#and the worldbuilding is far more immersive

[eggbagelz]

I will say tho the little personal scenes with the companions are the best part of the entire game like THAT is why im playing it

[kingdomoftyto]

So this little... art project? Worldbuilding exercise?? I don't even know how to categorize it. But it's definitely one of the weirdest fucking things I've ever come across, and I mean that with both disgust and immense affection

The video I linked gives a fairly comprehensive look at it, but a quick tl;dw is that it's a huge collection of historical, promotional, and educational materials about a fictional National Park built around the discovery of an unimaginably huge "superorganism" buried beneath the Texas countryside. The park has a visitor center on the surface, but the vast majority of it is contained INSIDE THE ORGANISM'S BODY. Popular points of interest include a resort with windows overlooking a "Gastric Sea", a set of bathhouses inside the creature's endocrine glands, and hiking trails through an undisturbed "forest" of bronchial tubes.

It's horrifying. It's absurd. It's revolting. It's HILARIOUS.

And don't forget to check out the originals at @mysteryfleshpit

[thatwritergirlsblog]

10 worst ways to start a book

1. An irrelevant point of view

It's extremely frustrating as a reader to read the opening scene of a novel, get invested in the story and start rooting for the POV character, only to have that character never show up again or show up as an unimportant character.

Your readers will feel betrayed. Why did they get emotionally invested in this character? Why did they care?

One of the most important functions of your first scene or chapter is introducing your main character and getting the reader to root for them.

Don’t waste that crucial moment on an unimportant POV.

2. Too many characters

Starting to read a new book is usually a bit confusing. You have to get to know new characters, a new world, a new writing style etc.

Don’t add to that confusion by introducing two dozen characters in the opening scene. Readers won’t remember their names or care about them; they’ll just feel overwhelmed and confused.

Additionally, readers will also struggle to root for the main character, because there are too many other people crowding the scene.

3. Telling

My name is Lisa. I’m a short, feisty brunette who loves horse riding. I have two best friends called Anna and Daniel, and we carpool to college every day. I have a crush on Josh, one of my tutors, but he’s twenty-seven and isn’t interested in me.

Telling is boring. It has its place, but the start of your novel is not it. The above paragraph could have been an interesting scene in which you showed the reader all the information via action and dialogue.

Unless you’re using subversion to surprise the reader, e.g., My name is Lisa and I’m a class-three demon, don’t start with telling. 

Immerse the reader in the story through action, dialogue and the senses. Show us who the main character is, don’t just tell us.

4. Description

Please don’t start your book with a page-long description of the setting. In fact, I would recommend not starting with description at all. 

Yes, a few lines of description later in the opening scene is fine. But the reader needs to care first. 

No matter how beautiful your writing is, readers won’t be sucked in by a five-paragraph description of a field.

5. Worldbuilding info dump

Please don’t start your book with an explanation of your world’s climate, politics, history, magic system etc. 

Once again, the reader needs to care first. 

There needs to be action and conflict and a compelling plot. The world exists as a backdrop for the story and the characters – it’s not the protagonist and it shouldn’t take up the opening scene.

6. The dream sequence

The main reason that this is a bad way to start your book is that it’s been done way too many times.

But that’s not the only reason.

It also feels like a betrayal to the reader, because they got invested in the story and the character and the events, and then you tell them it was never real.

And oftentimes the storyline and world of the dream is much more interesting than the actual story, which makes the latter look very boring in comparison.

7. Looking in a mirror

Once again, it’s just been done too much: A character looking in a mirror and describing their physical appearance to the reader. 

Firstly, no one describes their appearance in detail when they look in the mirror.

Secondly, the reader doesn’t even know who this person is. We don’t know if we’re interested in the character yet. We don’t know why we should care. So, we don’t want a detailed description of the character’s appearance right off the bat.

Show us interesting aspects of your main character’s personality, hobbies and life. Weave in physical description as it becomes relevant. It’s not important enough for the very first paragraph.

8. Starting way too early

Yes, most books don’t start with the inciting incident (although I recommend that they do), but the start of your book shouldn’t be too far away from your inciting incident.

So, don’t start with a long scene describing the main character’s everyday life. The readers want the thing to happen.

Providing context and introducing the main character is fine, but don’t leave the reader hanging for too long before you get to the good stuff.

9. Trying too hard

“Your first line has to be amazing and hook the reader. It needs to be something no one has ever read before.”

I bet you’ve heard that piece of advice hundreds of times. It’s not bad advice, but taken to the extreme, it creates an opening that is disjointed, conflated and confusing.

Your first scene should introduce your character, story and voice. So, don’t write a single line of profound purple prose that has very little to do with your actual story as a first line.

Focus on writing a good story. Introduce the reader to the book and make the main character intriguing. You don’t need a mind-blowing first line.

10. The lesson

Most books have a theme or something the author wants to say. Oftentimes, that takes the form of a life lesson.

This is good, but the lesson needs to be subtly woven into the story.

It should not be forced down the reader’s throat in the very first scene.

Don’t tell me what I’m going to learn, show me the lesson through the story.

If you’d like to read a Fantasy Adventure novel that does not have any of these opening mistakes, check out my debut To Wear A Crown.

Reblog if you found this post useful. Comment with your own tips for writing a good opening scene. Follow for similar content.

[laenyrasdarling]

Hiii! Can i ask for an Haelena/ fem! Targaryen reader headcanons? No nsfw but romantic. Reader is the daughter of Rhea Royce and Daemon

.ೃ࿐helaena targaryen x fem!targaryen/royce!reader 

✦ some notes on the setting; pre-dance, with helaegon and the twins (+ aegon’s debauchery) still present, daemyra being alluded to whilst he’s married (frostily) to rhea and she to laenor, vizzy t’s in a somewhat fortunate state of health, i am here for helaena her only and the worldbuilding Shall reflect it

ׂׂૢ having spent much all of your formative years residing in the grassy hills and wild thatches of runestone with your mother and her family, your varyingly absent father’s request to depart to king’s landing not long after your coming of eight and ten felt like something not very far between a dare and a terror. 

ׂׂૢ as abbarantly furious as this suggestion had initially made your dear mother and grandsire, over the course of some weeks your gentle insinuations that some winters in the red-roofed capital may be of benefit to a silver-haired, violet-eyed lady such as yourself before she returned to her homeland to continue her path ontoward ruling runestone in her mother’s footsteps, you successfully found enough cracks in your doting family’s bronzed armour to see them abate. 

