#the feeling of progression of an overarching plot comes from what’s going on with the side characters

[daydreamerdrew]

Iron Man (1968) #14

[writingquestionsanswered]

do you have any advice for writing/plotting a series without the plot feeling repetitive or boring and drawn out, but still be connected and feel like the same story?

Plotting a Cohesive Series

It depends on the type of series you want to write. Some series are one big story told in cohesive parts (like The Hunger Games, ACOTAR, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Earthsea Cycle) while others are more like stand alone "episodes" united by a premise (like Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Sweet Valley High, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple).

If you want to plot an episodic series, you'll want to come up with a premise that allows for multiple, similarly themed adventures. There's a reason why most episodic series tend to revolve around detectives or investigators... that's an easy avenue for a variety of interesting plots. While there may be overarching "mythology" like Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes, or potentially an overarching situation in your protagonist's life that evolves over the series (such as their marriage falling apart, going through divorce, and finding new love), there won't be much in the way of plot that carries through from one book to the next.

If you want to plot a progressive series, where you take a big story revolving around a particular conflict, then break it up into cohesive parts that revolve around progressive conflicts that lead to the end (think of The Hunger Games series: the overarching conflict was the oppression of Panem by the Capitol, but the conflict of book one was The Hunger Games event. The conflict of book two was the quarter quell event. The conflict of book three was the war between the districts and the Capitol. Each story was a small, progressive part of the bigger story), start with the following posts: Creating an Overarching Plot for a Series Planning a Series Plotting a Trilogy

Those will walk you through the plotting. Making it interesting and not repetitive will depend on you coming up with a series conflict and related book conflicts that are compelling and do a good job of moving the story forward without rehashing the same types of events over and over again. And keeping it from being drawn out will depend on your ability to craft tight and cohesive plots that tell the progressive tale while allowing your characters to grow and change over the course of each book.

Good luck with your series!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[anneapocalypse]

Why I Love the Hinterlands

The Hinterlands in Dragon Age: Inquisition get kind of a bad rap, and for kind of understandable reasons. For anybody who doesn't know the story, some context. The Hinterlands are the first open world area that unlocks for the player, a vast and highly explorable map full of quests, worldbuilding, and NPCs. So what was the problem? The problem was that the Dragon Age series had set two games' worth of precedent that the player could get locked out of an area and lose access to sidequests and other content—and the devs seemed not to fully realize they were fighting this precedent, or how strong it was, until the game came out and completionist players were getting exhausted and annoyed running around this huge map trying frantically to knock out all the side content before moving on. We still make jokes about devs on twitter trying to tell players that they could leave the Hinterlands. Lines were later patched in for the starting companions urging the player to go to Val Royeaux and advance the plot; you'll hear those lines if you play the game today, but they weren't there in the beginning.

The game's executive producer Mark Darrah has even spoken about this problem in his Dragon Age: Inquisition Memories and Lessons video on YouTube. From a game design perspective I do not dispute this issue. It definitely represents an oversight in the way the area is presented to players and the context they are given for what they should do next.

All that said… I love the Hinterlands, and with every replay (I have beaten the game four times at this point) my appreciation for this area and what it brings to the story has deepened. And as recent polls have raised discussion about the merits of various maps, I've felt moved to rise to their defense, so... here's why I think the Hinterlands are Good Actually.

Every map in Inquisition has its own overarching story, introduced by Scout Harding when the map unlocks and revealing itself through exploration and completing the quests within. Crestwood has the story of the flood during the Blight. The Exalted Plains have the story of the Orlesian Civil War. The Hissing Wastes have the story of Fairel and the surface thaig. And so forth. For this reason, I've come to feel that once you've progressed far enough in the main quest to have collected most or all of your companions, the most rewarding way to experience each area is at one go, as much as possible. Popping in and out of maps to complete one quest at time is, in my opinion, really detrimental to exploration and makes it harder to see the big picture. This is also one place where I really appreciate the invisible approval meter, because it discourages me from always stacking my party to game approval, the way I pretty much always play DA2.

At first glance, the story of the Hinterlands is the story of the ongoing war between the rebel mages and the renegade templars. This is one reason the Inquisitor may go there: to make contact with the rebel mages. They have been offered refuge in Redcliffe and are presently entrenched in the castle and adjoining village; the templars continue to attack the mages' position, and thus there is concentrated fighting in this region. Splinter factions of both mages and templars are also entrenched elsewhere in the area.

But this is just the setup. What the Hinterlands is about, its real story, is the common people.

The Inquisitor is first sent to the Hinterlands to make contact with Mother Giselle, in hopes of gaining some Chantry support. Seeking her out requires the Inquisitor to fight their way through the conflict to reach the Crossroads, where many refugees have gathered.

