#Everything else has outlines and/or drafts

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

🧩 How to Outline Without Feeling Like You’re Dying

(a non-suffering writer’s guide to structure, sanity, and staying mildly hydrated)

Hey besties. Let’s talk outlines. Specifically: how to do them without crawling into the floorboards and screaming like a Victorian ghost.

If just hearing the word “outline” sends your brain into chaos-mode, welcome. You’re not broken, you’re just a writer whose process has been hijacked by Very Serious Advice™ that doesn’t fit you. You don’t need to build a military-grade beat sheet. You don’t need a sixteen-tab spreadsheet. You don’t need to suffer to be legitimate. You just need a structure that feels like it’s helping you, not haunting you.

So. Here’s how to outline your book without losing your soul (or all your serotonin).

—

🍓 1. Stop thinking of it as “outlining.” That word is cursed. Try “story sketch.” “Narrative roadmap.” “Planning soup.” Whatever gets your brain to chill out. The goal here is to understand your story, not architect it to death.

Outlining isn’t predicting everything. It’s just building a scaffold so your plot doesn't fall over mid-draft.

—

🧠 2. Find your plot skeleton. There are lots of plot structures floating around: 3-Act. Save the Cat. Hero’s Journey. Take what helps, ignore the rest.

If all else fails, try this dirt-simple one I use when my brain is mush:

Act I: What’s the problem?

Act II: Why can’t we fix it?

Act III: What finally makes us change?

Ending: What does that change cost?

You don’t need to fill in every detail. You just need to know what’s driving your character, what’s blocking them, and what choices will change them.

—

🛒 3. Make a “scene bucket list.” Before you start plotting in order, write down a list of scenes you know you want: key vibes, emotional beats, dramatic reveals, whatever.

These are your anchors. Even if you don’t know where they go yet, they’re proof your story already exists, it just needs connecting tissue.

Bonus: when you inevitably get stuck later, one of these might be the scene that pulls you back in.

—

🧩 4. Start with 5 key scenes. That’s it. Here’s a minimalist approach that won’t kill your momentum:

Opening (what sucks about their world?)

Catalyst (what throws them off course?)

Midpoint (what makes them confront themselves?)

Climax (what breaks or remakes them?)

Ending (what’s changed?)

Plot the spaces between those after you’ve nailed these. Think of it like nailing down corners of a poster before smoothing the rest.

You’re not “doing it wrong” if you start messy. A messy start is a start.

—

🔧 5. Use the outline to ask questions, not just answer them. Every section of your outline should provoke a question that the scene must answer.

Instead of: — “Chapter 5: Sarah finds a journal.”

Try: — “Chapter 5: What truth does Sarah find that complicates her next move?”

This makes your story active, not just a list of stuff that happens. Outlines aren’t just there to record, they’re tools for curiosity.

—

🪤 6. Beware of the Perfectionist Trap™. You will not get the entire plot perfect before you write. Don’t stall your momentum waiting for a divine lightning bolt of Clarity. You get clarity by writing.

Think of your outline as a map drawn in pencil, not ink. It’s allowed to evolve. It should evolve.

You’re not building a museum exhibit. You’re making a prototype.

—

🧼 7. Clean up after you start drafting. Here’s the secret: the first draft will teach you what the story’s actually about. You can go back and revise the outline to fit that. It’s not wasted work, it’s evolving scaffolding.

You don’t have to build the house before you live in it. You can live in the mess while you figure out where the kitchen goes.

—

🛟 8. If you’re a discovery writer, hybrid it. A lot of “pantsers” aren’t anti-outline, they’re just anti-stiff-outline. That’s fair.

Try using “signposts,” not full scenes:

Here’s a secret someone’s hiding.

Here’s the emotional breakdown scene.

Here’s a betrayal. Maybe not sure by who yet.

Let the plot breathe. Let the characters argue with your outline. That tension is where the fun happens.

—

🪴 TL;DR but emotionally: You don’t need a flawless outline to write a good book. You just need a loose net of ideas, a couple of emotional anchors, and the willingness to pivot when your story teaches you something new.

Outlines should support you, not suffocate you.

Let yourself try. Let it be imperfect. That’s where the good stuff lives.

Go forth and outline like a gently chaotic legend 🧃

— written with snacks in hand by Rin T. @ thewriteadviceforwriters 🍓🧠✍️

Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:

[thefuzzyaya]

It is so crazy to me when people say that Naruto's affection towards Sasuke is one sided or Naruto really overestimated Sasuke's role as a friend.

Sasuke, right after Iruka, was the first person who was kind to Naruto. Yes, in his own little arrogant way, but still kind. Everything leading to Sasuke sacrificing himself literally in Lans of Waves was showing us this.

Let's start with initial draft for the second chapter, Kishimoto actually wanted to introduce Sasuke right there (without Sakura and Kakashi) to the point where he outlined the whole story.

Sasuke not only saved Naruto from bullies, he actually saved hitai-ate that Iruka just gave. With this he also in a cheeky way recognized Naruto as someone worthy being ninja. Second person after Iruka.

But even if we don't take it in mind, since this wasn't published that time, right after we see Sasuke feeding Naruto at the rist of loosing Kakashi's test. Mind you, Sasuke's goal was to become stronger, and risking this just to help Naruto is actually huge.

Even in moments that where we see Sasuke being a bit mean to Naruto, it's always has this underlayer of actual kindness behind it. After being attacked (and saved by Sasuke again), Naruto was actually spiriling and in a stupor because of fear, and it was Sasuke's teasing that snapped him out of it.

We see them using teasing as a way of cheering up each other a lot after land of Waves too.

Sasuke was also the one training with Naruto and once again saving him (from a fall that probably won't hurt Naruto that much but still).

And in the culmination of this very first arc, what Sasuke does? Saves Naruto once again, this time at the cost of his life (as we thought at that moment).

When you put it all back to back, you can't not understand why Naruto considers Sasuke his best friend and second after Iruka. Sasuke was the first one (after Iruka) to show kindness and acceptance to the boy who almost never saw it from anyone else.

[yuquinzel]

▬▬▬ ink and bloom.

feat. itoshi sae. sensual. 600+ wc. sae has a silent obsession with your tattoo.

“why flowers?” itoshi sae had asked you once, his thumb smoothing over the ink skimming the curves of your hips down to your thigh. the tenderness of his touch against your bare skin would contrast his hardened gaze that scanned the pattern over and over again.

something about the tattoo etched into your skin—sprawling vines intertwined with blooming flowers—kept pulling at the corners of his mind. he couldn't explain the quiet obsession, it just lulled in his mind, unwavering and tentative.

“why not?” you tilted your head, amused by his rare curiosity.

the playful evasion didn’t make it any better. he wanted to know more— how long you’ve had the tattoo, did it hurt, what was the inspiration for it, who had been entrusted with marking your skin permanently. someone else had given you that art. a brand of beauty etched into the softness he knew intimately.

the realization tasted weird in his mouth. bitter and burning. it gnawed on his mind in ways he did not want to acknowledge.

sae was meticulous, methodical in his approach to life and football. control was his element. yet here you were, chaotic in the way you tangled his thoughts, much like the vines woven down your hips. he memorized every curve of the inked lines, every petal that bloomed under his gaze. he ran his lips over the outlines and patterns in moments of entangled breaths. it was the first thing he’d do. where he started. he was drawn to feeling the intimate story your tattoo would tell if he kissed it with enough passion.

it was never enough for him. how could he ever calm the blooming desire to overdraw your tattoo with something of his own.

when his mouth found its way to the intricate design, it was instinctual—a silent claim painted in violet and red. he did everything he could, teeth nipping at the sensitive skin and tongue gliding long and leisurely slides. he would let his breath hover there for seconds, then resume with even more intensity, sucking and biting painted skin. while his hands explored every other inch of your body in a rush to make most of the moment, his mouth was reserved for the pattern over your thigh. his movements seemed almost calculated, much calmer and patient, yet hungrier than anything else.

the marks bloomed across your tattoo like wild blossoms, blending with the ink as though they were always meant to be there. hickeys carved from something deeper than fleeting lust, something intangible that sae could not express as just ‘desire’. they were temporary, he knew, fading reminders that made way for permanence again.

but still, he returned to that place every chance he got. pressing his lips there felt like rewriting a story he hadn’t been a part of from the beginning. his tongue traced the path of vines, leaving warmth and want in its wake, each kiss layered with meaning neither of you dared speak aloud.

in the low glow of night, your breath hitched as sae’s teeth grazed the petals inked along your hips. “you’re obsessed,” you teased, voice breathy.

he didn’t respond, not verbally. his mouth pressed firmly against your skin, another unspoken answer blooming against your flesh. if you understood the truth behind it—if you knew the possessive tangle of thoughts winding in his mind—you didn’t say.

and sae preferred it that way. the silent exchange of kisses and control, desire and answers. no words, just marks made by lips where ink once reigned alone. temporary proof that, even if he hadn’t inked the art on your skin, he could still claim it in his own way.