ׂׂૢ so armed with enough belongings to last you from late spring to the following summer and the strongly pressed guidance from your grandsire that this temporary dalliance was only so you’d return equipped with better skills and knowledge with which to one day rule over your true homeland, you set sail for king’s landing. knowing all at once that you were only permitted to embark on this journey for varying ploys that were not yours - your grandsire’s to see you evolve to a competent ruler, your father’s to better his standings in your all but estranged uncle viserys’ eyes - you tried to not let these meddling hands of fate dissuade you from also using this time for your own endeavours.

ׂׂૢ and none so prevalent was that mission made to you than when you first laid eyes on the princess helaena upon your arrival to the red keep.

ׂׂૢ this was around the time you first found yourself thankful for your father’s meddling, as his suggesting in his letter that you make yourself of use to your hosts and aid the lady helaena in her childrearing and courtly duties meant that you arrived pre-prepared with a reason to find yourself in her company so often. as frostily as things began, with you nervously hovering around the edge of the room as the twins played and she sewed stiffly, with suppertimes just as cold with the added intrusions of her fool husband and snide-tongued younger brother, summer had barely begun to depart on your first year when things began brightening.

ׂׂૢ your transition from outcast to dearly-held began in benign ways - jaehaera growing familiar with your shadow-still presence in the family’s quarters and growing bold enough to beckon you forth with a chubby-fisted hand, that held aloft a dragon figurine for you to join her in play with. then came your wine-fuelled back-and-forths with aemond at the dinnertable, earning you both your cousins’ delicately-balanced respect, along with that of ser otto - and later, when helaena would find herself peering from over parapets to catch a glimpse of you besting even some of the kingsguard in the training yard with your bow skills.

ׂׂૢ the gradual quality with which you immerse yourself into her life escapes even her, until she begins to find herself noticing when your relentless energy and imaginative ploys are absent from the twins’ mornings and when you deem to take ale with aemond and his goons instead of joining her and alicent for supper. 

ׂׂૢ her status as a crown princess, and one betrothed to the king’s eldest son at that, taken into account, means that it’s probably once in a blood moon that helaena needs to ask for anything. which is what makes it mean all the more than it already does when she starts asking for your company.

ׂׂૢ and oh, how unendingly glad is she that she did.

ׂׂૢ her droll mornings become filled with your endlessly interesting talk of runestone, and your studies, and the things you’ve noticed since your arrival here (much of which she may not quite understand, but loves to listen to all the same). you’re by her side for each meandering stroll through the gardens that seems to take longer and longer each passing day, for every family meal that you manage to instill life and laughter into, for each lavish ball that she no longer fears now that she has you on her arm to keep her grounded and safe.

ׂׂૢ it’s the confident ease that you carry yourself with that endears helaena to you so much. how no task, no conversation, no idea is below or above you; that you’ll see the good and the worth in everything and everyone like it’s as easy as breathing.

ׂׂૢ so really, it’s no wonder that when it’s drawing late one night and you haven’t swung by her quarters with that darling smile of yours to wish her goodnight like you always do that when she goes in search of you, she finds you having dismissed the handmaids for the night and taken to tidying up the twins’ toys and study materials yourself. in the light of the still-flickering hearth, you look as heavenly a woman as helaena’s ever seen; so she’d be forgiven for finding herself kneeling so very close to you on the stone floor as she helps you stow figurines and charcoals away, and for losing herself in your lilac eyes that she doesn’t realise she’s leaning in until her lips are already on yours.

ׂׂૢ from there, it’s another slow descent - but helaena ensures not to miss a second of it this time around.

ׂׂૢ linked arms as you stroll through the gardens become held hands and guiding palms on the smalls of backs when no-one’s looking. the sewing lessons she’s insisted on walking you through end up looking more like you sitting back against her legs, as she loops her arms around yours and guides you through each stitch with her own hand, and now it’s a heatwave in the north before you’ll trade an evening with her for drinking with her fool brothers.

ׂׂૢ and you best believe, that’s only the very beginning.

ׂׂૢ she has dreamfyre saddled for two, and laughs through your terrified screams as she takes you so high into the clouds that you fear she’ll never possibly find her way back down. but really that’s your fault, as if you didn’t hand so tight onto her waist and bury your face into the crook of her neck, she would have no reason to delight in your flights as much as she does.

ׂׂૢ none of the articles of clothing you arrived with are now without alterations from her hand. a tiny, glittering arrow on a dress sleeve, a bronze-threaded neckline that seems to merge with an emerald-toned green as it sweeps down your back, all so subtle but done with love that they ease a smile onto your face every time they catch your notice again. and that’s not even taking into account the garments that are her design and commission alone, which now make up more than half of your wardrobe - rich, silken robes in every colour you could dream of, soft undershirts better suited to the warm climate of king’s landing than the heavy cotton ones you brought with you, gowns to match hers for all the balls she now drags you to on her arm.

ׂׂૢ her demure nature accounted for, she personally rejects any talks of vows for your hand - right down to seeing to it that all visiting noblewomen who appear to find too much interest in your bright eyes or warm laughter won’t find themselves having any business being in your company again.

ׂׂૢ on nights where she really just can’t bear to part with you until the morning, she’ll have her most trusted maidservants beguile her guards with a lie about her feeling poorly and asking you to stay with her for company; ensuring there’ll be no questions if anyone were to find the princess and a noblewoman entwined in bed together, cuddled so close it’s doubtful they could ever be parted.

ׂׂૢ it’s in moments like those, so sweet and so sacred, where the safety of your arms emboldens her so that she’ll dare to speak beyond the here and now. about her dreams of renouncing aegon, of taking the twins and you and flying as far as dreamfyre will take you, until you find a place that’s safe. safe for her to take you as your wife, for all the issues of succession and war to be a distant memory, where she can be a seamstress and you a farmer and the twins whatever they so want to be.

ׂׂૢ and torturously, those moments where she feels brave enough to speak plainly are the ones you find you just don't have the heart to give her the same honesty. so you kiss her forehead, brushing back silvery strands of hair as you settle in against one another and pray that your dreams lead you both to the same place where you may be able to live out that fantasy if only for a night.

[late-draft]

Hello! I just saw your posts about the Last Air Keyholder AU and—dear Agni!

Listen, this is beautiful. This is awestriking. This is *chef kiss*. I've always loved the initial sci-fi designs for ATLA, so it's incredible that someone's using them as a base/inspiration for an AU.

Also—your unapologetic, deliberate use of tropes? This is something extremely rare to see in narrative (tropes being intentionally used as a device) and I can't wait to see what shape they take here. Count me in!

I love this AU so far and have so many questions!

What is the vibe for the Fire Nation here? The vibe for the cities, the architecture, the worldbuilding, the culture—things like that. From the brief description we got, some parts of your world reminded me of Neo Tokyo from Akira, but maybe that's not what you're going for.