In these big, sweeping stories about heroes and villains, I think it's easy for the perspectives of common people to get kind of lost. One thing I do appreciate about the Dragon Age series is that every game does make a real effort to give voice to the commoner perspective. Origins has its city elf and casteless dwarf origin stories, and the player encounters many commoners throughout the game and gets to hear a bit of their perspective. Dragon Age 2 wouldn't be Dragon Age 2 without Darktown and Lowtown and the elven alienage and our interactions with the people who inhabit those parts of the city. Oddly enough, though, every human character we've ever had the chance to play in Dragon Age has come from a noble family; sure, Hawke starts out living as a commoner, but doesn't stay that way for long.

In Inquisition especially, we don't have the option of a commoner prologue to really drive home that perspective and carry it through the story. And while a Dalish elf, a Carta dwarf, a qunari mercenary, and a Circle mage certainly live very different lives than a human noble, they also live very different lives than Giles the farmer—not necessarily more privileged, but still different, with differing priorities and different stakes in this conflict. Bron the farmhand has no reason to be at the Conclave; he's here mucking out stalls, knowing the horses still need to be fed even if there is a rift spewing demons over there in the middle of the neighbor's pasture. Elaina the farmer is putting away cabbages for winter and hoping the barn doesn't get burned down by a stray fireball. And Elaina is one of the fortunate ones: her family's home and livelihood are still intact, for now. The Crossroads now hold many ordinary people who through no fault of their own have lost their homes, their crops, even family members.

Theirs is the perspective we get in the Hinterlands.

You don't have to stick around for all that. You can take Mother Giselle’s advice immediately, go to Val Royeaux, go deal with bigger and more important things and people. You will need 4 Power to go to Val Royeaux, but Power is easy to come by. Close a few rifts, and you’re good to go. You don’t have to care about these refugees and their problems.

But you know, something I notice is that the founders of the Inquisition spend a whole lot of breath talking about "the people." How they have to restore order for the people. How the people are looking to us—to you, Your Worship. The people need you. The people need to believe in you. That’s why we’re raising an army and building a cult around you! For the people.

Well, here are the people.

And if you talk to the people at the Crossroads, it turns out that what they actually need is less faith in Andraste’s chosen, and more blankets for the cold nights, medicine for the sick and injured, and food so they don’t starve. They need the war ended and the Breach closed so that they can return to what’s left of their homes and salvage what crops and livestock they can.

It is easy to feel a bit smothered by the Inquisition’s overwhelming Andrastian-ness, especially when playing a character who has their own religious beliefs, or none at all. We have a lot of characters trying to tell us about the importance of faith—their faith, specifically. We’re told that the people need to believe, and that’s why we have to play the role of this figurehead. And you can run with that idea and play it straight, if you want to. But there is, in fact, a different story to be found here, if you want to look for it—a story told in the world itself and the people who who inhabit it: people cannot eat faith.

And Mother Giselle, the person we are sent to the Hinterlands to find, knows this. She is certainly a devout Andrastian and deeply influenced by a life in the Chantry—but she also chooses to be on the ground helping people in need rather than arguing with her fellow clerics in Val Royeaux. After the attack on Haven, Mother Giselle and the Inquisitor have a conversation about faith, in which the Inquisitor points out, in one way or another, that faith may not be enough. Giselle may seem to disagree. Yet it is she who then leads the survivors in a song that does not mention the Maker or Andraste even once. The much-maligned “The Dawn Will Come” is so frequently assumed to be a Chantry hymn because it is Mother Giselle who starts it; even the fan wiki lists it as such. But I hear something much more akin to a folk song, a marching tune—not a high holy chorus for a cathedral choir, but a song with a simple tune and repetitive lyrics, about hope in dark times.

Perhaps she was rather more persuaded than she appeared.

When you ask your ambassador Josephine, “What do the people make of us?” she tells you how many noble allies you’ve gathered. And that’s not unimportant; this boots on the ground shit costs money, and most of that is coming out of noble coffers. But when you ask Mother Giselle, “How are the people?” she speaks of the terror and suffering of the people in the Hinterlands, and warns of mass starvation if the farmers cannot return to their fields.

This is the story of the Hinterlands.

And the density of side quests on this map reflects that. In addition to aiding the refugees with food, blankets, and medicine, there are so many more opportunities to help people in small but meaningful ways. An elven widower who cannot reach his wife’s grave through the fighting asks the Inquisitor to bring flowers there as is his custom. A grieving widow asks for the retrieval of her husband’s wedding ring from the templars who murdered him. A beloved ram has gone missing. A mage mourns her templar lover and the war that has come between them. A note speaks of two brothers, templar and apostate, torn apart by the war. A son has gone off to join the cult in the hills (no, not our cult in the hills, another one), and his mother needs the special remedy for her breathing problems that only he knows how to make. And so many more. Even the Winterwatch cult itself asks us to consider what it is the people truly need: the Inquisitor can enlist them as Inquisition agents, or ask them to aid the refugees.

Are all these sidequests vital to the plot? No. You can skip them if you want to. Are they relevant to the plot? Absolutely. Are they meaningful? To me, yes. Maybe they didn't change the whole world, but they changed something for these people.