© yuquinzel2025 [ plagiarism is a violation of moral rights ! ]

hiiiii this has been sitting in my drafts for too long and oops 🤭

[eatmyheartoutjpg]

TEASE ;; You and Homelander are dating. You smoke, he doesn't like that. You tease him. Short fic.

06.5.25 Masterlist

Homelander's senses are razor-sharp—sight, sound, smell. All honed to perfection due to his supe abilities. He considers them both a blessing and a constant source of torment when the world insists on being anything less than sterile. And nothing offends his nose quite like cigarette smoke. It's potent, invasive, lingering. It clings to everything—clothes, breath, skin.

Normally, he'd end it right there. One flare of red behind his eyes and a crisp snap of cartilage, and that would be it. No more stink. No more audacity. No more interruptions.

But you're different.

You lean against the railing of the high-rise rooftop, a cigarette pinched lazily between your fingers. The sun is setting behind you, a beautiful mix of gold and blood-orange, and you’re outlined in it like a painting. You take a drag like it’s the most natural thing in the world, let it roll out of your mouth in a lazy spiral, and for the first time in what feels like forever, Homelander doesn't hate the smell.

He watches you with that razor-sharp stare of his, unmoving, his fists clenched at his sides. Every part of him screams this is disgusting—and yet he doesn't move away.

You're talking to him, voice low and teasing, lips curving just so around the filter. You wave your hand as you speak, ashing the cigarette over the edge of the building with casual disregard.

“Something bothering you?” you ask, and your smile has teeth. “You look like you’re gonna pop a blood vessel.”

He grits his jaw. “You know how I feel about smoke.”

“I do,” you say. “That’s why I do it.”

You step closer. One drag, slow and deliberate. Then, with a smirk, you exhale right into his face. Thick, gray tendrils wrap around him before he can react, his nose twitching, his lips parting in slight disgust.

And then you grab the collar of his suit and pull him in.

Your lips meet his with a boldness that startles even him. It’s not soft, not gentle, this isn’t a kiss for affection. It’s a kiss to overwhelm. To remind him that no matter how strong he is, you’ve got a different kind of power over him.

You exhale again, this time into him, directly, as your mouth presses against his. He coughs—not because he has to, but because he’s caught off guard. The burn hits his throat and he flinches, just for a moment.

When you pull back, there’s smoke curling from both your mouths like twin dragons. You look smug. He looks wrecked.

“You’re something else,” he rasps, eyes narrowing, voice thick with something between attraction and irritation.

You flick the ash again and smile. “And you like me for it”

A/N ;; something in my drafts. Was originally going to expand, but had no ideas for it. Not a big fan of this one.

[study-diaries]

Best Time Management Techniques I've Used. (Academics + Extracurriculars)

Managing your time for energy and extracurricular activities can be challenging, especially when everything you do is overwhelming, requires your attention, and has deadlines that are too close to each other.

These are some of my best time management techniques that I have personally used, the ones that have changed my life and can possibly change yours too.

There's a free template at the end of the post too! Be sure to check it out :)

________________________

Question Your Time

If you take a look at your day, you might think that you're doing too much (or nothing at all). That is because you have no idea what you're actually doing and how you're spending your free time, which leads to precious time being wasted.

How It Works:

Take a look at your normal day. Ask the following questions and more. Ask as many questions as possible on your time spent:

What am I actually doing every day?

What is an activity that I do almost every day for more than an hour that is actually unnecessary? [Likely social media]

Do I study for at least 2 hours?

Am I finishing up on my projects and deadlines?

Does my calendar really reflect my current goals?

Time Grouping & Blocking

Time grouping is basically when you group similar tasks together. If you have Maths and Science homework, each around 40-45 mins, you don't do them together in different sessions.

Many make the mistake of spacing out their study and homework sessions. It takes more time in the long run, and sometimes you can't actually get anything done. So, group your time!

How It Works:

You must assign a time slot for the task, and you don't do anything else during that time. You block everything else and focus on one thing.

Golden Hour = Morning

This is an advice that I ignored for most of my high school life. Why? Because I believed that mornings were meant for sleeping in and that I'd be too tired. That was a negative belief.

How It Works:

You get up in the morning and your brain is active and flowing with creative energy. This only occurs when actually have a full 8 hours of sleep, by the way. If you sleep at 1 am and try to get up at 6? That is not going to be possible. Literally.

No Routine = Just Work

Most people hate mornings because they have this perception that mornings must have a load of steps and routines. Throughout senior year, I had only three tasks in the morning,

Get Up

Drink coffee

Read The Quran

Hit The Books

If you compare my routine with some of my friends? Unnecessary steps that bog you down. I know some people who do a full 10-step skin care in the morning, dress up, eat, and by the time they get to work or sit down to study? They're drained.

It's not exactly wrong to dress up and eat, etc. But my point is, you can at least get 1 hour of work done before doing anything else. Your focus is laser sharp when you get up. So, use it.

Take your four main tasks and don't add anything else. And follow them.

Eat The Frog

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first.”

In simple words? Face your hardest, most important task first, before you get distracted with any other thing.

Honestly, I've heard many say that sometimes it gets overwhelming to do a huge task first thing in the morning and complete it. You feel drained the entire day, and I actually agree, it does. So, here's a simpler way.

Divide Your Work Into 4 Stages:

Outline : Draw a basic overview. What should be done? How will I get it done? Basic steps I need to follow? When is the deadline?

Research : Collect basic information to do the task. That includes articles, journals or just notes.

Draft : This is your prototype. You draft your work into the refining stage.

Final : You keep refining it until you are at the final project. This is the stage where you add the small details.

This flow makes you feel less overwhelmed and gives you more clarity to actually sit down and work.

One In Advance Rule

Look, it's really easy. Your assignment is due in two weeks? Complete it by next week. Project due in one month. Complete it a week in advance.

This is necessary because, when you start early, you finish it earlier than others so you can actually focus on some studying rather than wasting your time managing assignments and tests.

You'll actually notice the difference in your stress levels when everything doesn't pile up.

The trick is to complete everything before one week of the deadline.

Hour Sprints: 1-4 Hours Break Sprints = Work Hours ÷ 2

Hour sprints basically refer to doing your day's work in around 1-3 hours. And honestly, I didn't think this would work but it does. You might have to be patient and slowly increase your time to avoid burnout.

There were times when I worked straight for around 5-6 hours after I had increased my work time, pushing little by little every day. The burnout doesn't last long but the fruits of this method are really worth it.

Breaks are really necessary. I advise you to not allot a certain time limit for the break. Rather take a break when you actually feel tired. If you've worked for 2 hours straight, then you deserve an hour of rest. If you worked for just 30 mins and you feel tired, take 15 mins as your break.

Divide your work time by half and that is your break time.

Energy Mapping

Observe your past three days and find out when your energy is high, medium and low. Based on this, align your tasks according to your energy flows.

High Energy = Deep Work Like Intensive Studying And Creative Projects

Medium Energy = Outlining Your Projects, Skimming Notes, Active Recall

Low Energy = Passive Study & Chores

This is based on my own energy mapping.

How It Works:

Track Yourself for 3 Days

Every 2–3 hours, jot down:

What you were doing

Your energy level ( 1–5)

Your mood (😊😐😣)

Now, figure out yours.

Rule Of Three = Daily, Weekly, Monthly

See, the thing about extra curriculars is that you have to handle academics and family commitments at the side too. So, here's the rule of three:

You choose three tasks/goals for the day, week and month. And you focus on that alone. Only that. Nothing else.

How To Figure Out Those Goals?

Monthly:

What is the top three priority goals/tasks this month?

Pick Three And Break It Down Into Weekly Goals.

Weekly:

What is the top three priorities this week to achieve my monthly goals/tasks ?

Pick Three And Break It Down Into Daily Goals.

Daily:

What are the three actionable steps that I must do everyday to achieve my weekly & monthly goals/tasks?