According to your previous sketch (and my inner romantic); is ZK going to happen in this AU? How do you see a possible relationship between them developing here?

Are you planning on adapting major canon plot points moving forward?

I have, like I said earlier, a lot of questions about this! But I don't want to smother you so this is all I'll ask for now. Can't wait to see what you show us next.

Have a nice day!

Hello! Thank you!! Yess a good usage of tropes is like running into a song you love that you heard many times, and still you crank the volume up! The fandom is like 20 years old, is it possible that not much stuff has been made for the sci-fi idea?

You're absolutely right, I gotta lean onto the king of megacities Neo Tokyo from Akira, but I wouldn't have the aesthetic be completely identical to it. There's mystical aspects in this AU too, and here's my initial attempt to throw together a fast vertical slice.

Light conditions are really important in a setting and in this AU I'd have a lot of the runtime happening during dawn or sunset. There's an aura of orange light floating in but very rarely direct sun rays due to the high buildings. There should however, be lots of traffic lights of all kinds. I'm already immersed in quite a few projects that feature megacities, but each one has a different flavour and I'd be overjoyed if I manage to correctly convey each one. In this ATLA AU, there's no specific time period from IRL that would be used as a reference. All nations are grouped and mixed similar to Republic City from LoK, but this AU is noticeably way more sci-fi than the 1920s LoK. There's a large focus on all kinds of transportation and roads/railways that accompany them. Highrise buildings are specifically Fire Nation in design and ownership (usually). Lower levels have a mix of everything but they do use leftover materials and mostly cement and metal. Ground and below ground levels are brick and a maze of pipes, through which strange disused cables snake. Sometimes they tangle in great masses…

I'm certain important characters from canon will appear, but I'm definitely not gonna follow the canon plotline strictly. Stuff like "Well there was a village being attacked by Hei Bai, so this AU has to have a village being attacked by Hei Bai…" nothing like that. I'm taking way more freedom in this AU to ensure that characters go through specific things that would be very useful to them and which allow the natural usage of respectively fitting tropes. But I'm not treating this AU as exclusively mine and nobody else's, so anyone can give suggestions! (please give suggestions!!)

Katara and Zuko first meet "racing on the opposite sides" of Aang. From starting out as Katara on her bike assisting the Avatar during chases while the banished prince is attempting to capture him, they sort of move into situations where they race each other. Zuko figures out that Katara is a major reason why all of his attempts thus far failed so he tries to change strategies and trip up Katara in whatever non-harmful way he can imagine. He's convinced, he must demonstrate, that her speed on a bike is not unreachable to him on his rollerblades. And if he shows off a couple of tricks along the way, so be it. :)

More stuff coming up

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Bonus note relating to that fantasy culture post I reblogged.

You know what really helps build up fantasy cultures? Making them interact.

Here is my most extreme example: my orcs, descended from a species of pack-hunting wild boar type animals, and my centaurs, chalicotheres that evolved a very weirdly consistent form of chimeric twin body shape.

The ancestors of the orcs used to hunt the ancestors of the centaurs. They were basically the only major predator of that species. This began long long before either group could ever be considered "people" but only stopped after both groups evolved equal levels of sapience and had many violent conflicts over it.

The centaurs defended themselves more and more, the orcs got more clever with their hunting, and then at some point they were no longer animals but all people, and what was once a dynamic of predator and prey became a dynamic of enemies at war.

The orcs surrendered. They abandoned their ancestral lands, conceding to the centaurs. They lost a lot of their culture, most of their important heirlooms, because so much of their ancestral history was so deeply centered on following their migrating prey and treating them as a sacred animal and using their hides and bones.

But that prey is a people now, and it is so very obviously the wrong choice to cling to that old culture. They had to start over.

And the centaurs became an isolated people, keeping everyone out, orc or otherwise.

Generations later, can they ever reconcile their past? Can they draw a line between animal and people and forgive the morally neutral act of simple predators hunting simple prey? When did it cross that line? Can these two opposed groups become friendly, after all that happened?

And then their cultures actually have a lot of similarities that happened to come from different roots.

The orcs are warrior folk who live in family groups and practice ancestral veneration.

So are the centaurs.

But the orcs are like that because they're descended from pack-hunting predators, while the centaurs are like that because they were the migrating herds of prey trying to defend themselves.

By having both of these groups in the story, even if they're not entirely central to the plot, I've already created a dynamic that makes the whole world feel more alive and occupied and gives it a history beyond the main characters and their own lives.

Following the plot, only focusing on worldbuilding that is plot relevant, that's all well and good and I encourage it! You don't want your story to drown in your worldbuilding. But man, it is so much fun to add those extra details and create connections between your people groups that extend far beyond the actual plot and the main characters. I think it can really make the world more immersive.

Sometimes I read fantasy, and it feels like the worldbuilding is shallow and flat, only there if it serves the one major plot line. It's like the rest of the world doesn't even exist. And I get it, I understand the tight focus, I know why so many people only want to write the small handful of characters and only stick to details that are plot relevant.

I just also really really love stories where the world itself is full and alive and you can see where there could be many many more stories to tell beyond the limited perspectives of the main characters.

[grigori77]

Reasons to LOVE Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

It's brand new in cinemas, so there are still plenty who ain't seen it, so if you're among 'em best skip this and just GO SEE IT, it's SO well worth it, genuinely it's one of the best new movies I've seen so far this year. Hope you love it as much as I did!

So, yeah, there you go - SPOILER WARNING, FOLKS!!! If you don't wanna get spoiled, RUN!!!

Still here? Okay, here we go then ...

This really is, UNAPOLOGETICALLY, a comedy. I mean yeah, this is a classic fantasy action adventure in the Willow, Krull or Ladyhawke mold, but it is also very enthusiastically POKING FUN at the classic conventions of the genre ... albeit CLEARLY done with great affection and love for the material, as only the best lampoons can be. So this is more The Princess Bride or Galaxy Quest than Your Highness or Spaceballs ...

Chris Pine is ALWAYS at his best when he's being FUNNY, so he is PERFECT here. Edgin is most definitely a bit of a douchebag, but he's the sweetest, most lovable douchebag you'll ever encounter.

Holga. Literally just EVERYTHING about Holga. She's my favourite character in this, this REALLY IS the best role that Michelle Rodriguez has EVER HAD, if you ask me. She's a total badass, a truly AMAZING FIGHTER, but I love that despite her dour demeanour she's actually quite sweet, gentle and really a great innocent in many ways. She's an absolute cinammon roll and must be protected at all costs.