It is so important to me that we get to actually meet the common people whose lives are depending on us. Whatever you think of the Inquisition itself, people actually are dying because of both the rifts and the war, and many more will die if these problems aren’t resolved. Meeting them, giving them names and faces and side quests dealing with their more mundane needs is so much more meaningful to me than standing around back at base being told “People are starving in the Hinterlands.”

It's understandable that the Hinterlands had to fight the precedent set by Lothering getting locked off, because in many ways the Hinterlands serves the same narrative purpose as Lothering: showing the effects of the present crisis on the common people and what's at stake for them.

I should note that the Hinterlands are not the only part of the game that addresses the impact on common people—far from it, in fact. The Exalted Plains give us a taste of how many have died for the Gaspard's attempted coup; Emprise du Lion shows us commoners kidnapped and tortured by Red Templars; the Winter Palace puts the bloody reality of the "Grand Game" in stark contrast to its gilded veneer with the indiscriminate murder of servants for expediency.

But it’s important that we are introduced to the suffering of the common people early in the game, when the Herald—not yet the Inquisitor—may still feel pretty shaky on their motivations for even sticking around.

While I've mostly been talking about non-mage commoners here, I do want to say a few words about the rebel mages as well, since they too are a part of the story of the Hinterlands. I hope that no one reading thinks I am blaming the rebel mages as a whole for what's happening in the Hinterlands, for what the common people here have suffered. The templars, notably, are not entrenched in the Hinterlands. Their present stronghold is Therinfal Redoubt, an old Seeker fortress, which is a significant distance from Redcliffe. The fact that the bulk of the fighting is taking place near Redcliffe, while we've no evidence of a mage offensive against Therinfal, makes it pretty clear that it is the templars who are pursuing the mages at this point, not the other way around. Certainly some in the region may not bother to make that distinction while their crops are on fire, but let's be clear about the story the map is telling us: it is the mages who are under attack here, not the templars. It is sometimes said that Inquisition deliberately draws a false equivalence between the mages and templars in this war. I would like to point to this piece of environmental storytelling as evidence that that is not entirely true.

Sometimes, it seems like pointing out that collateral damage happens is read as condemning an oppressed people for defending themselves. I want to make it clear that this is not what I am saying. I simply feel that those characters who have lost homes and livelihoods in this conflict are also worth seeing, and talking about. But I also don’t think it’s an accident that this is the map whose story is all about the suffering of ordinary people, and it is also the rebel mages who have their base on this map; the templars do not.

So, that’s why I think the Hinterlands are Good Actually! They contain an absolute wealth of worldbuilding, and their story frames the game’s central conflicts around the people suffering for them, early in the game when that perspective is most needed.

[solisaureus]

how do you write a fic and make it like

long?

ok actually i did give a brief workshop in a fandom server on this once. Here’s the sparknotes:

Stage 1: brainstorming

- decide the topic of your story. write down the idea that sparked your inspiration and start there. this is your core concept from which everything else arises. write down everything that you come up with when thinking about your story, even if you don’t end up incorporating it.

- if you don’t have ideas, most of my fic ideas arise when talking about my fav characters with friends who also love them.

- pin down a few essential aspects of your core concept. is it an AU or canon compliant? ship vs gen? is it going to focus on an overarching plot or a particular character’s personal journey? what ao3 rating do you expect it to be? what trope tags do you think you’ll add?

- make a pinterest board and a playlist for your fic concept. i’m serious this helps you solidify the tone, setting, and mood of your story and can provide more inspiration

Stage 2: outlining

- now that you know what your fic is gonna be about, it’s time to break down the story and make it a complete narrative. Your outline can be as detailed or as bare bones as you want. some writers don’t make an outline at all, but i cannot even begin to comprehend their power, and if you’ve never written a long work before i highly recommend starting with an outline.

- the two most important things to keep in mind during this stage are PACING and STRUCTURE. Characterization is secondary in this stage but still important. Now is the time to establish the setting and the major plot beats.

- decide the narrator, point of view, and tense during this stage

- if you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a cheat for pacing — come up with just 3 things: a goal, a time limit, and stakes. What does your protagonist want to accomplish, how long do they have to do it, and what are the consequences if they don’t achieve it in the time limit? Character A is in love with Character B and wants to be with them (goal), but Character B is moving away at the end of the summer (time limit). Character B risks rejection, and losing their friendship with Character A (stakes). Boom, you already have the skeleton of a story. Try to identify these elements in your favorite stories, it helps you practice this and can give you ideas for your own story. Frodo has to deliver the Ring to Mt. Doom (goal) before Sauron’s armies overwhelm Gondor (time limit) or else the world will fall into shadow (stakes). Obviously, this is just one plot formula among a wide variety and there’s no one right way to write a story, but it can get you started.

- Another way you can start is by detailing some exposition events, some rising actions, a climax, and resolution. If you already have a climactic scene in mind, you just need to figure out how your characters get there and what they do afterwards.

- once your outline is done, you should have a general feel for how long the project will be

Stage 3: drafting

- now it’s time to write the damn thing. sounds simple but it’s not

- practice getting into Da Writing Zone. when it’s time for me to get serious, I have a few video game soundtracks i’ll put on through my noise cancelling headphones, i’ll make myself some tea, and i’ll light a candle. i have basically conditioned myself to write when i hear the journey soundtrack or when i smell my pomegranate candle.