Pick Three And Follow.

Non-Negotiable Rules For Managing Calendar:

Here are some rules that you can not break when you're planning your calendar:

If it's not on your calendar. It does not exist.

Add your class timings first

Study time should be scheduled daily

Enter extracurricular activities/deadlines as soon as you know

At least a 20 min gap between two things is non-negotiable

Every day must have at least 1 hour of "Me Time"

No more than 3 extra curriculars

Plan every Sunday. Tweak it every day

Get Your Free Template

____________________

Additional Posts That Might Help:

How To Self Study

How To Study Concept-Oriented Subjects

How To Study For Longer Hours

An Absolute Guide To Manage Your Time And Energy For School

How To Better Your Overall High School Experience From A Recently Passed Out Student

How To Study Multiple Subjects

_____________________

Ebook:

How To Self Study [Ultimate Productivity Guide] + Exercises. => Get It On -- Ko-fi

__________________

I hope this helps!

[bubblegumrabbitwriting]

Can we get a snippet of Cy and MC in the facility pretty please?

Of course, the below is a first draft of something that might make it into the game, but we haven't decided yet.

----------------------

You lie on your tiny cot, curled up in a way that only punctuates the new bruises, and you think least one broken bone that permeates your body.

The drip that has been growing in size in the corner of your room creates a steady rhythm in the corner of the room that matches the beats of your heart. You were all but thrown in here after your sparring session, much to the dismay of your sparring partner, who requested you be taken for a check-up, but the guards were all the more happy to dump you back in your cell, going on about how your body will have healed itself by the morning.

You force your eye's closed trying to claw atleast one fleeting moment of sleep but it fails as it so often does.

Everything around you too loud, the dripping of the leak, the whinning of the fan built into the wall, the inregular humming that the building constantly produces.

It's enough to make you want to scream, to try and blot out the constant noise with noise of your own making, but you know all it will grant you is another lock-in confinement.

So what else can you do than throw your scratchy makeshift blanket over you and hope the fine barrier of canvas is enough to block out the sound?

You lie covered for what could be hours, wishing for just a second of silence and sleep, but it never comes; you just grow more tired and more irritated.

But all of that vanishes as you hear footsteps coming towards your room; your heartbeat increases, but you don't move, just hoping they pass and continue down the hall.

Luck has never been on your side. You could blame it on fate, but you're not sure if that just makes it sadder that some cosmic entity hates you enough to have the footsteps stop right outside your door.

You wait for the shouted command to go to the corner while they enter. You're not sure how successful you will be on your next mission, as beaten and bruised as you are, but that has never been your choice to make.

But it never comes; you hear the slide of the door, the footfalls against concrete, and that's it.

It doesn't soothe you however, you still stay in place, muscles tensing but it all disappears at the sound of a voice.

"I heard you took a pretty bad beating today." You don't answer, some sort of misplaced pride in yourself not allowing it. But you know it's not meant to be taunting; it's a fact after all.

You hear Cy's steps coming closer to your cot before they stop; you can see their outline backlight through the fabric. "Are you really going to make me talk to a bundle of cloth?"

You don't answer; you just curl in closer to yourself. "Fine..." You hear Cy sit on the floor next to you, back leaning against the side of your cot. "You know those 'training sessions' are all unfair, right?" You don't need to see them to know the air quotes that accompanied training sessions. "I mean, they expect us to fight against people twice our age."

Your silence doesn't seem to bother Cy as they continue. "But that also means that the results don't matter; you're not weak, MC – don't ever think that you are. Half of the guards out there couldn't last anywhere near as long as we have in here." If you weren't so weak, you wouldn't be the one on the verge of breaking from lying down.

"Also, I got you something." You see a foil-wrapped treat slowly appear under your blanket. "Just don't ask how I got it and don't let the guards."

"...thank you." You whisper as your fingers wrap around the chocolate bar.

"So you can still talk; next, you just need to show me your face so I can see if you really need any medical attention." You can hear the joking tone in Cy's voice, but it's tempered with honest worry.

Against your better judgement, you pull the blanket down, turning to face Cy. "See no more uglier than normal." They say with a grin that washes away any anger.

"And your still a jackass." You pout.

Cy's hands come up to gently take your face as they inspect the bruises marring it. "It should heal up fairly soon." All the previous joking had left their tone.

They let out a sigh. "You don't deserve this..." They speak the words with a hesitance that you don't think they mean just the beating you took.

"Neither of us do." You reply with a smile, trying to break the tension that has coiled in their features.

"Exactly." They wear a smile not so easily donned as before.

"Stay here for a while?" You ask; you were already failing at falling asleep you might as well have an excuse not to.

The smile on their face grows more earnest as they nod. You spend the next hours talking about anything, any topic to rip away an ounce of normalcy, and it works as you yawn and eventually fall into the hands of Mother Sleep, knowing Cy will always be there for you.

[definitelynotshouting]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE FINALE OF SECRET LIFE!!!!!

so i sped-wrote this as soon as i learned who the winner was this morning, tried to post it twice, tumblr mobile deleted it BOTH TIMES... but i will not be silenced ive finally gone to desktop /silly

this will go up on my rough draft pseud soon, but until then please enjoy the results of me being EXTREMELY unwell about the secret life finale. WOOOOOO WE ARE POPPING THE BIGGEST OF BOTTLES TODAY FR!!!!!!!!!!!

Grian barricades himself at the top of the highest tower of Tango's citadel the moment he wakes up. It's a calculated move, admittedly. There are a precious few places one might still find him if he truly wants to hide, but the Deep Frost Citadel isn't one of them— and with the second Decked Out coming to a ceremonious close, foot traffic here is perilously low. Dawn is a swift-approaching knife on the horizon, and Grian soars above it all, face numb with chill wind, wings brazen and feathers strewn across an empty sky.

He doesn't want to be near when Scar wakes. And he doesn't want to be found just yet, either. Oh, Scar will track him down. Of that, he has no doubt— but for now, Grian takes solace in the snow crunching underfoot as he locks himself inside this barren tower.

It's dark here, which suits Grian just fine. He doesn't bother lighting a lantern; instead, he huddles right on the floor, letting the ice seep through him. From here, he can just make out the sky as it lightens, bringing with it the dawn of a new victor. Nausea boils in his throat. With that victory comes a price, and Scar— And Grian— Well. Grian hasn't treated him very well throughout the games, now, has he?

He curls in on himself even further, feathers brushing along the length of his chilled arms. Each hair stands at attention, in some vain effort to pull warmth from the surrounding freeze— when he scrubs a hand along his arm, his fingers shake, and the gooseflesh remains stark and raised against his skin.

There was a sand-drenched point when the concept of warmth was all he could register— scorching wind scraping the cut on his cheek, the scarlet splatter of blood across split knuckles. And like the steady drain of life from a corpse, that warmth has drawn away, poison from a putrid wound— it leaves him compacting this cold, this loneliness, to mold it into four high walls around his heart; a fitting tribute to every grain of trust he's rightfully lost. Grian huffs the barest traces of a bitter laugh as his breath mists in the air. A better man would meet Scar at his base, extend his support, no matter how icily it might be met.

But Grian is selfish, and a coward, and will always be a coward— and so instead he sits, marrow freezing, with only the thin garrotte of paltry sunlight wrapping itself around his tender throat to keep him company.

And there he stays, motionless, for long enough that the chill makes a home in him— the glistening, pale yolk of the sun warns him of the passing time, a watery heat that counts down the seconds to minutes to hours until Scar finds him. Grian curls his wings around himself, a pitiful embrace, and waits.

Two hours later, the whistle of rocket-propelled elytra warn him of incoming company. Grian doesn't bother fleeing; he knows Scar, and Scar knows him, and with this last, missing puzzle piece finally slotting into place between them, he's under no illusions that staying hidden for long is feasible. Grian's eyes skitter to a crack on the far wall as clumsy footsteps scatter the snow outside, scrabbling for balance before the muted click of a cane joins them. Footsteps; another, louder click— the door's latch gives way, and a brief, blinding wave of light crashes over Grian's face, obscuring everything but the outline of a painfully familiar silhouette.

Grian has to look away. The door shuts, and for a small moment, neither of them so much as breathe.

Then Scar's sighs— one great, resigned gust. "Grian...."

He says nothing else. He doesn't have to. Grian draws his legs up to his chest in response anyway, heart a frozen pump bleeding ice into his very veins. What can he say? An apology? They're past apologies, now— if Scar wanted to disavow him forever, take the crumpled remains of their friendship and throw it at his feet, he'd be right to do so.

