) Suspend structures. (Withhold just enough information to make the reader curious, and keep them guessing.)

And hey, is this helps... maybe sit down and write a story! :)

[dominoeswrites]

u know what, even if my writing isnt the BEST, i still made it all on my own. like there was a blank word doc and i filled it up with my own words, my own story. i took what was in my head and i made it a real thing. idk i feel like that alone is something to be proud of.

[dominoeswrites]

PACING IS ABOUT LOAD BEARING WALLS.

*staples violently to my own forehead*

[dominoeswrites]

Hi, Tumblr. It’s Tumblr. We’re working on some things that we want to share with you. 

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[dominoeswrites]

Hi,

It’s you friendly neighbor fanfic author here. In the light of this apparent new trend of people feeding unfinished fics to AI to get an “ending,” and some people even talking about “blanket permissions,” let me just say this:

I EXPLICITLY FORBID ANYONE TO FEED MY FICS TO AI. DUDE, THAT IS ABOUT THE LEAST RESPECTFUL THING YOU CAN DO. IF YOU DO IT, SHALL YOU BE EXCOMMUNICATED FROM YOUR FANDOM AND WALK ON LEGOS BAREFOOT TILL THE END OF DAYS.

That is my anti-permission.

Thank you for your attention.

[dominoeswrites]

Conlanging for cheaters

quick tips for creating fantasy language(s) that look believable if you squint

Pick a few rules about what letter/sound combinations can and cannot exist (or are common/uncommon). For example, in English, "sp" or "st" can begin a word, but in Spanish they can't. The "ng" sound (or the voiced velar nasal if you want to get technical), can't appear at the beginning of a syllable in English, but it can in at least of third of languages around the world. English allows for consonant clusters (more than one consonant together without a vowel), but some languages, such as Hawaiian, don't. Picking a few distinctive rules that are different from English or the language you are writing in, and sticking to them, will yield a lot better results than just keysmashing.

Assign meaning to a few suffixes, prefixes, or roots. A simple and useful example of this is making up a particle that means -land or -city or -town, and tacking it onto your appropriate place names. You could also have a particle with a similar meaning to the "er/or one we have in English, such as in "baker," "singer," or "operator," and then incorporate it in your fantasy titles or professions. It's like an Easter egg for careful readers to figure out, and it will make your language/world feel more cohesive.

Focus on places and names. You usually don't need to write full sentences/paragraphs in your conlang. What you might want to do with it is name things. The flavor of your language will seep in from the background, with the added benefit of giving readers some hints on background lore. For example, you could have a conlang that corresponds to a certain group of people, and a character with a corresponding name could then be coded as being from that group without having to specify. A human-inhabited city with an elven-sounding name might imply that it was previously inhabited by elves.

You don't have to know what everything means. Unless you are Linguistics Georg R. R. Tolkien, you probably don't want to (and shouldn't!) actually make up a whole language. So stick some letters together (following your linguistic rules, of course) and save fretting over grammar and definitions for the important stuff.

(Bonus) This isn't technically conlanging, but it can be fun to make up an idiom or two for your fantasy culture (just in English or whatevs) and sprinkle that in a few times. The right made-up idiom can allude to much larger cultural elements without you having to actually explain it.

Congrats! You now have a conlang you can dust over your wip like an appropriate amount of glitter. Conlangs can be intimidating, just because there's so much you can do, but that doesn't mean you have to do it all. So yeah anyway here's what I would recommend; hope y'all have fun :D

[dominoeswrites]

would you like a nice glass of

[dominoeswrites]

“One man’s cringe is another man’s epic” and “a flawed story is still a thousand times better than a story never told” are two pieces of advice that a lot of people aspiring to be writers really need to take to heart. Stop tearing yourself up over getting every little insignificant thing right.

[dominoeswrites]

All I'm saying is, if a fic refers to characters by their physical attributes instead of their names or pronouns ("he smiled at the older" "the blonde laughed") when we know who the character is, and ESPECIALLY if the descriptions include "ravenette" or "cyanette" or other ridiculous words--

I'm clicking out of that fic so fast my AO3 history won't even register I've been there.