- Each scene that you write should serve a purpose in the overall narrative. I personally determine whether each scene contributes to at least one of the following: worldbuilding, progressing the plot, or characterization. a good scene will accomplish two or even all three.

- consider the voice, whether you’re writing from first or third person. are you telling the story with stern reverence, poetic wonder, snarky indifference? consistency in voice strengthens the story.

- keep suspense in mind, too. you dont want the protagonist to know everything right away — be intentional about what information they learn and when. what the protagonist knows and what the reader knows can differ, too — this is the source of dramatic irony. or you can keep the reader ignorant and have them discover plot elements at the same time as your protag. the intrigue!

- take your time. pace yourself. writing is hard and you don’t have a deadline when it comes to fanfiction. if you’re in a rut, something that i do is that i force myself to write 200 words — if i do that and i’m still not feeling it, i stop there and try again in a few days, but a lot of the time i just keep writing once i get past that hurdle of just starting.

- beginnings are always hard. keep in mind that this is just your draft — whatever you write doesn’t have to be the final version. just start at a point that seems interesting to you.

- as a general rule of thumb, if you’re bored writing something, it’ll be boring to read, too. you may tell yourself that you HAVE to write this dry section about worldbuilding or write how the characters get from one place to another, but do you really? how much would it affect the story if you skipped that? can you approach it another way, or work it in in another scene?

stage 4: editing

- kill your darlings. if something you wrote is out of place or unnecessary for the story, but you like it anyway, get rid of it. save it in another document for outtakes, but don’t give into the idea that a section is valuable just because you spent time on it.

- having a second set of eyes on your draft is a game changer. if you can get a friend (ideally another writer) to beta read your draft and make comments, it can make a huge difference. i always like to thank my beta readers when i post a fic because i appreciate their input so much!

- now is a good time to decide whether you want to post chapters as you write them or write everything first and post it all at once (or on a posting schedule). there are benefits and drawbacks to both but you know yourself best!

- once you are happy with your draft, post it! :)

stage 5: stamina

- writing is hard, and writing a long fic is really hard. even if you’re super passionate about a project when you start it, you will probably lose steam at some point depending on how long it is. at times you will be discouraged and unmotivated. it helps to have a friend who has volunteered to be your designated hype man for this fic. i like to have at least one person who i KNOW is awaiting my next chapter.

- the fact that you don’t get paid for writing fic means you have to balance your writing time with your life and responsibilities. you might have to take a hiatus. coming back to the project after a while can be hard — this is where those pinterest boards and playlists you made back in stage 1 come in. they help get you back into the groove of the story when you’ve lost inspiration!

- when all else fails, try reading books or fanfiction. it counts as writing. words in > words out. bonus points if you journal/leave ao3 comments about things you noticed and enjoyed about it (or, if you didn’t like something, what about it left you dissatisfied. don’t write this in an ao3 comment though keep it to yourself), it genuinely helps you get better at writing. like it makes writing easier

- believe in yourself!!! believe in me who believes in you!!!!

[duckiemimi]

how certain are you about gojo not being dead or his revival? do you think gege might bring him back? some buddhist revival theories make sense to me but if the main problem is that gege just wanted him gone for the plot to progress then nothing is bringing him back. i also see that a majority of people are now praising the chapter when i'm still not happy about it so it might even give the impression that the chapter is well received....

i’m not certain at all because i can’t even tell what we’re working towards plot-wise 😭

before 237, i was 50/50 about it. it could either happen because his “death” just seemed so lackluster and lacking something (a lot of things) that there might be more to come, especially knowing how capable gege was at wonderfully handling death as a subject, but it could also not happen because gojo wasn’t even given the grace of an on-screen development from his unsealing to his death. (i talk about this more here.) after 237? if he’s only going to come back as a convenient plot-device, i’d rather he stay dead.

i honestly think gege killed him off to write him out of the story because nothing is indicating to me that there’s more to what we saw in 236. not even a mention, not even a scribble of his body in the battlefield in 237. (but i don’t know. prove me wrong, gege.) 236 would’ve worked if the gojo vs. sukuna battle was a short story separate from the overarching storyline, separate from jjk in general, and instead of gojo and sukuna, they were both new characters that we got a brief rundown of prior to the battle. but like everything is, the story should be bigger than them both and the battle. 236 and the battle should fit in with everything else, even the very edges of where we started.

there’s this habit in fandoms (but especially in the jjk fandom) of retroactively justifying (and subsequently, plainly accepting) chapters/plot points that weren’t initially well-received. it’s crazy because when 236 came out, the only people praising the chapter were sukuna stans and people who heavily favor the technical side of jjk more than the narrative (and some shippers who’ve lost the actual plot long before, but what’s new).

a week later, there are all these discussions saying, “well, maybe we just didn’t get gojo’s character,” or, “well, actually it’s in-character of him.” it shouldn’t have to take a week for part of the fandom to reluctantly accept what was written. hindsight nuance is supposed to add another level of understanding, not change the whole perspective. this isn’t a case of an author withholding information to keep readers on their toes, this is a case of an author not being consistent in characterization (among other things).

we keep trying to piece mismatched puzzle pieces for it to make sense, but we’re in the long run now! the bigger picture (including gojo’s character) should be clearer than before! why are we left more confused now than before, and so close to the end of the story, too? if the majority of the fandom is confused (all of us, honestly, don’t lie), the problem isn’t us not understanding—the problem is the goddamn writing.