But Scar doesn't shout; neither does he leave. Instead, his cane taps forward, boots sliding into Grian's line of vision— and, with a grunt of effort, Scar eases himself down, until he's sitting at a safe diagonal from Grian's hunched form.

Neither of them say anything for a while.

Eventually, Grian licks his lips. They're chapped from cold, thin and ready to split. "Hi, Scar," he says softly. It comes out weak, thready— a barely-there declaration. Whatever Scar wants here... he can take it. It's the very least Grian can do at this point.

From the corner of his eye, he watches Scar settle, shifting his weight before he lands on something approximating comfort. He takes his time with it, blind— or uncaring— to the erratic snarl of Grian's pulse. His voice is just as quiet when he responds. "So... that's it, then, huh."

Grian glances over properly before he can stop himself, stomach churning; Scar's gaze has slipped to the cutout acting as a window, middle-distant and lost. Locked on something only he can see. Then Scar shakes himself, an abrupt jerk of his head and shoulders, and that glassy look turns to pin Grian directly to the wall behind him instead. "Just like that?"

Grian's fingers tighten around his knees. "Just like that," he agrees, hollow.

Scar mulls that over for a moment. His sigh is a wisp of white in front of them, crystallizing in the glacial atmosphere. "Jeez," he says finally, scrubbing one hand through the tangled bird's nest of his hair. He must have flown across half the server as soon as he... remembered, Grian realizes with a visceral pang. "I didn't... that's a lot of memories to just, um, gain back on a dime, huh?"

Grian darts a sidelong glance at him. Shifts his wings until their primaries lower, sweeping the ground around his feet like a feathered cat's cradle. "I wouldn't know," he says, a quirk of black humor dancing around the edges of his mouth. He swallows. "Since. Well...."

He trails off. Imagines, briefly, that he is a black hole— a quasar. A neutron star. Something so tight and compact it can string him out, erase him; a ball of grief and misery dense enough that it contains its own event horizon.

Scar hums a little shakily into the blooming silence. "Yeah. I guess that would complicate things, wouldn't it." A pause. "Does it always feel—?"

Grian shrugs. "Don’t know that either, Scar."

"Oh." Scar's still looking at him, the searchlight of his gaze burning pockmarks into Grian's skin. "Cool, okay... so...." He hesitates, teeth worrying his lower lip, before finally forging on: "So what now?"

Grian sucks in his own shuddery breath. "Whatever you want, Scar," he says, blank and dull. Every inch of him frozen stiff, awaiting the tipped scales of Scar’s judgement. "There's no going back, after this." The quicksilver flash of a grimace tugs his lips back to reveal sharp, white teeth. "Welcome to the club, I guess."

"It sure is a warm welcome," Scar says weakly. "Got— uh, got your complimentary balloons, and— and um, a whole gift basket of... of...."

He trails off too, the fragile ley lines of his humor peeling off, cracking at the seams. Impossibly, Grian curls around himself tighter.

An apology is nothing but wasted air now, but it dredges from his throat anyway. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Scar. I—" He breaks off, jaw tight. "I'm... I'm not sure what else to say, honestly. I never thought...."

I never thought you'd win. It's a cruel phrase that haunts the air between them, hanging like a smoky pall across their shoulders.

Scar says nothing against it; he only watches.

An uneasy prickle crawls up Grian's spine. "You don't—" He stops himself before he can finish that thought. "Are you— Scar, why are you here?"

"'Cause Pearl's not talking to me yet," Scar says quietly, prompt. "And— and because I remembered. Us."

Grian's throat closes around the word. "Us," he echoes, a rough rasp that ricochets against the deepslate walls surrounding them. The word tears through his ears, distorting with each pass. "Look, alright— I-I don't know if you got the memo, exactly, but— I'm not—"

He breaks off again, lungs jarring, hitching in his chest. Hot prickles sear behind his eyes, but nothing drops— he’s too tired for crying. "I've hurt you a lot, Scar," Grian says at last, lips numb around the words. "I'm not sure if there's much of an 'us' left, at this point."

"I know," Scar says. His eyes reflect the snow-glitter outside.

"And— I wouldn't blame you, if you left right now." 

"I know," Scar says again, softer.

"I—” Grian stares at him, helpless. "Okay, then why are you here, Scar?" He gestures between them, an aimless motion that somehow encompasses the breadth of everything that's rotted at their foundations. "If you know all that, then what—?"

Scar regards him with enviable poise. His throat bobs as he speaks. "Maybe, I just— now that I remember— maybe I just want your company, Grian. Is that really so bad?"

Grian stares at him, at a loss. "I don't understand," he says finally, and it comes out plaintive even to his own ears. "I thought you'd be— angry. After everything I've done, after all that's happened.... What's your play here, Scar? If you want to yell at me, be my guest. I think by now I've more than earned it."

But Scar doesn't take the bait. Instead, he shuffles closer— just by an inch. A careful, cautious inch. "Y'know," he says, apropos of nothing, "and correct me if I'm wrong, here— but I seem to remember something about you wanting an alliance before all of... that crazy stuff happened. Is that right?"

Something in Grian's chest spasms. Whatever expression it spreads across his face must spur Scar on, because he scoots closer again, just enough to bring their calves together. The brief shock of warmth explodes through Grian's skin, worming its way underneath the subcutaneous tissue to flood his veins and gnaw at the lingering ice.

After a moment, Scar's lips tilt up— a subtle, fragile smile. "Is it too late to cash in on that?" he asks.

Grian's mind goes blank, white and buzzing, the thin hiss of a creeper drifting through it like smoke. Unfiltered shock threads through his voice. "You want t— what?"

Scar's smile tempers further around its edges, stretching into something softer, knowing. Rounded out. With solemn motions, he reaches into the pocket of his utterly ridiculous safety vest, and delicately pulls something out.

It's a sunflower.

In the frigid gloom of Tango's citadel, Grian gapes, the brilliant yellow petals incongruous with this grim, grit, darkened room. When he looks up, Scar's eyes are overbright, painfully earnest— brimming with a desperate urgency that tucks itself away in the depths of his pupils.

"Can we try again?" Scar says, soft as the new-fallen snow beyond this isolated cell of misery. "Start over? I— I kind of hurt you too, you know. And— for the record, being without you sucks. I don't—" He falters. "I know it's gonna be all weird, y’know, between us… but I don't want to do that anymore. I just... want you here, Grian. That's all. I just want you to stick around."

Grian sucks in a sharp, daggered breath. "You're joking," he breathes, but his heart leaps, tumbling from his throat and onto the floor for Scar to stomp at his leisure. "You're actually— this isn't funny."

"Hey, do you see me laughing?” Scar presses forward once more, a calculated attack, but still slow enough for Grian to track each move, to stop him if he cared enough to. Gently, Scar unwinds one of Grian's hands from his knees, cupping it between his own and brushing the lightest of kisses against his knuckles before turning over Grian’s palm and pressing the flower into it. Grian's fingers curl around it of their own accord, silky petals burning against his fingers.

"So." Scar smiles, tremulous, eyes suspiciously red-rimmed. "Can we still be friends?"

And Grian has always been a raw creature, a tangled wreck of his own selfish greed— he’s craved the honeyed umber of Scar's love since he first cradled it, tentatively, in his palms all that time ago. In the depths of his heart, there will always be that sandstone cliff, the crack of his bones against hard-packed sand, and wings too clipped to fly freely. There will always be that calloused fist around his heart, and beyond his own scrabbling fear, there will always, always be that fervent need to bring Scar close even as he pushes him away.

And where before, Scar had been playing blind, a game with no true rules… now, his eyes trap Grian against the wall, clear as glass— diamond sharp and just as steady. From a winning game, there is no turning back. There’s nothing left to lose here, except this porcelain trust, this shred of hope Scar offers him once more in the form of a flower.

Even after everything, all the memories flooding back— Scar is still here, holding Grian’s heart, and offering up his own in return.

Grian slowly presses it to his chest with trembling, vulnerable motions. "You're sure you want this."

"I'm sure I want you," Scar says, unwavering.

Grian breathes in. Breathes out. Inhale and exhale, both a heavy drag in his lungs. Already, the sun is beginning to strengthen, casting thick rays through the window and splaying them across Grian’s lap. The advent of gilded noon weaves around them, perfuming the air with light and heat.

