#◈ — ooc; puffin speaks

[austerulous]

Okay, so I’ve decided to move to the new blog sooner than expected.  Give this post a like or leave a comment and I’ll follow you once it’s passably set up.

It was a good run and I’m grateful for everything I got to do here. ♡

[austerulous-a]

Okay, so I’m fairly confident I’ll be introducing exclusivity with romantic ships, meaning Annie will only be shipped with one iteration of each character.  This is just to help me manage my interactions and keep me from feeling stretched too thin – I don’t expect my writing partners to reciprocate exclusivity!  Whether we’re shipping already or it’s something you’re interested in, feel free to give this post a ♡ and I’ll see about updating my Google Doc this week.

[apparentlynotreallyfinnish]

Do you have any advice on how to develop a long fic plot? Most of my ideas have little plot, and I have no idea how to come up with one. My simple ideas might be okay for a 2000 word fic, but not a 75,000 word one. My ideas are like Rhett and Link go to a fancy restaurant, or Rhett has a backache and Link massages him. They aren’t these big, multifaceted ideas that make a whole story like good writers (like you!) seem to have. I wish I could figure out how to get better at ideas and plotting.

Hello, lovely anon. I’m gonna describe my process plot planning Let Me Be Your Light. Maybe that will help you. :)

This became quite long, sorry…

It started with the idea of Rhett being a lighthouse keeper. That was the starting point. (I’m pretty sure I was heavily influenced by @its-mike-kapufty‘s tmoy fic that was posting around that time and wanted to do a grumpy Rhett.) I don’t remember if Link being a helicopter pilot was the first thing I thought for him but it was one of the firsts. I wanted them to meet intermittently so there would be plenty of pining (lol). I decided on a monthly meeting and figured a year would be a good timeline. So, originally the fic was supposed to be 12 chapters long. 

I started by doing some research on lighthouses and decided that it would be located on Canada. I did some weather research and figured that near St. Johns would be best fit for the mood of my story (or the mood I had in my head at that point). I actually found two islands names North and South Bird Island and made up a third one for Rhett. ^^

I did some research on the area’s flora and fauna and what kind of unusual weather they might have etc. Some of it is used in the story, most is not. I had about 4-ish pages of notes on Newfoundland after I was done with my research. (Side note, don’t get too caught up on this part. There’s always more stuff to research. You gotta stop at some point and actually plot plan/write.)

The grumpy Rhett premise kind of naturally lead to a ‘hate to love’ story but that’s something to decide. What excites you? What kind of fics do you love to read? What would you like to read but haven’t seen?

I wrote little character bios for Rhett and Link. Not sure if anyone cares but here they are (some stuff was added later after developing the plot):

Rhett: writer, phd in some scientific field, a marine biologist. Lives off of book money and writing scientific excerpts for magazines.  Was married. Wife died (was pregnant) when he was 33. They were in the car together. He has severe ptsd and survivors’ guilt. They’d been together since high school. Been alone for 8 years. Been at the light house for 6 years. A colleague helped him to rent it. The lighthouse itself is automated. He does do little maintenance stuff like clean the solar panels and change parts etc. Is probably like a 1-2 in Kinsey scale. So mostly straight but…  Being alone is kind of a punishment but also something he needs, because people and crowds freak him out. He was like that even before the crash, but it made it worse. Also, can’t deal with people anymore. Especially happy people. Is basically afraid of happiness.

Link: a helicopter pilot, the supply runs are a monthly sidegig. Usually flies a medical helicopter. Openly gay. Dating a lot, a few longer relationships but nothing really serious.  Always felt like something didn’t add up. Generally happy person with childlike wonder. Very impulsive and emotional. Open book. Often speaks before thinks. Has a lot of buddies but not many close friends. Always felt it was hard to feel connected with a person. Might be because was in a closet for a long time and always felt like he was lying to everyone around him. Has been out for 10ish years now. After he came out, kind of went to the other extreme and constantly threw his gayness in other people’s faces. Is still a bit like that but not so much. Loves flirting and getting a reaction, but really just wants everyone to be happy.

I would probably do this for other major character but didn’t have many in this fic. Stevie and Alex kind of sneaked their way in later. :D

I’m a visual planner so at this point I took a big sheet of paper and divided it into 12 section. I wrote the beginning (they meet for the first time) and the end (the proposal) in boxes 1 and 12. Then I added some bits: this is where they fight, this is where Link can’t come, this is when they have sex for the first time, this is where Rhett needs to go to the hospital etc. Then I looked at my researched and did some shuffling around to match the weather appropriately. The beginning month was purely decided on the fact that I had to have Link stay the night during the Nor'easters (storm) that are the worst between November and March. There were other stuff too, like when was the best time to see the icebergs. I went a bit crazy here and actually looked at weather history form 2017 (or 2018, not sure anymore) to get exact weather information for the dates. So while I was writing I knew exactly what the weather was like. :D

Little by little I added bits and pieces. This took a few days. I can’t really give advice how to exactly do this. I just think of stuff up and try it out. When I had something for every month I started to write.