[dominoeswrites]

[dominoeswrites]

reminders for writers.

nobody gives a crap if something is overdone in fiction. what they really care about is the execution

having a bad day of writing does not make you a bad writer

tropes ≠ clichés. if someone tells you it’s wrong to use tropes, disregard the advice

writing in your second or third language isn’t always easy. you’re doing great

writing advice = tools. not rules. you’re not meant to follow every advice you read about on the internet. learn the rules so you know which ones to break

every writer is capable of writing a captivating story, but your story might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s ok. there will still be people out there who’ll adore it

it’s ok to not excel at every genre! you can write things because you think it’s fun, doesn’t always have to be a matter of writing something because you’re good at it. it’s ok to explore (and it helps you improve as a writer!)

[dominoeswrites]

Birthday Party

It's @ilovemygaydad 's birthday and I wrote this for them, so happy birthday, Mika!

Summary: Patton throws a party for his boyfriend Janus.

Ship: Moceit

Warnings: mention of food and cake, let me know if there's anything else.

Read on AO3

~~~~

Everything had to be perfect. It wasn't every day that someone had a birthday, after all! Okay, well maybe it was, but it wasn't every day that Janus had a birthday. And that was important! So yeah, everything had to be perfect.

Patton was just pulling the cake out of the oven when Virgil, who was helping Logan and Roman put up decorations in the living room of Janus and Patton's apartment, walked in.

"Hey Pat?"

"Yeah Virge?" Patton asked, though he was mainly focused on carrying the cake to the fridge.

"Remus texted saying the distraction failed, and they're on their way back."

"No they can't come back, the cake isn't even cooled yet!"

"I know, I know, but like as annoying and distracting as Remus is, Janus is apparently getting suspicious."

Patton sighed as he got the cake settled in the fridge. "How's the living room looking?"

"I think it's pretty good. Roman wants to add some like, confetti and stuff, but I think Logan talked him down."

Patton smiled a little. "Is there any way you can convince Remus to try and keep them out a little longer?"

"I think so," Virgil said, already texting Remus.

~~~

Janus, as much as he totally enjoyed spending time with Remus, was ready to go home and spend the day with his boyfriend. But for some reason, Janus let Remus drive, which he knew was a terrible idea from the start. But now Remus was driving in the total opposite direction of the apartment.

"You do realize that I live the other way, right?"

"Yup!"

Janus nodded and looked out the windshield. "That's not foreboding at all."

"Oh come on, it's an adventure!"

"And you totally don't sound exactly like your brother."

"Boo, you're no fun."

"I told you, Remus, I want to go home."

"Well I'm under strict orders not to take you home."

"Are you now?" Janus asked, arching an eyebrow.

Remus' eyes widened just the slightest bit before going back to a neutral expression, but Janus caught it.

"Whose orders are you under?"

Remus took a hand off the wheel and waved it dismissively. "Oh you know I just say dumb shit like that."

"Who doesn't want me going home, Remus?"

"Me, I'm bored and I want to hang out with you."

"Oh please, keep lying to me, you're so good at it."

"I don't appreciate your tone, young man."

"I'm older than you."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"Take me to my apartment, Remus."

"I don't think I will."

Janus narrowed his eyes. "How dare you quote Endgame at me."

Remus grinned. "You're welcome!"

Janus sighed and sat back into the seat. He wouldn't be home for a long time.

~~~

Patton smiled as he finished the last bit of decoration on the cake. "It's done!"

"Oh thank god, it only took an hour," Roman said, going to swipe a finger through the frosting on the side of the cake.

Patton swatted Roman's hand away. "Don't you dare! I worked hard on this and you're not going to ruin it before Janus gets here."

Virgil poked his head in the kitchen. "Oh good, it's done. They're on their way back again."

Patton grinned. "Perfect! How far away are they?"

"Probably about ten minutes?" Virgil said, checking his phone. "I guess Janus kicked Remus out of the driver's seat."

Patton giggled. "Okay." He grabbed the cake and put it in the fridge again. Roman tried for the frosting again, but Patton managed to get it away just in time.