"Okay," Grian says at last, and it drops from his lips with the weight of a confession; a relinquishment; a solemn vow. "Okay."

This time, when Scar reaches for his hand again, Grian meets him halfway, and the tangle of their fingers nets the sunflower in a promise neatly between them.

[tlbodine]

Stuck? Try junebugging.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but we're 5 days into nanowrimo so maybe this will be helpful.

Do you want the safety and surety of knowing what happens next in your story but can't stick to an outline? Does knowing in advance what will happen suck the joy out of discovery writing? Do you try to wing it through plots but get tangled in plot holes or have a story that runs out of steam because you can't figure out what went wrong? Are you at your most creative when you have a little bit of guidance? Do you tend to under-write? Do you get ideas in your head for random scenes and snippets that drop from the sky without context?

If any of these apply to you, junebugging a draft might be for you!

What Is Junebugging?

Since you're on Tumblr, you might already be familiar with the concept of junebugging as it relates to cleaning. If not -- I think the idea was first introduced to me by @jumpingjacktrash.

The basic idea is that you tackle cleaning by way of controlled chaos. You pick a specific area you want to focus on, like your kitchen sink, and then wander off to deal with other things as they occur to you, but always returning back to that area. You end up cleaning a little bit at a time in an order that may not make sense to an outsider but which keeps you from getting overwhelmed and discouraged.

How Does Junebugging Work in Writing?

OK, so that's great, but how does this work with writing? Well. In my case, the general idea is to jump between writing linearly, outlining, and writing out of order. It usually looks something like:

Start free-writing a scene, feeling my way through it and enjoying the discovery process.

Thinking, ok, now I have this scene, did anything need to happen to lead up to it? Do I need to go back and add some foreshadowing? Does this scene set anything up that needs to be paid off? And then jump forward/back to make those adjustments.

I'll usually have a bunch of disconnected ideas of ideas that have popped into my head, so I'll write those down in a list somewhere and then try to figure out what goes in between them and what order it goes in.

I'll write what I call "micro-scenes" which is where I'll just sketch out a few essential elements of what's going on without worrying too much about details, description, etc. -- just he did this, she said that, the setting was this, real bare-bones script. Then I can come back through and flesh out each of those microscenes into an actual scene later.

Got a story that has a complex structure? No problem. Write through each storyline one at a time and then chop them up and weave them together afterward. Write all the B plot scenes first then come back through to do A plot and C plot. Move the pieces around like legos. No one ever has to know.

This method works for me because I can't "decide" story elements in advance. I have never been able to just sit down and "figure out" what happens in a story beyond a couple steps ahead -- I have to discovery-write my way forward. But at the same time, that gets really daunting. So I zoom forward with micro-scenes, roughing out the beats in the most bare-bones way possible, then when I run out of clear vision for what happens next I backtrack, flesh out those scenes, build in connective tissue, etc. and by then I will probably find more inspiration to jump forward.

It's basically folding drafting, outlining, and revising all together into a single phase of writing, which is chaotic and goes against everything people teach you, but if it works? then it fuckin works.

Anyway, sorry for the jumbled-up post, I'm dashing this off quickly while I heat up a pizza and I'm about to dive back into my WIP -- but I hope this was a little helpful. If nothing else, take this as my blanket permission that it's 100% OK to jump around, write out of order, write messy, outline sometimes, pants sometimes, and do whatever else it takes just to get through the story. You've got this. Good luck.

[quinloki]

Random Writing Tips

This is for fan fiction more than anything else, but it can also work for original content depending on your parameters. (If you need to submit an outline to your publisher, for instance, obviously you would need an outline XD )

You do not have to write Chronologically:

I mean you don't have to write your story in time-line order from start to finish. You can start in the middle, and catch the audience up with flashbacks or whatever.

You can start in the middle, go back to the start, meet up to the middle, resume, and continue.

You can write the ending first, fill in the story while effectively walking backward through it, and then post it in chronological order. Just because you write it out of order doesn't mean you have to post it that way.

You do not need an outline:

Outlines are great for a LOT of people, and for others it can be a point where you just freeze. You don't have to know Everything That's Gonna Happen - even if it's an original piece. It's a rough draft, you can let the story drag you around.

Deleting whole chapters is not a failure.

You can fix words and patch plot holes, but you can't post a blank page and have it accomplish much of anything.

Length doesn't determine value:

You're not lesser than a novelist if you write short stories.

You're not somehow less of a creative or storyteller just because you write 500-1000 words drabbles or 100 word micro fictions.

You don't need 500k words and 50 chapters to be a "Real Writer".

Great big long epic stories and tales are indeed amazing, but someone's not a better writer just cause their story has chapters.

The value is in the story. Sometimes that story takes a million words to tell, sometimes it only need a couple thousand. Sometimes it's something even shorter - two-sentence horror is legit because it's legit.

It doesn't matter how many times it's been done:

By virtue of the mathematically limitless combination of words you can string together in a single sentence, it is impossible for someone to tell a tale the same way you will.

It

does

NOT

matter

how much your story might have in common with someone else's. It doesn't matter how much overlap exists between stories, the details will be different and that's the point. Humans see patterns in everything so you're not going to escape them.

Someone's going to see a similarity in your work compared to someone else's no matter how much you stretch for original or unique - and in trying for that stretch you might lose the important parts of your story and end up with nothing.

It does not have to be "Good".:

It doesn't have to be technically good.

It doesn't have to be thematically good.

It doesn't have to be grammatically good.

It doesn't have to be morally good.

It doesn't have to have a lesson.

It doesn't have to have a point.

It doesn't have to be something anyone else enjoys but you.

It doesn't have to fit inside a specific box or series of parameters in order to be something you can share.

The good guys don't have to win, the bad guys don't have to lose, the abuse can be romanticized - you can write something Specifically Meant To Make People Uncomfortable.

Just... create. Create if it brings you joy. Create if it fills a void. Create if the only worse than creating is Not Creating.

Whatever you make today will be the best you can do, and if you keep doing it and keep trying and keep learning and keep creating, then in a year

five years

ten years

You'll look back - and you'll see progress.

The time passes anyway, so don't let anything stop you from writing. Rest, drink water, do wrist stretches - they're not just for artists, writers need them too. Don't let anyone else stop you.

I'm begging.

Not your own doubts. Not someone else's innocuous or honest or cruel or even "correct" words. If it is spite that hurls you forward, then so be it. Do whatever it takes.

And if it takes too much, then rest.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 23, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Apr 24, 2025

After previously suggesting that the U.S. would not involve European representatives in negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff met in Paris last week for talks with Ukrainian and European officials. The U.S. presented what it called “the outlines of a durable and lasting peace,” even as Russia continued to attack Ukrainian civilian areas.

A senior European official told Illia Novikov, Aamer Madhani, and Jill Lawless of the Associated Press that the Americans presented their plan as “just ideas” that could be changed. But Barak Ravid of Axios reported on Friday that Trump was frustrated that the negotiations weren’t productive and said he wanted a quick solution.

Talks were scheduled to resume today, in London, but yesterday Rubio pulled out of them. The U.S. plan is now “a final offer,” Ravid reported, and if the Ukrainians don’t accept it, the U.S. will “walk away.”

On a bipartisan basis, since 2014 the United States has supported Ukraine’s fight to push back Russia’s invasions. But Trump and his administration have rejected this position in favor of supporting Russia. This shift has been clear in the negotiations for a solution: Trump required repeated concessions from Ukraine even as Russia continued bombing Ukraine. Axios’s Ravid saw the proposed “final offer,” and it fits this pattern.

The plan would recognize Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea and its occupation of almost all of Luhansk oblast and the portions of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts Russia has occupied. This would essentially freeze the boundary of Ukraine at the battlefront.

Ukraine would promise not to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the post–World War II defensive alliance that first stood against the aggression of the Soviet Union and now stands against the aggression of Russia.

Sanctions imposed against Russia after its 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine would be lifted, and the United States, in particular its energy and industrial sectors, will cooperate with Russia.

In essence, this gives Russian president Vladimir Putin everything he wanted.

What the Ukrainians get out of this deal is significantly weaker. They get “a robust security guarantee,” but Ravid notes the document is vague and does not say the U.S. will participate. We have been here before. After the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, Ukraine had the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. In exchange for Ukraine’s giving up those weapons, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia agreed to secure Ukraine’s borders. In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, they agreed they would not use military force or economic coercion against Ukraine.