“let them cook!” yeah, but if you leave the fire on too long, the food burns. then the kitchen catches fire. then the house is in shambles. it’s okay to admit that the story we once knew is no longer the same. it sucks, but it really is okay to dislike a chapter and be disappointed with an author. and it’s okay to take your time grieving what you once knew (hell, it’s why i’m talking more on this app these days). and it’s okay to keep reading and following along because you still have hope.

the way i talk about this, you’d think the whole fandom is in a relationship with gege and gege just keeps negging us 😭 some people have faith, despite the downhill track record, some people are pissed and feeling cheated, and some don’t even know what to think. coping is different :’)

[dipplinduo]

So, I'm really looking to write a Dipplinshipping series myself and I really love the depth that you go into for S&D Dipplins (and its related spinoffs, I am very up to date).

Do you have any tips for keeping up with/writing longer works? I think my idea may take at least 10 chapters, but I've never been able to finish anything but oneshots before... I admire your consistency with the quality of your work (there has not been a single miss, not a one) and I hope to be able write like you one day.

No pressure to come up with anything if you don't know what to say. Regardless of anything, I hope this message reaches you well and that you have a fantastic day!

Omg I love writing talk asks and I'm so touched that you thought to ask me this question!

I'm gonna share stuff I found helpful to keep in mind:

- Take your time with storytelling. The advantage of having more chapters is that you can reallllyyyy enjoy your pacing. One way I do this is through gradual hints and breadcrumbs that build to the major plot points. It's a fun way to develop your story over time while keeping readers interested and theorizing. And when you're not focusing on the main plot, you can focus on other aspects of the story.

- Outlines and general note pages for your fic as a whole are your best friends. They will do the work of keeping track of different story elements for you.

- Listen to your readers. Their feedback is invaluable. If you get a lot of comments about something people seem to be enjoying, this may suggest that it's part of the voice of your fic. It can help you figure out what you'd want to emphasize more down the line - whether it be through side stories or through the main plot.

- Switch up some dynamics overtime. If you find yourself feeling stuck because you feel like you're trying to write similar kinds of moments, thoughts, or dialogues, this is a sign that it's time for you to move on and shake things up. I've done this with Kieran & Juliana in S&S D after I felt I have described Kieran seeing Juliana as a witch (who he has a hard time resisting lmao) so many times.

- Flush out the roles of supporting characters. They don't need their own character arcs, and they don't need to be focal points of the story. But they can influence some events, and it can help with the movement of your fic. (E.g. I often use Drayton to instigate moments one way or another, and this suits his character given that hes relatively chaotic neutral).

- Focus on the quality of telling your story first and foremost; you do not need the permission of certain chapter "markers" to progress. You don't need to wait for Chapter 10 or 15 or whatever to have a big moment happen. If everything is set up and ready to go, just do it. This is why a big moment of S&S D happens in Chapter 9 rather than Chapter 10; there was enough in place and I felt dragging it out would've diminished the moment. No one's really gonna care that much about how things line up to a chapter number. They're gonna be happy they got a big moment, and if anything, your ability to break this norm can keep readers on their toes.

- On the opposing ends of things, know when you have enough in a chapter to stop even if you know where you're going next. If you flushed out descriptions of someone's feelings or some scenery or whatever, and you feel you have enough? It's okay to stop writing and publish. Giving yourself more time to soak on ideas can improve the way you're going to pick up where you left off. I personally don't have a hard rule around this, but I tend to cut things off at the 15-20 page mark for a chapter of S&S D.

- If you feel like you're writing a filler chapter, think of ways it can build to your overarching story. You really don't need filler chapters if you think about it - even if you want to delay going somewhere specific. So if your work could be summed up when completed, what would you want someone to say? Think of ways you can slip in gradual storytelling from multiple angles - whether it be through plot or through some of the lighter moments (that may build to the heart of the fic like found family or dorm life or whatever). This can help breathe life into any chapter update.

- Remember that by taking your time, you're actually developing the voice of your writing and of the story. My original conception of S&S D and where it's at now are wildly different, and that's because there's no rushed time table. That goes for the storyline, the characters, the plot points - everything. LMAOOO, even the beach episode content is going to be very different because I gave myself permission to delay it until I figured out the exact roles I want Paldean Squad to play! It was a better decision that will lead to better characterization (even though I'm nonetheless very grateful for people's patience).

