#Writing process

[themightyhumanbroom]

My average writing experience:

"Alright I think I'm almost done actually-"

*Google doc grows second health bar and a choir starts singing in latin*

[differentnighttale]

Stap

Right

[chodzacaparodia]

It's frustrating that you can come up with the plot of an entire fic in just a few seconds, but writing it all down can take anywhere from never to forever.

[lannegarrett]

Me, writing my characters into an impossibly complicated situation: now THIS has drama... threat... intrigue...energy...the genius of it all!

Me, realizing I'm the one who has to then get them out of said impossibly complicated situation: I am a Fool and a Jester

[writer-logbook]

Random Pieces of Advice About Characters

Sometimes, they mess up. They should. A good character to root for is someone who makes mistakes and tries to make amends for them. Just because they’re the hero or on the “good side” doesn’t make them above reproach. It could even thicken the plot to see how they get out of a bad situation… Or maybe consider not forgiving them at all (I’ll write an essay about morals and ethics someday).

They have a life outside the plot (just like I do outside the office). Show some hints about how their life was before everything started. By giving them layers, just like an onion (thanks, Shrek), you also give them consistency and realism. And maybe people will relate to them. But be careful not to give all the info at once.

Don’t expect your characters to remain the same from the beginning to the end. A good story will shake things up for your characters, even slightly, but enough to make them grow—at least mentally. If they didn’t “learn” anything from their journey, something isn’t working. The whole point of a story isn’t to maintain the status quo. The reader is supposed to grow alongside your characters.

Choose your leader. I advise you to look at the main events of your plot, if you’re of the architect-author team, to see whether it’s best for the MC to take the lead or to be led instead. There’s no good answer except that of logic: if a battle is about to start, it’s better to follow the captain of the guards instead of some random folk who came out of nowhere.

Characters should all have different voices. It’s not only a personality trait; it’s also a part of themselves. They might have different social backgrounds, accents, verbal tics, peculiar slang… Even a group of friends from the same social circle has its own idiosyncrasies.

Sorry, I didn't have time to think up a more detailed article; things got pretty tense at work and I'm pretty tired. Again, I'm open to suggestions if there are subjects you'd like to see addressed.

[sorakazeno]

True story. I've expanded on several things or even added items to the main plot from questions readers have asked! Prince Akio is a perfect example!!! Reporter thinking Rei and Taiki have a relationship because of a few pictures?? Saaaame!!!

do fic readers know that their comments actually influence the course of the story sometimes? i don't mean in a "you need to write it this way because i say so 😡" type of comment, i mean when people are asking questions or really engaging with the plot and the themes in the comments they sometimes bring up things that i didn't even think of, or dig into parts of the story that i've overlooked, or get really interested/fixated on something i was going to just kind of glance over--and it has me going 'oh wait that's actually really interesting, that's a good point' and fully adding or tweaking or changing things about the story going forward. i'm literally adding an entire additional chapter to something right now because someone's comment had me like "oh i didn't dig into that as much as i could have." you have impact!

[clockwayswrites]

I'm dropping by to say, I love the way you wrapped up Haunting, boys deserve some sweet and spicy dating time after all they've been through and it's nice to see indication that they will have it. They're all really cute together.

On another, barely related note, because it was something I've meant to ask long time ago, but kept putting it off:

How detailed are your plans for your stories? Do you have them all planned out when you start posting? I guess no, because you mentioned figuring out next beats of things we already knew, but how far ahead do you have everything figured out?

How do you go about outlining things in general?

(I'm asking particularly about thing you definitely didn't wrote (Trouble with Tuesday, I think is official title?), because writing out of order seems like cool solution for me, but I almost never know enough about stories to actually do it, so I'm asking at the source hah. Though I am curious about it in general too)

Have a nice day/night whatever the time you see it will be, have a nice vacation (or time adjusting back from it, if you see this ask later, I hope you had a good time)

Hellu! Thank you! Still on vacation~

How much do I plan... that's a complicated question! It really depends. Which isn't that helpful lol

My first fic I started because I had two or three scenes in my head that were SO CLEAR that I basically had to write the rest of the story to get to them! So for that one, I planned every part of it with the main beat(s) of each chapter. And then it ended up 3x the chapters I had planned, because writing never goes to plan lol.

BUT that said, writing the important scenes is what matters, the rest can ebb and flow. Sometimes that is what I mean by figuring out the pacing! I did Betta Fish the same sort of way, although I was more experienced (by a handful) and that fic stayed on track! I had the Big Drama Scene written almost since the start and was just waiting to get to that point to share it.

With a lot of my stuff at present, I've got some beats in mind I want to hit, but how it gets there is not figured out. Birb needs Bruce and Danny to get together. Danny needs to get to being settled. There's a drama point I've waffled on. But also Duke introduced a whole plot idea without me planning it! It's one of those fun writing discoveries.

The fic that I'm not writing, The Trouble with Tuesdays, I just wrote whatever scene popped into my head and sounded fun to write! They got themselves slowly into building a story. And now I have to go back and stitch it all together and fill it out--which is the harder option.

If you don't have too much planned out, but have the how to start, climax, and how you want them to end up figured out then really I think that's enough! I find writing the climax motivating because I have to wait for you all to get there, but I know some don't like it because they feel why write the rest of the fic. But I greatly love the journey of the characters so that's not much an issue for me.

Hopefully that helps!

[victusinveritas]

[quillver]

Writing Intimacy Without Romance

Not all intimacy is soft.

Not all closeness is safe.

And some of the most devastating scenes aren’t romantic at all.

Intimacy in fiction isn’t always about desire.

Sometimes it’s about what a character lets someone see.

Their guilt.