OH MY GODS!!! All the easter eggs, SO MANY easter eggs ... FAR too many to count throughout, all the references and nods and winks to the game itself, all the spells and races and creatures and stuff ... but I love how the movie NEVER beats you over the head pointing any of it out, it just lets you enjoy it. So the proper fans will get a huge kick out of spotting it all, but casual viewers will just enjoy it as rich worldbuilding colour and flavour.

Seriously though, it's a D&D fan's DREAM!!! Not just the mimic, or the owlbear, or the gelatinous cube! SO MUCH to spot ...

Justice Smith's Simon gets THE CLEVEREST and best introduction in the film, I love the theatre scene, he's SO BAD at this while also simulataneously being really great. Totally sums up this gloriously clunky hot mess of a sorcerer ...

the opening is GENIUS, totally sets the movie up as it means to go on - the parole hearing is a brilliant comedic take on the scene-setting infodump which is brilliantly carried through in the way the movie delivers exposition in a fun way or just lets you absorb it through what's happening in each scene. This is the perfect, TEXTBOOK way to do it.

"That is one pudgy dragon!" LOL

Doric. Just EVERYTHING about Doric. Sophia Lillis' tiefling druid is a wonderful diminutive little action hero, so fiesty and capable. I love her. It's just a shame she's not primary coloured, I'd have loved it even more if she'd been blue, or red ...

The Wildshape Escape! XD Yeah, I love that, that's THE BEST set-piece in the whole movie, definitely, when Doric gets cught out spying and has to shapeshift on the fly to get away, and it all plays out in one immersive single shot that just leaves your heart in your mouth ...

Oh, the Speak With The Dead montage, that is comedy GOLD. Funniest scene in the whole movie. And with added payoff at the end! XD

Rege-Jean Page's Xenk Yendar. Oh boy, that paladin is something else. I love how LITERAL he is, he's like Drax in GOTG but much more intelligent. Y'know when Holga says: "You're not a lot of fun, are you?" to him? She's so wrong. I just wish there was more of him in this ...

The heist! Oh, the heist! So good ... the portal trick, it's great, love the way they did that, and then that HILARIOUS bard illusion distraction - Pine skipping the song like a broken record was just chef's kiss!

That wonderful wibbly-wobbly illusory reality thing whenever Simon tries to atune to the Helm ... wow, that is some spectacularly trippy shit. Granted, twice is fine for terms of pacing, but I could've done with a few more scenes of that, it's fascinating.

Hugh Grant really has just become a MASTER at playing smarmy, slimy duplicitous gits now, hasn't he? Forge is a reprehensible prick and I love it.

I love how they made Bradley Cooper a halfling for his cameo. They're never gonna let him live down the fact that he's now probably best known for playing a two-foot-tall talking racoon so forever after he will be a Short King.

Wow, Daisy Head's Sofina is a CRACKING villain, she's just SO CREEPY!!! I love how coolly menacing she is, a brilliant dark necromantic wizard that just makes your skin crawl. Especially at the end ... IS SHE a lich? Is that what they were doing there?

That whole big action climax, the showdown in the city centre is FIRE!!! It's so amazing, so brilliantly dynamic, with EVEN MORE great easter eggs! Simon and Sofina having an insanely awesome "arm wrestling" bout with Mage Hand versus Earthen Grasp (I think that's the spell, couldn't be sure), oh my gods! So cool ... and then the way they neutralised the threat! Brilliant.

Chloe Coleman's Kira is an absolutely adorable delight, and I think she's ENTIRELY JUSTIFIED in how pissed she is at Edgin for abandoning her. It makes the payoff when they finally make up so much better.

And that resurrection scene at the end? Yeah, sure, I saw that coming a mile off, but it was so well done, and they played it so well, that it was still SUCH a powerful scene even so. Just perfect.

Seriously, they just did this whole thing SO PERFECTLY. It's visually STUNNING, really it just looks AMAZING, and the action sequences are BRILLIANT but always feel entirely necessary for the story, which is how you want to do it. Best of all, though, is THE PACING!!! This is such a quick, breezy film, it just barrels along at a spectacular clip, so it never drags. Mark Kermode is right, even though this is two and a quarter hours long it doesn't FEEL LIKE IT, it feels like a super-trim 90-minute movie.

And it ties everything off nice and neat, too. Sure, there are definitely possibilities for the future, going forward if they make more, but if the movie DOES tank then it's fine, because this really does do a great job about feeling self-contained and telling its own complete story, so if we DON'T get more it won't be too big a disappointment ...

[physalian]

On "immersion" in narrative

I should be relaxing today taking a victory lap because my book is finally live on sale, woo!

But I have this to say first, in the realm of “you can’t please everyone”. I am not a reader who enjoys extremely fluffy narrative, not “fluff” as in “feel good cotton candy stuff” but as in “300 words of describing the layout of a bedroom” fluff. I don’t like when the pacing moves as slow as molasses, not for introspection, but for telling about every little thing that happens in the story no matter how irrelevant it is to the story or its characters.

I had a beta reader for ENNS who left at least 20 comments across my narrative asking for all this extra material because my book felt too lean. I had a birthday party for a side character’s newborn daughter, when the side character herself was never even named. The plot takes place in a castle, and, shocker, the castle isn’t only populated by Main Characters.

It was just the inciting incident of the chapter that got my characters staged in the right location and the right mindset (happy fun birthday party, sourpuss self-saboteur protagonist is really missing out).

But she’d left me a comment asking for probably at least an extra 500-700 words of details about this party. She wanted to know about the food that was served, what everybody was wearing, what music they were listening to. She wanted to have actual dialogue between the new mother and some important character, some comment about life and death and parallels, and wanted all these details about a three-day-old newborn baby.

I deleted that comment. And every other comment like it.

Why? She is not my target audience and was my only beta with such notes, but also, even if this was that kind of book, she failed to understand what, I think, counts as meaningful to the narrative. That baby only showed up maybe twice in the book. The mother, like I said, never named.

The point of the party was simply “hey happy times exist in this place that you hate, Protagonist”. Spending paragraphs upon paragraphs on a little narration side quest to give you irrelevant details that don’t advance either the plot, the worldbuilding (there were other parties where I described the clothes and food and music), the important characters’ thoughts, feelings, goals, or conflicts, at the cost of keeping the pacing more consistent would have been superfluous.

And that party in of itself was fluff. I was following through on the set up of a pending newborn, spent time describing how a castle full of immortal vampires who don’t have to sleep can crochet baby clothes for a week straight and now this baby has far more clothes than she could ever hope to wear before she grows out of them. I had my narrator, a vampire, comment on how much he likes these events because new life is so rare in this bleak setting. I spent a few sentences describing the baby herself, and then he left to continue the story, taking talk of the party to the pissy protagonist and going “buddy you are allowed to have fun and meet the baby and your attitude is really getting old.”.