- Write on your timetable, not anyone else's. I occasionally put due dates on myself to get me going (e.g. by teasing a chapter update), but I never promise that I'll have chapters out on a weekly basis or whatnot for anything I write - S&S D related or not. This is deliberate. Life happens and the last thing you need is to write for the sake of writing and nothing else. I feel it's the easiest way to kill your passion if it becomes stressful for you.

- Lean into what inspires you. I find a LOT of motivation through comments, reactions, asks, fanart, etc., so I make it a point to respond to every comment on AO3 and engage continuously with the community on here and whatnot. I've also been loosely inspired by art pieces that have nothing to do with my work. This is just what works for me, though. Sometimes you might be inspired by other media, or maybe by things that you've seen or experienced in your own life. Whatever it is, draw from it.

Hmmm that's what comes to mind for now. Happy to give more later if they come up, & hope this helps! Best of luck with writing YOU GOT THISSSSS 🤗💛

[avalonauggie]

Re: last reblog bc I don’t want to put my outright criticism on a post full of Bridgerton fans BUT—

there’s accepted norms of a romance novel series that straight up make for bad television, and just because it’s escapist fluff doesn’t mean it should be immune from all analysis.

F’ex: the structure of the seasons is repetitive in a way that makes sense for a book series. Each installment covers a different couple meeting, encountering obstacles and overcoming them to get their HEA. That is what people come to the romance genre FOR.

It’s absolute dogshit for a tv show, though! We have all joked about tv shows being allergic to change, shows where a major development at the end of one season will be returned to the status quo by the end of next season’s premiere, because to resolve the larger story means the show is out of gas.

Romance series run on variations on a theme. Tv series run on keeping the larger story spinning out, and in a lot of romance series there ISNT a larger overarching plot. For the pure fluff escapism value authors/publishers/readers want something they can pick up any installment of and not have trouble following it. These types of books I feel like…just can’t be adapted for tv in the same way bigger grander fantasy epics are.

Netflix made a passable effort and clearly it has a dedicated audience, but the fact is that by season 3 the plot feels repetitive and boring in a way that if wouldn’t, if I were reading a book.

The OTHER problem is, yeah, the efforts at diversity. And I feel like it’s only gotten more glaring as the show has progressed.

I honestly feel like Netflix and Shondaland could have just gone ahead with the colorblind casting in season 1 and not made any mention of it, or leaned on the “it’s escapist fantasy!” angle and who gives a fuck about the pedants on Twitter who’d rage at the altar of Historical Accuracy. I feel like that would have been the braver choice tbh.

But they didn’t do that! They supplied a Watsonian justification for Black nobility in regency England, and making that kind of choice about your worldbuilding raises a shitton of questions that I don’t think they were prepared to answer.

Alix, you may say, it’s not meant to be questioned like that! It’s a sugary cupcake! well I’m sorry but it’s a different experience watching a show vs reading a book, where everything between the covers exists in that little bubble. A show expands the world of the story, there’s colors and fabrics and the narration isn’t just following the MC, there’s a camera capturing the MC, and her friends and family, and the servants in the background, and I can’t NOT think about the things implied by what the camera shows.

So here’s the thing: Bridgerton rests on an ahistorical conspiracy theory that Queen Charlotte had African ancestry, which is problematic on its own, but it takes this assumption and extrapolates it to “hey the king was so in love with his wife that he ENDED RACISM (for some people)(in this specific place)” in order to justify the casting choices of the showrunners.

So yeah I don’t think it’s unreasonable to wonder what Black Queen Charlotte feels about the slaves in the new world who are making her wealth possible so she can have clockwork ballet dancers in her giant wig. Or what Lady Danbury feels, or what Simon Basset feels, or MY GOD what Will Mondrich feels. (The mondrich’s arc in season 3 is honestly the most disappointing because it was legitimately interesting to see the contrast between free Black britons and how their lives touched the bejeweled elites in precarious ways, but no! Their son is a duke or an earl now so hey, they get to wear the fancy clothes and go listen to Vitamin String Quartet with the rest of the characters!)

But none of the Black characters (the ones who are given personalities and are more than tokenized room meat, anyway) seem to have any response to this world other than “we’re very lucky to be here.” And that’s disappointing but hey it’s a romance novel the audience doesn’t want to be bummed out.

But now I have to wonder, what’s the East India company doing in this world? what’s happening that caused the Sharma sisters to come into the story in season 2? Was there a similar anti-racist royal triumph for the Desi nobles at all the balls? For the East Asian nobles? where did they COME from? And what’s it like for their cultures OUTSIDE of England? But bridgerton isn’t interested in exploring any of that, and we just need to forget about it and enjoy the fluff. Right?

Season 3 seems to be leaning into the “hey look, this world is so wonderful that ANYONE can wear fancy dress and find love! Look how diverse it is!” even harder than the previous two installments, which is honestly…worse? I feel like it’s worse.