Russia violated that agreement with its 2014 and 2022 invasions, making it unlikely that Ukraine will trust any new promises of security.

Under the new plan, Ukraine would also get back a small part of Kharkiv oblast Russia has occupied. It would be able to use the Dnieper River. And it would get help and funds for rebuilding, although as Ravid notes, the document doesn’t say where the money will come from.

There is something else in the plan. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is Ukrainian: the Zaporizhzhia plant. It will be considered Ukrainian territory, but the United States will operate it and supply the electricity it produces to both Ukraine and Russia, although the agreement apparently doesn’t say anything about how payments would work. The plan also refers to a deal between the U.S. and Ukraine for minerals, with Ukraine essentially repaying the U.S. for its past support.

Ravid notes that the U.S. drafted the plan after envoy Steve Witkoff met for more than four hours last week with Putin. But the plan has deeper roots.

This U.S.-backed plan echoes almost entirely the plan Russian operatives presented to Trump’s 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort in exchange for helping Trump win the White House. Russia had invaded Ukraine in 2014 and was looking for a way to grab the land it wanted without continuing to fight.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election explained that Manafort in summer 2016 “discussed a plan to resolve the ongoing political problems in Ukraine by creating an autonomous republic in its more industrialized eastern region of Donbas, and having [Russian-backed Viktor] Yanukovych, the Ukrainian President ousted in 2014, elected to head that republic.”

The Mueller Report continued: “That plan, Manafort later acknowledged, constituted a ‘backdoor’ means for Russia to control eastern Ukraine.” The region that Putin wanted was the country’s industrial heartland. He was offering a “peace” plan that carved off much of Ukraine and made it subservient to him. This was the dead opposite of U.S. policy for a free and united Ukraine, and there was no chance that former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who was running for the presidency against Trump, would stand for it. But if Trump were elected, the equation changed.

According to the Republican-dominated Senate Intelligence Committee, Manafort’s partner and Russian operative Konstantin Kilimnik wrote: "[a]ll that is required to start the process is a very minor 'wink' (or slight push) from D[onald] T[rump] saying 'he wants peace in Ukraine and Donbass back in Ukraine' and a decision to be a 'special representative' and manage this process." Following that, Kilimnik suggested that Manafort ‘could start the process and within 10 days visit Russia ([Yanukovych] guarantees your reception at the very top level, cutting through all the bullsh*t and getting down to business), Ukraine, and key EU capitals.’ The email also suggested that once then–Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko understood this ‘message’ from the United States, the process ‘will go very fast and DT could have peace in Ukraine basically within a few months after inauguration.’”

According to the Senate Intelligence Committee, the men continued to work on what they called the “Mariupol Plan” at least until 2018.

After Russia invaded Ukraine again in 2022, Jim Rutenberg published a terrific and thorough review of this history in the New York Times Magazine. Once his troops were in Ukraine, Putin claimed he had annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, two of which were specifically named in the Mariupol Plan, and instituted martial law in them, claiming that the people there had voted to join Russia.

On June 14, 2024, as he was wrongly imprisoning American journalist Evan Gershkovich, Putin made a “peace proposal” to Ukraine that sounded much like the Mariupol Plan. He offered a ceasefire if Ukraine would give up Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, including far more territory than Putin’s troops occupy, and abandon plans to join NATO. “If Kyiv and the Western capitals refuse it, as before,” Putin said, “then in the end, that’s their…political and moral responsibility for the continuation of bloodshed.”

On June 27, 2024, in a debate during which he insisted that he and he alone could get Gershkovich released, and then talked about Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Trump seemed to indicate he knew about the Mariupol Plan: “Putin saw that, he said, you know what, I think we’re going to go in and maybe take my—this was his dream. I talked to him about it, his dream.”

Now that plan is back on the table as official U.S. policy.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country will not recognize the Russian occupation of Crimea. In this determination, he speaks for the global rules-based order the U.S. helped to create after World War II. Recognition of the right of a country to invade another and seize its territory undermines a key article of the United Nations, which says that members won’t threaten or attack any country’s “territorial integrity or political independence.” French president Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders are standing behind those principles, saying today in a statement from Macron’s office that they reject Russian territorial gains under the U.S. plan. “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and European aspirations are very strong requirements for Europeans,” the statement said.

But Trump himself seems eager to rewrite the world order. In addition to his own threats against Greenland, Canada, and Panama, in a post today on his social media site he echoed Putin’s 2024 statement blaming Ukraine for Russia’s bloody war because it would not agree to Putin’s terms. Today, Trump said Zelensky’s refusal to recognize the Russian occupation of Crimea was “inflammatory,” and he pressured Zelensky to accept the deal.

Curiously, he felt obliged to write that “I have nothing to do with Russia…”.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[theellipelli]

I need to eat drywall nostalgic chill is so good GGRRRHAAAHHHHHHHH FIGHTING FOR THE SPOT OF MY FAVORITE FIC EVER RN. Anyway I wanted to ask what ur process is when writing fic? Especially something so lengthy and lore-heavy like nostalgic chill. Been trying to cook up some hsr fic myself but I get so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of world lore ..

your FAVOURITE fic EVER??? that is a lot of praise... waow...

thank u for asking such a fun question!!! my process is very losey goosey, specifically for this fic, but ill try to explain it as best i can

the (VERY) rough outline for this fic has been planned out since long before i actually started posting it, with it getting more detailed near the end (a few of the final chapters have already been drafted, actually)

on the path towards the end ive spread out a few plot points which are either just cool things i want to write about (like all those damn fights) or important character stuff (like the bailiu heart-to-heart and every single jing yuan reality check)

when i start a new chapter, ill usually already know where i want it to end, often one of those pre-planned points. ill spend a few days (or even one or two weeks) thinking about how to continue the story, and then once i have an idea ill like, ill sit down and start writing.

typically, a good idea will be the easiest to write for me. if i get stuck anywhere before reaching the end of the scene, ill usually just scrap it immediately and start over. i try to make each chapter one unbroken scene, so a reached plot-point isnt necessary for the chapter to end.

like, for the most recent 2 chapters, the plot-point ive been writing towards is jing yuan meeting the master diviner, which was a VERY important thing that needed to happen before anything else. of course, everything is also following an overarching goal, which is mostly just jing yuans character arc, and that is built towards in the narration between major events. also worldbuilding i guess.

on the research side, i dont have much to say? my grasp on the xianzhou lore is already pretty solid (its my favourite area) so a lot of the research i do lore-wise is just double-checking that i have my facts straight. also, reading the xianzhou lore is good for inspiration, if im really lacking in that, which is unusual but not impossible.

i dont think my process is especially unique? its definitely not very structured, but thats unusual even for me. idk tldr i think of cool stuff i want to write about and then fill in the gaps between those cool stuff. tis fun

as thanks for asking such a fun question, here is a little yanqing for you. kisses. mwah. blessed be the indulgence.

[leajoyrambles]

"Schrödinger's Ghost Boy" but make it literal

hey so you know how the phandom has this ongoing joke about how Danny, being both/neither dead and/or alive, is like Schrödinger's cat but ghostly? you know how the thing with the cat is considered a valid explanation of certain principles in quantum mechanics? you know how the cat maintains that state specifically by being unobservable? you know how the theme song calls the Infinite Realms "a world unseen"? you know how—

*government agents swarm the stage; the camera feed fizzes into static, then hard cuts back to me standing in the same place, slightly disheveled but uninjured. I push my glasses up my nose, leaving a suspiciously red fingerprint on one of the lenses. Because my glasses are already smudged to hell, I do not notice*

ahem. so. basically, imagine that the "halfa" thing doesn't just mean being caught between life and death, but also caught between the realms of life and death. This would also be a portal AU, in that because Danny is partially erased from reality, things around him are as well. Basically, he's like a black hole — he gets pulled into this in-between, but because of the "gravity" that generates, so do his belongings. His usual haunts (ha) experience the gravity too, but because they're so connected to things around them, they become warped rather than absorbed (his bedroom evolves into a sort of portal, eventually, but I'm getting ahead of myself).

And how would this affect the people around him? I'm so glad you asked! That is, in fact, the point:

They forget.

Danny's existence? A black hole. And until the event horizon, everything is warped — space, time, reality, and memories included. No one who would have remembered him can even see him.