500 words might not sound like a lot, but she had asked for these extra paragraphs constantly. She argued it was for immersion.

The thing is.

I don’t like superfluous fluff, but I do like fluff in moderation. I don’t think any one element that takes up more than two sentences or so should exist for one sole, niche purpose. Meaning: You want to toss in a detail about a supporting character’s woodturning hobby? Great! You want to spend two whole paragraphs going on a tangent about this hobby that never comes up again and isn’t actually that important to the character? Why?

This is not to say that I think all books should be lean, this is just what I like. I don’t have the attention span to sit around waiting for the plot the author forgot about so I can read a whole page about the kingdom’s irrelevant potato farming practices. I do have time for a couple sentences about the irrelevant potatoes. I do have time to read a whole page about the kingdom’s potatoes if it’s setup for a potato famine.

There are ways to be immersive without overkill. All this counts as exposition—establishing details that set up your world and your story—and what she was asking for was a series of exposition dumps, several of which were redundant.

As a writer, I work very hard to give expository details as they become necessary. I won’t describe the dresses at a party until my narrator has time to thoughtfully comment on said dresses at said party—which he did. He came from a place that didn’t have dresses, much less lavish parties, and criticized the castle’s hedonistic opulence. He wasn’t plotting his escape, stopping mid-thought to tell the reader about the costumes, and then carrying on.

I could have waxed poetic all day as well-constructed and seamlessly as I could to work in those details to try and make them matter, but a) that would be rehashing the ‘hedonistic opulence’ and b) it really, truly, did not matter.

Would a reader like her enjoy my book? Eh, probably not. Would a reader like me enjoy her book? Eh, probably not.

There is plenty of room in libraries and on bookstore shelves for “lazy river” style books where the whole point is reading about as many details as the author can cram between the pages and there really isn’t a plot, it’s more about the setting and the relationships. Can’t mess up the pacing with an exposition dump if there is no pacing. Not my kind of story.

Doesn’t make either of us bad writers. She will have her audience and I have mine. I only argue for details that serve a purpose, and if that purpose is a solitary and weak one, then that’s not enough for me.

[mulberry1104]

2023 Books/Series/Author of the year

1. Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch books. Very fun space opera, very good if you like space politics. Refreshingly minimal combat, even in the book where the main character is a professional soldier whose stated end goal is “kill the ruler of the largest interstellar civilisation in the known galaxy.” Also, the aesthetics and vibes of it is very unique in a very wonderful way, it doesn’t feel like any sci-fi I’ve seen or read, perhaps apart from a very small amount of Dune. Also, the presentation of gender identity in the books is very interesting, and the contrast between Hwaean and Radchaai gender identities is deeply interesting to me.

2. Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb books. This books put my brain through the wringer. Beautiful prose, beautiful story, compelling characters. Incredibly complex worldbuilding. Just. Mwah. Also they are gay and they are so gay and it’s just so gay, I love it. And women with swords.

3. Martha Well’s Murderbot Diaries. Honestly, the only reason why these books are in third place is because the entries above are so damn good (this applies to all of them). The queer rep? Sublime. The autistic rep? Phenomenal. Even though I do sound insane when I say I relate with the character called “Murderbot”. Also ART and Murderbot have an amazing dynamic and, honestly, I just love them. Another thing! Books are nice and short, so you don’t have to fret too hard about reading them.

4. The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman. Some of the most immersive worldbuilding I’ve read since Discworld, and it is surprisingly deep without being presented in a way that’s overblown on the exposition. Additionally, the magic system, especially the tattoos, is something I’ve not seen really done before, and the world’s politics are fascinating. Also, one of the main characters is confirmed gay and she has a sword and cool ravens, need I say more?

5. Megan E. O’Keefe’s Bound Worlds. Good duology so far, maybe a bit too fast paced at times. The romance is sweet, but very fast, but I didn’t find myself really that put off by it. She doesn’t waste words. The queer rep is good as well, and is delightfully understated. They don’t make a big thing about some of the characters being non binary, it’s just, a thing that’s part of the world and no one cares.

[not-poignant]

Worldbuilding and Writing Fiction are two separate skills.

Someone reblogged one of my shitposts yesterday (the one about intimidating myself out of worldbuilding) expressing confusion in the tags about how anyone could be intimidated out of writing through worldbuilding too much.

This was kind of baffling to me, because I think I've seen it 50-60 times now, especially with new, ambitious writers who are starting off with deep fantasy or science fiction projects. When you talk to them, they've often sunk months or even years of worldbuilding into the project, but when you ask how far they've come on the fiction side of things, they usually have writer's block, haven't started writing the story, or say they're not ready yet. 'I'm starting soon' is a common refrain. 'I just have a little bit more left to do.'

The main reason for this - I feel - is that worldbuilding and writing are two different skills. Someone who spends 5 years worldbuilding has learned how to get really good at worldbuilding, but that doesn't mean anything about how good their writing will be. Many folks think worldbuilding will automatically make a story better, but sometimes worldbuilding can become unwieldy and stressful, especially in the case of a) entirely new worlds / secondary world fantasy, or b) complex worldbuilding. Definitely not talking about contemporary romance here, lol. (Though no shade to that, I've had a lot of fun worldbuilding for those stories too).

Going from worldbuilding to writing is launching into an entirely new space. If you find writing new stories easy, that won't be a problem for you, in fact you may not even have realised they're too different skills before now.

If you find writing new stories intimidating, sometimes having hundreds or thousands of things about your world to try and constantly remember can feel overwhelming and mess with the executive function needed to start a chapter.

In some cases, worldbuilding can make it much easier to start a story. But it really depends on what you're needing to do. If you're just writing a contemporary story where you need to research two characters and two jobs, you're generally going to be just fine.

If on the other hand, you have the equivalent of a 500 page Wiki behind-the-scenes, it can feel overwhelming very quickly.

New writers fall into this trap the most, I feel. They become accustomed to what worldbuilding feels like, and they hedge on writing the actual fiction, because they just have more experience worldbuilding and keep waiting for their confidence in worldbuilding to become 'confidence in starting the story.' It doesn't work that way. They're different skills.

They might even be better at worldbuilding than writing! But that just means - if they really want to be a writer - that writing is the skill they really need to work on the most. That can be a comfort zone issue too. It can also be a 'only about 5-10% of all this work will ever appear in the story' issue, where folks want to share the worldbuilding more than the characters or plot, and therefore are just not inspired to work on their story. It can be a 'I want this story to be as good as my worldbuilding' issue. It can be a 'I find the worldbuilding part easy' issue. There are lots of reasons people stall out in worldbuilding and then feel intimidated to write the actual story.