I can believe the nobleman in the wheelchair, especially since he’s introduced as a sort of lowball training wheels flirt target for Poor Awkward Penelope, and ok he does come back in the balloon ep so it’s not like they put a disabled man in the show for one scene to prove how progressive they are 😑 he’s in TWO scenes, guys! Totally different! But honestly this is the regency, there SHOULD be some fucking…napoleonic war vets around somewhere. It’s not completely unbelievable.

I have GOT to wonder what the fuck is going on with the one Deaf debutante signing her dismay to her mom in BSL that the Queen wasn’t impressed with her curtsy, though! In what world was this girl not left to waste away at the family estate???? How did George and Charlotte’s love conquer racism AND uhhhh longstanding historical attitudes towards disability??? It strains belief. Also she’s only in that one scene so she is ABSOLUTELY just a token. Thanks lady so and so! Hope you find a husband, I fucking guess!

And speaking of finding a husband, here’s the thing that really pisses me off personally about Bridgerton. the more diversity the show puts into each scene and season, the more glaring (and, frankly, insulting) it is that queerness is still demonized in this beautiful fluffy sugary escapist fantasy.

Benedict had one (1) artist friend in season 1 who turned out to be a Secret Homosexual living in Bohemian Debauchery, and two of the prostitutes Colin sleeps with in season 3 share a really tepid nude embrace with off-camera kissing noises when he’s too troubled by the realization of his feelings for Pen to like. Enjoy his threesome he paid for. Hooray.

It’s fucking rotten, really, to be presented with this world that says “everyone is welcome here!” In big glittery begowned spring colors, and then offhand says “not YOU though.” It’s disgusting, and cowardly, and really exemplifies how the people making this show want to have their cake and eat it too, be diverse but not too divisive, and toe the line of mainstream audience acceptability. Yes there’s a lot of steamy sex scenes and female pleasure but in the end, it literally is all in the service of a world where everyone, EVERYONE who’s allowed to be a character, is focused nonstop on finding love in a marriage.

I didn’t know a lot about the Bridgerton books when I started watching season one, and I was pleasantly surprised by the very clearly baby gay sibling Eloise, who chafes at the feminine expectations her family and society puts on her. But then…in the books, she marries a widower and eventually falls in love with him I gueee, and in the show….all of her individual potential is sidelined in favor of her now-rocky friendship with Penelope. And I need to give the show credit, the writing of these storylines about growing pains and female friendship and social ostracism fucking HIT. It’s deeply affecting and done well.

So it’s clear that the show isn’t afraid to shy away from SOME heavy emotional content! Just not the queer kind! Or the kind that questions where the money is coming from. Or the kind that questions whether Francesca needs to find romantic love at all, mom, since she’s clearly happy without it!

I don’t know if I’ll watch the second half of season 3 when it drops. Honestly, the ball scenes, the gossip, all that was done SO well that it left a bad taste in my mouth, just like real middle/high school dances did. I am left feeling like in this beautiful glittering amatonormative world, someone like me would still be too much of a freak to find any happiness, despite how welcoming it purports to be. And that just sucks.

Another quibble I have with season 3 is how vastly it’s expanded the characters it gives plot lines to. Like. Ok. Sure. I have to question why it was ok to do this and divide the screen time away from the main character in the installment when the MC is a fat girl. As opposed to the previous seasons. And I don’t think this was even a conscious decision, likely. BUT it’s a little odd to have the steamy escapist sex romp elements be given less screen time in favor of redeeming Caustic Bully Mean Girl Cressida, you know? Why does Penelope have to share tv real estate when Kate and Daphne didn’t? Kate HAS MORE SEX SCENES IN THIS SEASON THAN PENELOPE????

Last point and this is mostly a joke but HEY at least the overwhelming amount of synthetic fabrics means that England isn’t obsessively focused on destroying India and the Americas in its insatiable hunger for cotton, right?

Right?

Ok anyway Bridgerton is afraid of the questions it raises by the choices it makes, it is a cowardly show attempting to hide all criticism under the veneer of escapist fantasy, and it’s increasingly straining to work as television as the charm of the novels grows stale and repetitive.

[red-dipped-feathers]

Moon of the Crusted Snow

(picture taken by me)

I am starting off the year with this amazing book written by an indigenous author. Not gonna lie, what attracted me to this book was the beautiful book cover and title with its wintery desolated landscape and mysterious name. Usually, the apocalypse or post-apocalypse genre isn’t something I would read but I was very interested in seeing this genre being explored from an indigenous perspective and boy was I not disappointed! This book was captivating from start to end and it’s definitely going in my recommendations. So here is my review of it. Hope you like it and that I convince you to give this book a shot 😊

Title: Moon of The Crusted Snow

Author: Waubgeshig Rice

Genre: Novel, Apocalypse, post-apocalypse

Publication Date: 2 Octobre 2018

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Introduction:

In Waubgeshig Rice's "Moon of the Crusted Snow," the tranquil existence of a remote Anishinaabe community in Northern Ontario is shattered by an unexplained societal collapse. As winter blankets the land, the novel explores the community's struggle for survival amid diminishing resources and isolation. Rice skillfully blends traditional Anishinaabe storytelling with a stark portrayal of the post-apocalyptic landscape, offering a poignant reflection on culture, community, and the resilience of the human spirit against an unforgiving backdrop of crusted snow and encroaching darkness.