I can’t have a too detailed plan. Usually I have a sentence or two per chapter; the main thing that needs to happen. Otherwise I won’t feel compelled to write. But this may be different for you. Some people need the detailed plan.

The plan changed a little when I started writing. After I wrote the first chapter I added the stones. At first I searched for a new stone every time I wrote a chapter but after like 4-5 chapters I made a plan and figured all the rest, so I had a list of those. The last few changed though when the whole ending changed.

I updated my chapter plan as I wrote. I write in order. Some people write the bits they are most excited about first but I could never do that, I’d never finish the boring parts after. I need the good stuff as a motivation to get over the writing lulls. 

I got @sass-and-panache as a beta after I had written the first chapter. She helped immensely with the plot planning. We brainstormed together when I felt stumped and she regularly reigned me in when I went OOC with my characters. Sometimes I get stuck on a tiny idea and refuse to realize it does not work in the story. She was very good in telling me when I did this. There were a few things we disagreed on, though. ;) And when that happened I just did what I wanted. (Because I’m stubborn AF.)

Gosh, this became obnoxiously long… Sorry. Not sure if there is anything useful here. Maybe I’ll try to bullet point a bit:

1. Think of a premise. A couple dynamic you want to explore or an interesting setting or maybe a certain kind of ending.

2. Do some research if you can. It might spark some plot points you wouldn’t have thought otherwise.

3. Get to know your characters.

4. Make a plot plan. Visual or written. Don’t consider it written in stone. It will change.

5. Write.

6. Talk to someone about your plot. Get a beta if you can/want.

7. Re-plan if necessary.

8. Write some more.

9. Get stuck researching puffins (oh, sorry, that’s just me…whoops!).

10. If something doesn’t seem to work, don’t be afraid to scrap it. I’ve written whole chapters again when I’ve realized they didn’t fit the story. (If you do this, save the scrapped bits on another document. Sometimes you can use parts later.)

11. Write some more.

12. Cry when it’s done.

13. Write a way too detailed description how you planned the fic that no one wants to read. Think about deleting it and replying something else. Be too lazy to do so.

I hope this helped. Or if it didn’t, I hope this amused you a bit.

[ask-icey-blog1]

((i forgot i had an askblog for a while askjdhkfjasdhk

sorry nyall, im gonna attempt some memey asks today))

[austerulous]

I thought I was in a place to be here again, but I’m really not. I’ll be working on replies / asks in the background, but uninstalling the app and staying away from the dash. Take care of yourselves. ♡

[austerulous]

Going through it right now.  I’ll be laying low until the new blog is set up.  Look after yourselves. ♡

[austerulous]

Still in a bit of a funk, I’ll be back in action as soon as I can. ♡

[austerulous]

Okay, so this is less a plotting call and more of a general interaction call. Like this to let me know you’re interested in writing, plotting, asks, comfy with me sending you aesthetics that make me think of your muse, etc. All that jazz. ♡

[austerulous]

This beauty remains my favourite Soulsborne gif:

[austerulous]

Got a scan at the hospital today. Wish me luck. :’)

[austerulous]

It’s been a (good) busy the past few days.

[austerulous]

For a few different reasons, I feel I need to reiterate some of my rules:

My blog is strictly 21+ and mutuals only. I will follow you back if I can see us interacting, or soft-block if I can’t.

I also frequently soft-block mutuals. Usually when plots or threads have repeatedly stalled, or because I’m no longer vibing with the content. Sometimes because I’m overwhelmed or depresso espresso. Either way, it isn’t personal.

Please read my guidelines before following, and please don’t follow me unless you’re actually interested in interacting. Again, but louder: Please read my guidelines before following, and please don’t follow me unless you’re actually interested in interacting.

If you don’t have any rules or dossier(s) available, or if I have to request access to that information, it’s going to be a no from me. Likewise if your blog is one-liner heavy, or is almost entirely aesthetic / ooc content. I need headcanons, I need ic posts, I need something to give me a sense of your character(s)! The exception is when a blog is brand new, of course.

I approach heavily affiliated blogs with caution. Investing in each other or having mains is one thing, cliquey behaviour is another.

Blatantly repackaging my headcanons as your own is an immediate hard-block. Bye. 👋

[austerulous]

Gentle reminder that I’m very slow and inconsistent both ic and ooc, and that the speed of my replies ≠ my interest in them.

[austerulous]

Now for something a little different... click the ♡ if you’d like me to make a web weaving for our muses.

[austerulous]

I am Thinking™ that when I remake, I’m going to move away from writing in settings I’m not completely familiar with. I can’t overstate how important it is to me that the dynamics I offer are believable, compelling, impactful, rooted in a wider context. I want to bring my A-game always, and I take psychic damage when I don’t.

[austerulous]

Me rubbing my li’l gremlin hands together as the new AoT episode brings the rpc out of hibernation.