Their grief.

Their quiet refusal — and what it costs.

Because when a character is fully seen — without armour, excuse, or deflection —

and the other doesn’t look away,

that moment carries weight.

Not comfort.

Not resolution.

Just risk.

These aren’t just quiet moments.

They shift the story.

Because once a character has been seen — really seen — they can’t go back to hiding.

🧵 Intimacy without romance is:

• Grief that goes unspoken.

• A lie heard and left unanswered.

• A betrayal understood in silence.

• The space between people who know — and say nothing.

[quillver]

procrastinating by writing ‘how to write’ posts

procrastinating by reading 'how to write' posts

[itsawritblr]

World building.

[dionysiaproductions]

[dead-dolphins]

this is where tpp is happening btw 🙂‍↕️

[leebrontide]

History! of! Science and technology!!!

You want to know how new techniques and ideas move through a society? History of science and technology! You want to see alternate ideas of verifying truth? History of science and technology! You want to see how a major societal dustup can come from some new ability? History of science and technology! Want to track power, privilege and information hierarchies? History of science and technology!

You can absolutely apply these lessons to magic and scifi!

It's not just "we used to think this wrong thing and now we know better". It's who has the the information, how when and to whome is it transmitted? Who controls that? Who enforced it? Who wants to stop it? Who will make or loose money off it? Who will it be used against? What other areas of study will use this new development to advance their own?

These are key questions of RIGHT NOW that you can absolutely apply to your scifi or magic world-building IF you take time to learn and get a bit of nuance in there. this is good, meaty stuff not giving it it's due when you should fucks up your whole worldbuilding.

I am far from the first to say that if you want to make better fantasy worlds you need to read a lot of non-fiction, not just other fantasy stories.

One area where I think this becomes very visible is in the lack of diversity in fantasy political systems. Very often they are just simplified and less interesting versions of medieval European kingdoms or empires. Maybe a basic theocracy if you're feeling spicy.

I think things would be much more interesting if we got more well-researched takes on things like city-states, democracies (and not just for the good guys), and various systems from antiquity.

Even your standard medieval European system would be made much more interesting if it was actually developed and explored things like the relationships and power dynamics between vassals and lieges in a historically-informed way.

[tahbhie]

Creating Emotionally Devastating Scenes.

Crafting a scene that earns the total sympathy of your readers can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Most emotionally devastating scenes fail at two things, but when these are done right, the results can be powerful.

⚪ The Important Concepts for Writing an Emotionally Devastating Scene

1. The Build-Up,

2. Breaking the Dam.

Before I explain these concepts, let me share a case study.

⚫ Case Study

I wrote a story about a young orphan named Jackie and her younger brother. Their village was burned down, leaving them as the only survivors.

For the next few chapters, readers followed their painful journey and their struggle to survive. The younger brother had a heart problem, and Jackie vowed to become a cardiologist to save him.

She was very ambitious about it, but at the time, it was very ironic. Later in the story, when they encountered a tragic living condition with a family, the brother died while telling his sister how much he missed their parents.

When her brother was fighting for his life, she was sent out of the room, only to be let in again to see his cold, lifeless body.

⚪ Explanation of Concepts

1. The Build-Up

The build-up is extremely important when you aim to convey strong emotions. Here's a secret: if you plan for a scene with strong emotions, start leaving breadcrumbs from the very beginning of the story.

Take the previous case study. I carefully built up their journey so people could easily relate and feel the pain of the older sister during her brother's sudden death.

You need to give the situation enough reason to feel utterly hopeless and devastating. Gradually cultivate the tension until it's ready to let loose.

⚫ Understanding the Use of Breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs in stories ensure you utilize the time you have to build up certain emotions around your characters.

At the beginning of my story, Jackie’s fate was already pitiable, but she survived every hurdle. This gave the readers enough to feel for her while still leaning away from the outcome. When I built enough, I introduced her brother's sudden death.

Hence, leave your breadcrumbs while leaning away from the outcome.

⚪ How to Properly Leave Breadcrumbs

When building up your story, consider these elements:

☞⁠ Character Relatability: The characters need to be realistic to draw readers into the story. This helps readers invest themselves in your story.

☞⁠ Realistic Emotional Pain: Just as characters need to be relatable, their emotions need to be realistic and not appear forced.

☞⁠ Create a Strong Emotional Attachment: Give them something they care about or that has the power to ruin their lives in any way. It could be something that makes them happy or something their happiness relies on. When it's time, snatch it away without remorse.

☞⁠ Have a Backstage Struggle: This struggle keeps readers occupied, so they won't see the outcome coming. For example, Jackie’s constant struggle to find food and shelter keeps readers engaged while the impending tragedy looms in the background.

☞⁠ Attach Believable Elements: For a realistic character, emotion, and struggle, attach believable elements. It could be death, ailments, sickness, disorder, disappointment, failure, etc.

Now that we've covered the build-up, let's move on to the next crucial part.

2. Breaking the Dam

This is when you make your readers feel the strong emotions alongside your characters. All the tension you’ve been building up is released, making all emotions come into play.

☞⁠ Break Your Strong Attachment: Cut off your strong attachment from your character when they least expect it or at a point when they couldn't use more struggles (i.e when they are helpless).

This will not only evoke readers’ emotions but also pique their curiosity as they wonder how the character will survive the situation.

☞⁠ Description of Sensory Details to Invoke Emotions: The advice of "show, don't tell" will be really helpful here. It's crucial to ensure that the final execution matches the build-up.

A well-crafted build-up can fall flat if the emotional release isn't handled effectively. To avoid this, blend the climax seamlessly into the narrative, making it feel natural and impactful.

Reblog to save for reference! 💜