#and also have terrible sentence structure skills and a limited vocabulary. things to improve on!!! *cries*

[bbq-potato-chip]

I have another ask. What was your first ever Legend of Zelda game? Also what is your favorite one ?

BoTW was my first ever zelda game! I got it when it first came out on WiiU in 2017, although I didn't really play it myself until long after lol, but its still very near and dear to my heart.

Not to be one of those people, but BotW would probably be my favorite because it was really the first video game i really played myself. The story is just so important to me and the excitement I felt whenever I'd explore a new area or even find anew korok or npc out in the wilderness felt so special! Finding the memories felt so special too- slowly uncovering zelda and link's relationship and watching zelda gradually warm up to him and then seeing the final memories was just so good, on top of slowly rediscovering the champion's relationships with link and zelda.

Uncovering the story piece by piece was such an interesting way to do the story because. You ARE link and you slowly begin to understand who these people are and what they meant to you. You know at first that there were these people who knew you that died. You know that there's a princess waiting for you, but you don't really know who she is. But you try to help out anyway. and then you realize. Oh. these people were my friends. The princess loved me. Now I have a reason to fight. And now, after I fight, they can rest in piece. To a certain extent, the story can be subjective to the player and it can be personal to the link as much as the player (ignore the momires just fight the bosses dont even save the champions etc) likes I suppose, but I really think that the way the game subtly directs the player to do things and narrative itself is personal to link and his relationships with zelda and the Champions...which is just so...special i think.

Skyward sword is also one of my favorites (although i haven't completed it...I'm almost at the end but i got scared...dont look at me), and I like totk (although i have some issues with the story and themes as compared to botw) and while I haven't player wind waker or Oot, but I'd really like to! I've watched the cut scenes for many of the big zelda games, but there are many I haven't played that I certainly would like to. But I still think BotW would remain my favorite.

[hergalaxyperfection]

The Writing Process ™

Part Two: The Actual Writing

This is the part we hate. No really, we do. Making the words go is hard. Figuring out where the scenes go is hard. Finding the space and time to actually write is hard, but you gotta stick with it. Writing is like making a puzzle, you’ve just got to put the pieces in place.

Writing is a process, that's why it's called The Writing Process™. Your first draft isn't going to be perfect. It's gonna have simple grammar, spelling errors, extra words, repetitive sentences, misused dialogue, horrible dialogue, too much dialogue, overall terrible writing, etc. It's not gonna be perfect bc it's a draft and it's the first part of creating an entire book. This is where your character will come to life but the words you use and the scenes will meld together with the world around your characters and everything is gonna be wrapped up in a nice little bow or sorts, but that's the end result. The real writing is hard. It's gruesome details and "I can't remember if I wrote that" and a happy little mixture of "my writing sucks" and "this is amazing I am a genius" and it's using Grammar to your advantage and you trying to set the mood and tone and trying to make the plot work and move it forward without any plot holes. Writing is making a story out of your plans. Writing is making sure everything makes sense and comes together. The biggest thing to remember: writing is not just writing, writing is creating and imagining and being so many different things a once.

Drafting is fun though. This is where you get to express most of your creativity while still loosely following The Book Structure™. It won’t follow exactly, but again it’s really up to the writer.

This is where the world jumps out at the reader from the page. This is where the characters deal with a conflict in probably not logical, but relatable ways. This is also where subplots make an appearance. A subplot is like a mini storyline within a story, it’s not quite the main conflict or content, but it still can impact the characters and the world. A huge sublot a lot of books have is romance. We see that a lot in fiction, but that’s not the only one. There are so many and, again, the only thing that limits you is your own creativity. In the writing section, you also see your plans fall into place so you can add subplots and extra details you hadn’t thought of before.

There’s this thing we writer’s love to do and most readers love to read: Plot Twists. This is a major thing. A plot twist can be considered a climax or used as a climax. Some can be huge and completely change the direction of the plot so it’s okay to use a plot twist as your climax. There’s also this other thing that’s smaller, but still has a somewhat significant change to either the characters, the world, or the story’s plot: Plot Turn. These aren’t often as big or significant as a Plot Twist. These are more minor and less shocking, some can even be predicted. These are easier to come up with and include too. The best Plot Twists and Plot Turns also use some foreshadowing to hint at the big or smaller change. Still try to leave your reader unsuspecting, but when it happens they will realize that what the piece of foreshadowing was hinting at. I don’t know about you, but when that happens to me, I feel like a dumbass because “Man, I should've noticed.”

Language is a huge part of the writing. The styles you use can make a huge impact on how intelligent the character is, how complex your story is, what words you use (vocabulary), and how complex your sentences are. The perspective that you write in can also have a huge impact on the story. Language and the style you use helps to improve your voice as a writer and also helps to develop a style or way that you enjoy writing.

With all books, there are many lessons to be learned. I, for one, did not purposely write a specific lesson that could be learned, but my book still had a couple different ones because they developed with the plot and the characters and the world. It doesn’t have to be something you’re really focused on. It can be side note lesson. You really don’t have to have a lesson in mind unless you really want one to be used, but it should be something to at least keep in the back of your mind.

Writing is basically a lot a lot a lot of hard work and it takes a lot a lot a lot of time. This shit does not happen in a day. But it becomes more fun and exciting the more you write because you get the joy of seeing your characters, your settings, your conflicts, your plot, your words come together to make a beautiful work of art. It may have a couple flaws, but that is perfectly okay. That’s what editing is for. I think the best part about writing is you get to be creative with how you word different things. You are the author so you get to decide what people say, what happens, and how everything changes and interacts. It’s really up to you.

And then there’s our trusty friend called Writer’s Block. He’s an asshole, but we can always count on him to make sure our work doesn’t get done. Often a lot of writer’s struggle with writer’s block. This is often when a writer can’t determine where they want to go in a story or they don’t know what to write to continue on with their plot and make their story flow. The best thing to do when you’ve got writer’s block is to just keep writing. I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. I like to do little exercises like write a little scene/one shot using your characters and give them a little story. It’s difficult yes, but it will help in a few different ways: it can help get rid of our pesky friend, it can help you better develop your characters, and it can spark a new idea that you want to include in your story. Writer’s block comes and it goes, but honestly, that’s just part of being a writer.

The best thing to do is just keep writing. Your chapters or scenes will develop and flow smoothly the more you keep writing and your writing will also improve the more you do it. Sometimes your writing skill needs some time to catch up to your ideas. And that’s perfectly okay. Nothing is wrong with that, don’t get discouraged, don’t get upset if you’re writing is below the level you want it to be at, because in the end you are still writing and that’s the most important part. When writing a book, you really don’t have to worry about much. Don’t worry about page count, word count, what people will think about it. Just be creative and follow your plot and plans. It’s your story so you should tell it how you want. No matter what, in the end when you finish your first draft a sense of achievement and pride will wash over you because hey, you just wrote an entire book and it came solely from you skull sponge.