(There are some metaphors in here. Something something his home is his haunt is his gravitational field is all going to be consumed by him in some way, is going to come out different, like he did, and eventually there won't be an event horizon — Amity becomes liminal not because of the hole in reality, but because of the life it swallowed — grief as gravity so strong it warps everything around it — forgetting as haunting and haunting as a call to remember — the queer analogy of being so different that you're so alone that you have to rewrite the universe just to be heard — etc.)

Some details:

Danny's at his "most real" when he's in an inherent phase state — ghost form in the human world or human form in the realms.

Danny can interact with humans in human form, but they have to have prior exposure to reality-warping/ghostly stuff and no prior knowledge of his existence. (I have some outlines and drafts for this story already, and the main characters in this category wind up being Wes Weston and Valerie Grey)

The above is a good thing except for the GIW. Because they meet both criteria to a degree and are. hm. not good.

Vlad is not the same kind of halfa as Danny. It's sort of like... Phantom was born at the center of a supernova; Plasmius was born in the radiation a black hole belched out after eating a neutron star. (I'm getting way too into this metaphor.) The influence of gravity is wildly different between those two things, so while Vlad does "warp," he doesn't have a warping effect on anything else.

Vlad does, in fact, remember Danny. Unfortunately, he's still an asshole in this universe, so he mostly uses Danny's name to short-circuit the other Fentons' brains whenever he wants them to stop talking.

The phanon idea of "ghost lairs" is complicated for Danny; his lair mirrors his nature, unable to fully exist in the human world or the realms. This is where the "his bedroom becomes a portal" thing comes into play; places that are reality-warped maintain a connection to Danny, sort of like an anchor, and they all act as potential portals to his lair. His room is the start of what his lair mirrors in the human world, and it has the strongest warping, so it's both part of his lair and the most active portal to it.

Warping-as-portals also happens in people's minds; people who really cared about him eventually find those "portals" and access their memories, but this... definitely has some side-effects. (they do not care about the side-effects)

...and I have, in fact, already written an outline of most of the series and a draft of pt 1. (y'all are totally welcome to use this as a prompt though; just send me a link so I can read it!)

[fixyourwritinghabits]

So I want to write a novel, and I outline my story and write out everything that happens in the outline and I get to the end and it's... Between 20,000 and 40,000 words, usually. Like I can tell a complete story but I have a hard time getting it to the length of a publishable novel, and it keeps happening with different stories I write. Do you have any advice for making a story longer without making it feel like I'm just adding stuff to make it longer?

While I think you have a workable length for a first draft, I can see where your problems lay. Let's tackle what your intended goal is first.

Industry standard (set by traditional publishing) for novels is the following:

Adult novels - 80,000 to 100,000 word count. Many will fall between that range. Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels tend to run higher, but you'll notice Romance, Mystery, and Crime tend to run tighter, closer to 80k. Literary novels (Contemporary and Historical Fiction) can swing up and down that word length. Door-stopper books of 200k can be found, of course, but that's the opposite of what we're dealing with.

YA Novels - Contemporary tends to stick to a tight 80k, but publishing tends to seek longer fantasy novels, sticking to the adult standard of 10k.

Middle Grade (8-11ish year old readers) - 30,000 to 60,000. Most publishers want something in the middle, as MG readers are constantly stretching their reading capabilities.

These are generalizations that are subject to change, of course, but they're good guides to follow when editing. Let's say you want to aim for an adult novel, which means you want to at least double your 40k length. While looking over your work, consider the following:

Does your main character have enough problems?

If your story can be resolved within the 40k mark, you may need to add more complications to their journey. Does their external problem (the outside issues they're dealing with, like losing a job or battling a sentient typhoon) adequately line up with resolving their internal problem (dealing with unresolved guilt, confronting a fatal flaw about themselves, apologizing to that sentient typhoon for leaving them at the altar, etc).

Save The Cat also talks about the Shard of Glass or Unresolved Wound, a deeply internal problem the protagonist has to confront about themselves in order to solve the main problem of the novel. Deepening your character's issues can buff up the need for more words to resolve them. (Not every story has the character 'fix' this issue - many novels are about characters failing to do just that, that unresolved flaw finally dooming them in the end.)

Subplots, Sidequests, and McGuffins

Subplots are their to enrich your novel with elements that contribute to the overall journey. Besides the main problem your protagonist is facing, what else is going on in their life? Do they need to confess a crush to a friend? Is their struggle to control their magical powers tied to a traumatic childhood? Does learning the truth about their family history force them to reflect on their own behavior? A subplot should weave back into strengthening the main story while adding more elements to make it more interesting. It's not as hard as it sounds - the more you think about your character's internal problem, the more you realize they'll need to confess their feelings, confront their mother, or more to resolve that final issue.

By sidequests, I'm leaning into the fantasy element of storytelling, but you'll find this pops up in a lot of stories. A chance encounter in a mystery can provide an essential clue, or stopping to aid someone could lead to a character-revealing moment. Remember, this isn't filler - you're expanding the overall plot by leaning into your world-building to establish essential knowledge about your world, introducing minor characters that can act as aids or obstacles to a problem, or starting an action scene that changes the trajectory of the novel.

A MacGiffin is an object, device, or event necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but typically unimportant or irrelevant in itself. Usually, the MacGuffin is revealed early on, and becomes less important once the storyline is set in motion. You'll see a lot of despairing comments about them, because they often can be used poorly. But MacGiffins are often essential parts of storytelling, a quest that leads your characters astray from what they should actually be doing (and in turn learning about themselves and the problem they need to face instead).

Your character spends half the novel trying to find the missing crown, only to discover it's been fake the whole time. That whole first half of the novel was a waste of time... or was it? By having your characters fixate on the wrong solution, you're exploring what Save the Cat calls "Doing Things The Wrong Way" where the real answer is in digging deep down, confronting that internal problem, and setting down the right path at last. This is where the mid-novel twist of the king being the villain all along, the dragon they're meant to slay for killing the villagers turns out to be a card-carrying vegan. The easy answer isn't the solution, and it's taking the hard path that gets things done.

For Example...

In Jedediah Berry's genre-bending mystery novel The Manual of Detection, the main character is pulled into finding the missing detective he used to write the case files for. As with any good mystery, there's a lot of good side quests - going to a bar only to run into villains that need confronting later, a one-sided rivalry with another detective ends up solving a problem later, etc. A subplot starting the novel where the protagonist goes out of his way to encounter someone at a coffee shop turns out to be an essential character connection later, and the MacGiffin - the Manual of Detection itself - turns out to be more important because of what it lacks.

In Jeff Smith's graphic novel series Bone, in the beginning, the main characters remain blissfully unaware of the true danger hunting them or the secrets of those around them. But the villains too are unknowingly pursuing a MacGuffin, leading to a series of events that will bring about a massive clash - and a confrontation of truths that will lead to the final solution.

And Finally, Maybe It's Not a Novel

I do want to say this might all not be what you need, because your true calling could be to write novellas - a length that varies between 20k to 40k. A shorter story is just as good as a lengthier one. There's a steady market for novellas of multiple genres, so it could be a good thing to look into if this feels like where your writing should be.

[sleepingdeath-light]

relationship hcs ; v

requested by ; anonymous (06/05/24)

fandom(s) ; murder drones

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; v

outline ; “V x reader gen hcs!”

note ; this has been in my drafts since may of last year… oops 😭

warning(s) ; canon typical references to violence, potentially shaky characterisation here and there, but mostly fluff!

to put it bluntly, relationships and emotional vulnerability aren’t things that come easy to v

her programming, her absolute solver designated purpose, necessitates that she be cruel and cold and calculating — a ruthless killer from the deepest depths of her code to the very tips of her metal extremities — and after spending so long following those instructions it’s very difficult for her to try and break out of those habits

of course she cares about you and of course she’ll do anything it takes to keep you safe and in the dark about everything that happened in her past… but unless you know her very well, it’s practically impossible to tell that she’s in love with you