This can also happen with established writers who become aware that the more they know about their world, the more they don't know about their world. It can start to feel like - if you write 10 articles for yourself, you end up with 100 more to write. If you write those 100 articles, you have another 300 to write. Worldbuilding never ends. Worldbuilding can be endless, and if you're an immersive writer, you can get lost very easily in the details, or in not knowing what details are critical and what details aren't. (A hint here is that you'll figure that out really fast when you start writing).

Stalling in worldbuilding can be a lot of things, it can tell you that there's something broken in the world, something broken in the story, it can tell you more about your insecurities, it can tell you how good you are at one skill and where you might need practice in another. It's super informative!

But, generally speaking, the advice I tend to give to many new writers is to try not to let your worldbuilding period last too long. Ideally, put a timer on it and see how it feels to start writing your story once the timer has gone off (3 months, 6 months, 3 weeks, put it in your phone or in your calendar, and start the first chapter, or some random scene, once that time is up).

If, after that period of time lapses, you still aren't ready to start your story, something bigger might be going on. It's an opportunity to dig deeper into the situation. And sometimes just ask yourself if you're using the idea of a novel as an excuse to do what you love most: Worldbuilding. If that's the case, there are other jobs you can parlay a solid worldbuilding ability into. It doesn't have to lead to novels. :)

But yeah it's super super common for many writers to stall out between worldbuilding and writing, and to feel overwhelmed by their own worldbuilding.

New writers get affected by it the most based on observation and hanging around writing forums, and the advice that gets asked quite often specifically on 'when do I go from worldbuilding to writing the story,' but established writers experience it too, because as Gene Wolfe once said to Neil Gaiman: "You never learn how to write a novel, Neil. You just learn how to write the novel you are on."

[tossawary]

The AVALANCHE group in "Final Fantasy 7: Remake" keeps cracking me up. They're not wearing any face masks to hide their identities when busting into secure SHINRA facilities full of surveillance cameras??? They don't even change outfits when they're not running missions??? It's killing me.

Assuming that they are not outright killing every SHINRA trooper they encounter (maybe they are, idk), even if they weren't being caught on a bunch of surveillance cameras (the opening mission shows this happening), there's like dozens of people who should be able to give relatively detailed descriptions of them??? (Also, I laugh every time the screen says that Cloud has "defeated" a SHINRA trooper. If he's a super soldier swinging that much sharp metal around at high speeds, he should (realistically) be cutting people in half. It is amusing to me to see the people enemies just fall over and the machine enemies get trashed. I find it very cartoony.)

(I am still failing to properly watch my way through this series during work. I personally don't super love the hyperrealistic dolls design style and I don't think it jives all that well with the incredibly cartoony world building, clumsy "as you know" exposition, and wacky gameplay execution so far. It's just not my thing. Yet I found "Ace Attorney" utterly intolerable to watch but very fun to actually play through the wackiness, so I'll give FF7 the benefit of the doubt there and say, "Sure, I assume this is still really fun to actually play and that the world is immersive enough that way.")

This game is a "AAA" remake of a super popular game in a super popular franchise, but they apparently couldn't be bothered to make secondary "civilian" models for Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge? What is this? A cheaply made cartoon series? These characters are waltzing around the slums in their matching bright red bandanas and Jessie, who is apparently a former performer and therefore especially recognizable, is always wearing her silly tit-sculpted armor. AVALANCHE took a crowded passenger train home from their opening terrorist mission when they should rightfully all smell and look awfully beat-up and suspicious after fleeing a massive reactor explosion???

Like, I don't really care if the characters think they're hacking the camera systems here or if the game wants pretty character faces to be visible at all times. I also don't really care about faithfulness to the original setup. They could yank facemasks down during specific cutscenes? Cloud could lose his facemask at a dramatic moment during a cutscene? And Jessie could exclaim over how cute Cloud is at the end of the mission or whatever; you can frame all of their faces as a rewarding reveal at the end of the opener. I know that character models removing clothing is super hard in 3D animation, especially games, but there are storyboarding and model swap tricks for that. You can fake ripping off a facemask relatively easily.

If the point is for SHINRA to know it's them all along and to set them up to take the fall for something later, then AVALANCHE taking greater precautions and the Turks catching them out anyway could be used to make both AVALANCHE and the Turks look more competent / dangerous. Maybe you could generously interpret SHINRA's apparent failure to catch our protagonists out as the corporation being a bloated wreck of greed and incompetent, overly reliant on their technology and wealth, but that still doesn't really excuse for me making the AVALANCHE characters look this reckless. Jessie later visits her SHINRA employees PARENTS' HOUSE in her TERRORIST UNIFORM??? JESSIE, NO!!! That's so dangerous.

There's so much detail in the backgrounds here already! If it's a matter of resources, surely some random mob NPC models could be cut so that I could see Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge in cute civilian wear outside of their missions! I am already suspending so much disbelief for so much of FF7's wacky worldbuilding, but these little details are what's really tripping me up for some reason, like, come on. SHOW ME that these characters are good at what they do by having them take some basic precautions.

I laughingly shared these thoughts with someone and they said (jokingly critical of the game as well) that Barret probably doesn't bother with secrecy because he's already apparently the only big black guy around and almost certainly the only big black guy with a gun for an arm. Which is a point! But also, BARRET!!! YOU'RE A FATHER!!! SUNGLASSES ARE NOT SUFFICIENT ANONYMITY HERE!!! THINK OF MARLENE, MAN!!!

[melancholiaenthroned]

im still not very far in orv so take this with a massive grain of salt but one thats so fascinating to me so far is its use of classic isekai tropes and worldbuilding while kind of. filling in the plot holes that tends to come from those tropes in the most horrifying way possible. kdj was not transported into a fictional world, that world was overlaid on to the real one, where "characters" appear to only exist once the story has begun, and real people are just... cannon fodder, basically. but now that hes changed things and real ppl r living past where they did in the story, the question of the line between "real person" and "character" comes up. bc to the outsider (anyone other than kdj) this line is indistinguishable. everyone is real. but kdj has mechanics built in that give him an active advantage over characters, so he knows. and youd think hed be annoyed he cant automatically know as much about the "real people" he surrounds himself with as he can everyone else but... he seems to cling to it, to this proof that not everyone is a prewritten archetype. he takes comfort in the ambiguity that real people present. and kdj sees this line, or at least, sees what side people fall on it, and makes assumptions about people based it. but then you learn that sides can change, and not in the way you expect. these characters are not becoming "more real" as the story goes on (something you can sometimes find in other isekai stories or generally stories that grapple with fictional characters vs the real world (barbie movie is a good example)) and they develop. real people are becoming characters. and theyre gaining new memories of things that didnt happen (in the real world. but theres so few "real people" left who remember that. so does it even count as the "real world" if its no longer the world the majority live in?) but serve as immersion in the story (the prophet recognizing min jiwon as a real actress, not a as character, and kdj subsequently realizing he is categorized as a character is specifically what im referring to). this was a person who existed and lived in the real world. and they still feel. they still live. they still exist. but what does it mean now, that theyve been marked as a "fictional"?