~~~

Janus parked and got out of the car, messing with the keys until he got the one for his apartment. Remus followed, then slammed himself into a support beam.

"Goddamn it, Remus," Janus said, going to help his friend up. "Pay attention to where you're going."

"Sorry, I got a text."

Janus rolled his eyes. "Come on. I'm sure that Patton can call Logan to make sure you don't have a concussion."

Remus laughed. "Oh come on, I've hit my head on worse!"

"I mean, true."

Janus led Remus up to the apartment and unlocked the door. The lights were off.

"Patton?" Janus asked as he flicked the light on.

"Surprise!"

Janus stumbled back into Remus as Patton, as well as Roman, Virgil and Logan appeared from behind the couch.

Patton came running up to Janus and threw his arms around him. "Happy birthday babe!"

Janus smiled a little and looked around. "You did this for me?"

Patton nodded. "I wanted to give you a surprise party, because you said you'd never had one before!"

Janus laughed and kissed Patton. "You're literally the best."

Patton grinned. "Oh I have to show you the cake! It's marble, your favorite!"

Janus let Patton lead him into the kitchen, and the rest of the evening was filled with laughter and talking and cake, and Logan even ordered a pizza.

And then everyone went home, leaving Patton and Janus cuddled up on the couch next to each other.

"Did you like it?" Patton asked.

Janus smiled as he played with Patton's hair. "I loved it. And I love you."

Patton sat up to face Janus with a smile. "I love you too."

Janus leaned in and kissed Patton softly. When he pulled away, he smirked a little, and said, "Also, I was being sarcastic when I told you I'd never had a surprise party before."

Patton's eyes widened. "Wait seriously?"

Janus laughed and kissed Patton again.

[dominoeswrites]

Reblogging this bc Apparently I never posted what I'd consider the Most Important Part of part of this fic even though it's been Over A Year.

Please enjoy this fic in its entirety

My submission for @ts-storytime 's big bang!

Ship: Moceit

Summary: There wasn't much that PTA president Patton Sanders hated. In fact, if you didn't know him well enough, you could believe that he was incapable of such a feeling. But he was. Sure, there was naturally the current political state, with a certain president trying to take people's rights away, but that kind of hatred was understandable. He very much hated arguing and yelling, believing that calm, peaceful solutions could solve problems more easily.

But there was one thing, well, person really, that Patton inexplicably hated with all of his being, and that person was Janus Mentiras, his PTA vice president.

Janus Mentiras, with his silver tongue, his lies, his vitiligo and heterochromia, and the fact that he was very annoyingly wherever Patton had to be. Not to mention that he too was a single father.

So very single.

Warnings: alcohol use, some implied NSFW content, past relationships, past minor character death, past sides x female characters, divorce, internalized homophobia, some technical transphobia (basically a teacher doesn't like that Roman wears a dress at one point), swearing (mainly from a six-seven year old), minor schoolyard violence, and feel free to ask me to tag anything else

I'm also planning on continuing this universe, so feel free to hit me with prompts here or on the PtVW discord (which is pinned over on @dominoeswrites or there's a link on the last fic)

My artist is @storytellerofuntoldlegends and I can't wait for them to post their art. Also a huge thank you to @ilovemygaydad for beta reading this! I hope you all enjoy!

[dominoeswrites]

Hey, if you have no choice but to infodump, always use characters, never the narrator to tell things to the reader.

This way, if you got something wrong and someone points it out later, you can argue that this character in particular was lying/misremembering/was ignorant of the exact details. You, the author, obviously knew what the real facts were all along.

[dominoeswrites]

What's this? A brand new, never before seen chapter of Patton the Villain Wrangler?

[dominoeswrites]

THANK YOU FOR BLESSING US WITH A NEW CHAPTER I LOVE THIS STORY YOU WONDERFUL BEING!

Aw, thank you, I'm glad you like it!

[dominoeswrites]

What's this? A brand new, never before seen chapter of Patton the Villain Wrangler?