(or that she even cares for you at all)

though that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t show her love for you in her own ways…

she doesn’t parade you around as her lover and you can count on one hand the amount of times she’s ever referred to you as any sort of pet name that wasn’t a thinly veiled insult

but the second that anyone else starts giving you goo-goo eyes or trying to flirt with you, you can guarantee that she’ll be there in a fraction of a second practically snarling at them as she very firmly tells them to back off — making good use of her more imposing silhouette and reputation to get her message across to even the most stubborn of assholes

she freezes when you offer her any physical affection without warning and has been known to shake you off of her (or, early in your relationship, outright shove you off) if you try and engage in pda with her

but when you’re alone she’s much more receptive to your shows of physical affection and even starts to reciprocate them in her own ways… even if they tend to be a bit ‘odd’ because of her lack of experience in that area — and, sure, her hugs may be stiff and her kisses may be chaste, but the averting of her eyes, the visual flare on her facial monitor, and the slight shake in her voice are all more than enough to let you know just how hard she’s trying for you, for your relationship, and that she truly does want this as much as you do

she’s absolutely not the type of person to brag or gush about you, no matter how hard n and uzi and the other robots she hangs out with may try and get her to be

but whenever you do something that’s important to you (e.g. perform in a concert or play that you’ve been practicing for nonstop, achieve a fantastic grade in a subject you’ve been studying your ass off for, get that promotion you’ve been praying to get for weeks, etc.) you can always count on v showing up for you — supporting you from a distance to keep you safe/not take attention away from you in your big moment and being undeniably proud of you even if she’s not going so far as to shout it from the rooftops or whatever

she’s a fiercely loyal person, even more so when the two of you become an official item, and that manifests through her behaviour both during battles and in your day-to-day lives as you adjust to life amongst the same robots she was originally sent to kill — she always has your back, refuses to entertain any sort of flirting for even a second, will throw herself into the line of fire to keep you safe, and always keeps an eye out for you to ensure you’re safe or (if you’re not in a fight) comfortable because even if she isn’t too big on pda she still adores you and refuses to let anything happen to you

would eventually open up to you about her past — what really happened back on earth and where the disassembly drones came from — but it would take a long time for her to get there, partially because it’s just a difficult subject to talk about and partially because she doesn’t want you to see or treat her differently because of her past

[secret-third-thing]

17! tell me everything 👀

God fears me for my process is fucking biblical.

Also link to post if people want to play <3

Please note this is for fanfic. My original fiction process has EVEN MORE STEPS AHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA.

Step 1: Be absolutely overwhelmed with an idea. I know an idea is worth writing when it pesters me enough that it intrudes when I'm doing other things or writing other stories. If it doesn't, I send it to the plot bunny graveyard. Get fucked.

Step 2: Let it cook. That's right. Every idea has to cook a little bit. It decides when it's time for plotting. Sometimes it's an immediate plotting situation, sometimes it cooks for a year or two.

Step 3: Write down some key points. What do I wanna have happen? This is to help me figure out scope. I am much better at looking at an idea and sussing out how long it's gonna be. I categorize it into one of the following categories

Baby (under 3k)

Big Baby (3-5k)

Solid Oneshot (5-10k)

We're pretending this is a one shot (10-17k)

Normal Mult-chap (17k-50k)

Danger zone (50-80k)

Chonky Monster (80k+)

Absolute Unit (150k+)*

Someone help me I've fallen (200+)*

*my pet peeve is fics that go on forever when they should have just ended. YOU NEED TO PLOT BETTER. jk it's fanfic do whatever you want.

This step is done partially for fun and partially because it helps me figure out how many beats and scenes I need.

Step 4: I decide on a target word count (I'm good at guessing. I'm usually within 15% of my est wc when I finish) and then I fill out my math sheet that I made while I was bored and unemployed last year. It basically estimates how many scenes I need assuming scenes average at 1200-1500. And then it divides those scenes into acts and then it tells me how many scenes per point in the save the cat outline. 😂 If people want it they have to slide into my dms and ask me nicely + compliment eris and/or beron. Ideally both.

Step 5: Time to fill out the main beats of the outline! Yay! This takes X days, which is to say it takes the time it needs.

Step 5b: If I have multi povs, I do this process for every pov

Step 5c: Then I weave the povs together - which beats can be shared? etc

Step 6: Write out every scene I plan on writing 🫡 I know exactly what's happening and the intended outcome. Yay!

Step 7: Work on something else. This story needs to cook a bit.

Step 8: Come back and see how I feel about the story. Then I do this scene analysis thing where I ensure that my scenes are covering different elements of craft so we are as efficient as possible. If a scene does not accomplish a goal, I yeet it. This is KEY. I'm not gonna type it all out here partially because it's long/complicated and partially cause the mentor who taught me it, asked me to keep it vague since she's worked hard to cultivate her mentorship guidance and process.

Step 9: I make scene tweaks. If my outline has gaps, I cry about it and then radically accept it'll come to me later.

Step 9b: Sometimes I shop the outline around and make revisions based on feedback.

Step 10: Draft. But only when I want to. I don't brute force shit anymore. (I've been writing the full fic first before posting this time around) But yes. Write the full damn first draft. This takes however long it takes.

Step 11: Set it aside and do anything else, ideally not writing related. Watch movies, play games, go to an art museum.

Step 12: Revision time!!! YAY! Read through the entire fic. Write down allllll my horrible little thoughts about it. teehee.

Step 13: Re-outline. Really see what the story actually is. Decide if I need to rewrite anything.

Step 13b: do any necessary rewrites. cry about it1!!

Step 14: Revise POV/ Voice

Step 15: Revise Character

Step 16: Revise Plot again if needed

Step 17: Scene level edits (world building, descriptions, dialogue, details whatever)

Step 18: Now it's time for beta!!! Please cry clap. Depending on the posting situation (event week vs whenever) I may just do one chapter instead of the full fic.

Step 19: NOW do the edits! Again!

Step 19b: Send to betas again for feedback. Edit again. Repeat indefinitely.

Step 20: Grammar pass!!!

Step 21: Beta pass 2 (usually just a sign off that im not insane)

Step 22: Dark Night of the Soul. I grieve. I wonder if this is any good. And then by the end of brooding, I'm feeling a little evil.

Step 23: Post and give very little shits about kudos etc because they mean nothing and I know I'm fucking awesome. (you are too btw.)

Step 24: Kill God.*

Step 25: Become God.*

*Sorry these last two steps are for me only.

Hope this helps!

[sulfurousdreamscapes]

How I Hacked My Short Story Brain into Developing a Novel

I promised I'd make this post, so here it is, but with a proper title and everything so that it'll be more generally helpful to other writers.

Regulars of this blog have probably noticed that I've struggled a lot with long-form fiction over the years, despite having churned out a library's worth of short fiction.

This time though, things are coming together, and it's because I've got a technique down that plays to my strengths as a short story writer.

Step 1: Outline and Draft Something

After writing and abandoning several outlines for my WIP Last Night, New Body, I finally set one in stone and wrote a draft for it this January.

The rough, first, skeleton draft was 30,000 words long - far from ideal, but better than nothing. It was tough, but I got it done in two months.

Step 2: Read Through and Take Notes

Next, I read through the draft and took notes on how I thought the novel could be improved. This included notes on plot, characters, and setting. The notes were all taken in a spread sheet in the following format:

Page Number -> Note Title -> Description -> Category

The 'Note Title' could be something witty or referential, but it has to be short, like the name of an achievement in a video game. So for example, it could be:

23 -> Enemy at the Gates -> Why does Nadia shut the door when she sees that Rhea has come to visit? -> Character

I took these notes freely, writing down any point that I thought could be changed, expanded, removed, or otherwise mused.

Once I was done with these notes, the question arose: what the hell do I do with these notes?

Step 3: Treat the Notes As Writing Prompts

This step is in-progress at the moment, but I'm halfway through it already! The idea is to take each note and write 500 words for it.

This comes naturally to me because I've written hundreds upon hundreds of flash fiction pieces for my blog, each one targetted for 500 words. This means I'm now developing the novel 500 words at a time, based on the notes I took while reading through the skeleton draft.

The process has been beautifully productive so far, and I've come up with so much detail, so many new scenes, and better developed characters. My next draft will be assuredly be much longer than the 30k words I got down before.

So how long will this take? That depends on how many notes you take. I initially took 72 notes, but I've found that as the story develops and changes, I've had to "delete" many notes because they became redundant or irrelevant. I say delete in quotes because I've actually moved them to a 'recycle bin' sheet of sorts, so that I can retrieve them later if I deem them important after all.

Next Steps? Outline and Draft the Thing

I'm generating a lot of meat for the skeleton draft, and I'm dying to put that meat on the bones. To do that, I plan on first constructing a very detailed outline, including as much detail from the expanded notes (the 500-word pieces) as possible.

This done, I'll write the 'flesh draft' while referencing both this outline and the skeleton draft. As excited as I am for this, I do anticipate this process to be difficult, so I might find a way to divide it into small, short story sized chunks as well.

Then come the edits and everything else. We'll cross those bridges when we get there.