[cienie-isengardu]

MK1 rant - Sektor's mother

*Attention, rant not spoiler free*

Keeping in mind it’s easy to criticize a worldbuilding when one was not involved in the creation process of it, I must say this - Netherrealm Studio lately is missing many potential, if not great opportunities to add a weight to connection between characters and in more general sense, layers to Liu Kang’s new Timeline. All, as I suspect, to keep the clear line between “good guys” and the “evil ones”. Which is quite a sad turn of events, as the worldbuilding presented so far is pretty nuanced and worth examining and building on. 

The latest missed opportunity is the choice of Sektor’s mother.

Sektor’s Bio put a great deal on her relationship with parents:

Sektor grew up immersed in Lin Kuei culture. Her mother was a leading warrior, her father was its Master Armorer. Sektor marveled at his flawless work. Apprenticing with him, she eventually surpassed her father's skills. When he retired, she took his place. But Sektor also wanted to honor her mother’s legacy. Now her vast knowledge of weaponry and her formidable martial skills make Sektor a kombatant like no other [...]

The presented intro dialogue between Sektor and Kuai Liang on twitter revealed that Madam Bo is in fact Sektor’s mother

Kuai Liang: You have dishonored Madame Bo. Sektor: Leave my mother out of this!

On one hand, Madam Bo trained Kung Lao and Raiden (and was going to test Raiden’s sister), so there is both connection between Lin Kuei and Liu Kang’s favorite Champions and an emotional impact, as she was forced to choose between duty to Fire Lord (and her “boys”) and her own daughter. Which is fine, surprising but not the worst possible choice. 

But lemme tell you this: imagine Sektor sharing the same mother with Bi-Han & Kuai Liang and the impact on Lin Kuei characters AND added layers to established previously lore.

For one, the original timeline stated Bi-Han had a younger brother (Kuai Liang) and youngest sister. With Sektor being a female now, this could nicely be a callback to ice brothers’ roots.

Secondly, Kuai Liang was established by his BIO as “Revered Lin Kuei Warrior”. The use of strong word as revered was suggesting Scorpion’s high position within the clan and/or him being admired by others members of Lin Kuei. Yet once Bi-Han broke the clan’s ties with Liu Kang/Earthrealm so far there was no mention of any Lin Kuei (beside Madam Bo?) choosing Scorpion over Sub-Zero. And logically thinking, there should be still plenty of people who served Kuai Liang’s father and shared his sense of duty. Sektor being, for lack of better terms, one of the “Lin Kuei Royal Family” would add a lot of weight to Kuai Liang’s statement: "You forget Cyrax and Sektor. Their loyalty to Bi-Han is absolute. They'll sooner abet his corruption than follow me."? As in: explaining why Sektor hold so strong influence over their people, developing more inner politics of the clan and expanding the family matters. Both to the biological siblings and to Tomas, especially his status within said family. If he was adopted into a clan that deeply cares for blood ties, does he have any political role/duties, or is he wholly excluded from the line of succession, leaving it only to Bi-Han and Kuai Liang & Sektor?

Thirdly, as Bi-Han was already implied to have a close bond with Sektor (MK1 Sub-Zero’s ending) and Sektor’s BIO confirms she is Bi-Han’s a “kindred spirit”, we could have a great sibling duo (supportive big brother Bi-Han and his loyal, eager to make him proud younger sister Sektor) and an interesting parallel to relationship of Bi-Han & Tomas or Kuai Liang & Tomas.

Fourthly, Sektor wishing to honor her mother while joining Bi-Han and supporting their clan’s independence would nicely fit Sub-Zero's statement that “mother would applaud [his actions].” Simultaneously, again we could have a better look on Lin Kuei inner matters and how the dislike for duty to Earthrealm/doing Liu Kang’s bidding didn’t come out of nowhere, but was a process already in motion. Sektor and Bi-Han being the product of their mother's ambitions and/or independence streak could add new layers to their characters. The same as Kuai Liang (and presumablyTomas) is the product of his father’s high sense of duty to Earthrealm.

Also, any opportunity to bring Bi-Han’s mother into the story is a bonus point to the lore, because that woman deserves recognition for her desperate attempt to save her children from Lin Kuei. And if NRS is so set to make Lin Kuei so “bloodties” oriented, they could turn Sektor and Bi-Han into siblings to A) spare me any worry about any potential romance between those two characters and B) add hilariously to the Kuai Liang & Sektor’s never ending conflict seen through the majority of old and new lore. 

I guess everything would be better in Mortal Kombat if NRS didn’t catch allergy to nuanced and morally gray characters… because Bi-Han could easily fall into that (and worldbuilding wise, could be seen like that) and so could Sektor, and their potential mother with ambition to cut ties with Liu Kang for good.

[sophitia-of-hyrule]

Tears of the Kingdom is killing my love for Zelda

BotW promised a bright future, a change to the status quo, only for TotK to throw all of BotW's themes in the trash and go back to the "good old days" of absolute divine right monarchy and sexist writing. Not to mention Ganondorf having zero nuance. Despite his gorgeous design, he's by far the worst Ganondorf personality and motivation-wise. He's such a nothing character. What's the point of giving Ganon his humanoid form back if he barely has more personality than the evil cloud around Hyrule Castle.

Twilight Princess came out almost 20 years ago and it had more active and likable female characters. TotK makes TP look like peak feminism. Why is the latest game in the series so goddamn regressive? Why are we going backwards?

There's barely anything interesting about TotK. It's so shallow and again, incredibly regressive for a game that came out this year.

The more I read interviews and Nintendo statements, the more I realize they don't fucking care. They don't care about giving you a good story that makes sense, or an immersive world, or likable characters. TotK is what happens when you take "gameplay over anything else" to it's extreme.

Sure gameplay is important, but what's the point of playing a game if I'm not immersed into the world? TotK is a huge sandbox, it doesn't feel like a world, it feels like a tech demo. It has the same energy as Yandere Simulator leaving a bunch of weapons right in front of the school gate so the player can go wild. This world doesn't feel alive to me. It's like Nintendo saw people complain about BotW being "empty" and tried to solve that problem by throwing a bunch of shit everywhere with no rhyme or reason.

Sonic Frontiers has it's issues. It really does. It's extremely janky, has some bad level design and the story has a few holes. However, I could feel so much love in the dialogue and the character interactions. It was a love letter to the series and its characters. It felt like a fanfiction, but in a good way. Like a passion project. Sure the game is far, FAR from perfect, but I could tell the people who wrote for it really cared.

I didn't get that feeling playing TotK. It really felt like Nintendo just wanted to flex their new physics engine and stupid fucking building mechanic. They really gave us Zelda Nuts & Bolts and everyone clapped.

What's the point of building shit if the world feels fake and the characters are merely shadows of their former selves? What's the point of making a sequel if you're just going to ignore everything that happened in BotW to "not confuse new players"? What's the point?

I don't fucking care about the building mechanic. That's not why I play Zelda. The story is important to me. The characters are important to me. The worldbuilding is important to me. And Nintendo ignored all of those things.

In my opinion TotK's opening and ending (minus the true ending) are fantastic. But everything in between is a bitter disappointment. Nintendo confirmed the depths took very little time to make because they were auto-generated. Hyrule has barely changed except for the fact that Hateno has a bunch of ugly mushrooms everywhere now. Sky islands are few and far between, and are copy-pasted to an absurd degree. Why the fuck did this game take longer to develop than BotW? There's barely anything new. "BUT THE PHYSICS ENGINE IS INCREDIBLE" "BUT YOU CAN BUILD THINGS" Big fucking whoop. I don't care. I don't play Zelda for the fucking physics.

My boyfriend got mad at me when I said it felt like a cash grab but that's genuinely how I feel.

Edit: TotK confirms that Link bought the house in Hateno village, yet everyone in Hateno acts like they've never met him before?? Bolson doesn't even recognize him despite TotK confirming that not only did Link buy the Hateno house, they went to Hudson's wedding together. Bolson should know who Link is. Who wrote this. Who thought this was okay. Why are people praising this game.

[novlr]

do you have any advice for writing a story set in the future? like a story ab immortal characters that has a 100 year time jump where you can see the differences from say present day NYC to NYC in 2123 but its not outlandish or unrealistic

How to Write a Story Set in the Future

The future is a blank canvas, a place where anything is possible. This can be both a blessing and a curse for writers. On the one hand, it gives you endless possibilities to explore. On the other hand, it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are our quick tips:

Start with a strong idea

Decide what kind of future you want to write about and what role you want technology to play. Do you want to write about a dystopian future where technology has taken over? A utopian future where humans have solved all their problems using technology? Or has technology completely failed, and the future in your book looks more like our past?

Once you have a strong idea, you can start to flesh out your world and characters. Knowing how you want your future to look is the first step in knowing how to get there.

Do your research

The more you know about the present, the more believable your future story will be. Read books and articles about current trends, and think about how those trends might develop. You can also use your imagination to come up with new technologies and ideas, but they should be grounded in realistic development and fit within your story world.

There are some amazing non-fiction books to help you get the science right in your fiction, but you can also draw inspiration from the way that fiction authors tackle the subject. You can find a list of recommended non-fiction books to get you started in this post.

Be specific in your worldbuilding

When you’re describing your future world, don’t be afraid to get specific. What does the technology look like? How does it work? What are the social and political implications of this technology?

You don’t necessarily have to include all the minute detail in the content of your story, but knowing it for yourself, so it informs the way you write and what you can assume your characters know, will help you build out a stronger world.

The more specific you are in the world you build, the more immersive your story will be. But, focusing too much on the minute detail of your story will affect the pacing, so make sure you share only what is relevant.

Consider the time period

How far in the future is your story set? This will affect the technology, culture, and social norms of your world.

A world 50 years in the future will look very different from a world 2000 years in the future. Compare our current reality with the late 20th century vs the beginning of the 1st century, and you’ll see how big a part this can play in the way your story develops.

The rate of technological development in your setting is also important to consider. Will technology develop at the same pace as it currently does? Or will it stagnate or decline? If so, think of the reasons why this might be and how it fits into your plot.

Be creative

Don’t be afraid to come up with new ideas and concepts. The future is unknown, so let your imagination run wild.

But, with that said, there needs to be some logic to your ideas. If your future contains bio-engineered lettuce that gives people superpowers, there needs to be a reason for that. A cool thing for the sake of a cool thing will often break a reader’s immersion.

You want readers to be able to follow your ideas and believe in them. So making sure they fit and work within the context of your story is just as important as being imaginative.

[prawnlegs]

ARTISTS WHO WILL SEND YOU COOL STUFF IN THE MAIL

I just got cool stuff in the mail from @shinesurge‘s Patreon and I just think getting cool stuff in the mail from artists is a win-win situation in these Trying Fucking Times, so here are a handful of friends and acquaintances with pledge-for-mail systems that I’m aware of. ARIA BELL (Kidd Commander) - Twice yearly postcard prints. There’s a tier for just the postcard + bonus sticker, and a deluxe tier that includes tricked-out packaging and other surprise ephemera related to the characters and comic. Really fun and immersive, and different every time. Considering the amount of work that goes into making these things, either tier is a steal imo.

JULES RUIZ - Monthly mini zines, just starting up again after a hiatus, so now is the perfect time to sign up for a zine in January. The zines run the gamut from queer/trans autobio to natural history to explicit work, with incredibly detailed and thoughtful art. A cheaper digital-only tier is also available, but the physical zines are extremely worth it. COYOTEPRINCE - Quarterly prints featuring exquisite art of supernatural entities (we’ve had ghosts, faeries, cryptids, vampires and werewolves so far). The October cards have metallic foil accents, and every postcard comes with a newsletter that covers a semi-obscure facet of (usually) nineteenth-century life. SUPERPOSE - I don’t even know how to begin to describe the stuff Joe and Anka send to their mail-tier patrons, it’s like augmented reality for their webcomic. Characters’ family polaroids, tourism brochures for the comic’s location, DIY papercraft projects, and fanfic written by cast members are just a few of the things I’ve seen them do. JOB SATISFACTION - Quarterly postcard prints related to my webcomic. These also come with a newsletter, sometimes featuring in-depth character or worldbuilding material that doesn’t make it into the comic, microfiction, ciphers, and shop talk on my process for the art. Occasionally I do fun wax seals or bits of in-world ephemera. And the characters in the art are hot, so there’s that. These are just the ones I’m aware of in my little niche social circle. I don’t think enough can be said for anything that diverts your attention from the screen for a more personal connection with the art and stories you enjoy, even for a few minutes.