Plot:

The overarching plot of the narrative proves to be a compelling and intriguing aspect of "Moon of the Crusted Snow." Waubgeshig Rice skillfully introduces a palpable sense of anxiety that permeates the characters' experiences as they grapple with the impending end of the world, all while remaining oblivious to its occurrence. Although the story begins at a deliberate pace, it progressively gains momentum, ensuring a smooth and well-paced development without feeling rushed.

What sets Rice's storytelling apart is his ability to sustain a high level of suspense throughout, even when readers are privy to the impending apocalypse. The narrative skillfully keeps readers on the edge of their seats, evoking a genuine sense of unease for the characters and their uncertain fate. Remarkably, despite the limited action, the storyline remains engaging, avoiding any dull or stagnant moments. The brevity of the chapters contributes to the overall dynamism, allowing the narrative to maintain its momentum and ensuring that the reader remains captivated by the unfolding events.

Plot rating : 4/5

Characters:

The narrative predominantly unfolds through the lens of the central character, Evan, serving as the focal point through which the actions of the other characters come into view. While it's worth noting that the book doesn't delve into extensive character development, I find it to be fitting for the genre. In the context of this apocalyptic tale, the emphasis on character evolution might be secondary.

Evan, as the protagonist, provides readers with a vivid portrayal of life in a secluded community during the apocalypse. The narrative encapsulates the prevalent mistrust and paranoia that takes root within the community, creating a palpable atmosphere of impending doom. This thematic focus, coupled with Evan's perspective, adds a layer of intensity to the storyline, making it a captivating read.

Notably, the narrative occasionally shifts its lens to Nicole, Evan's wife, offering a valuable alternative perspective. This additional point of view provides a nuanced exploration of the unfolding events, enriching the reader's understanding of the characters and the dire situation they find themselves in.

Character rating : 3.25/5

Themes and Messages:

"Moon of the Crusted Snow" by Waubgeshig Rice delves into the themes of survival, resilience, and cultural identity within an Anishinaabe community facing an apocalyptic scenario. The narrative underscores the importance of preserving traditional knowledge, emphasizes community bonds, and explores the fear of the unknown. The novel subtly addresses the impact of modernity on indigenous communities and reflects on power dynamics within the community during times of crisis. Against a backdrop of a harsh winter landscape, the story intertwines environmental resonance with human experiences, prompting reflection on the interconnectedness between nature and humanity. Overall, Rice weaves a compelling narrative that goes beyond the typical post-apocalyptic tale, inviting readers to ponder cultural preservation, collective strength, and the profound effects of societal collapse on a community deeply rooted in its traditions.

Theme rating : 5/5

Strengths:

Brings a different perspective to the end of the world

Well written story line

High level of suspense, you can feel your anxiety building with each chapter

Weaknesses:

Does start off at a slow pace

Not a lot of action (personally, I don’t feel it was needed for this story but I know some of you might find the story a bit lacking or even boring)

So here you go, the first review of the year and the first review on this blog! let me know if you liked it and if it made you want to read the book.

Also, if you already read this book let me know if you enjoyed it and if you agree or disagree with my review 😊

See you next time !

Red dipped feathers

P.S. I’m def going to read the second book to this story called “Moon of the Turning Leaves”, so make sure to stick around for that review!

[sciencelings-writes]

My tLoZ and LU Masterlist

UPDATED 11/19/2023

Of Dubious Sophistication: 6/? posted chapters, Wild meets the chain on a day when he has to act like an important person and decides to fuck with their initial misconceptions of him. Mostly formatted to give each of the Links to come to their own conclusions about Wild, a Compilation of oneshots with a vague overarching plot.

Another Second Chance: 2/? classic Wild gets pulled into the AOC timeline and is tasked to help prevent the calamity. But he looks different enough from his counterpart that he doesn’t reveal his true identity. He accidentally parallels Astor in the whole mysterious sorcerer/ seer vibes as he both knows the future and popped out of nowhere in a dramatic cape and ancient technology. Lots of interaction between Wild and the champions and there is both angst and hijinks. There’s also stuff about the new champions as most of it follows the plot of AOC. Also Wolfie is there because I thought it would be funny for him to bop around the baby egg guardian.

The Silence of the Knight: BOTW pre-calamity fic that’s mostly an introspective fic about why Link went silent and how everyone around him reacts to his lack of outward emotions. I just saw the concept of people seeing him as not quite human because of his refusal to show any emotions and wanting to catch a glimpse of how/ if he reacts when tragedy strikes, just to see if he has the ability to feel anything at all.

Heavy in Your Arms: Wild hated getting his memories back. They could be triggered by seemingly anything, they forced the entire group to stop or have someone stay with him until he got over it, which mostly ended up being Twilight, and he tended to end up feeling terrible. Even the good ones were bittersweet, when he saw glimpses of a family that was long gone or a fleeting moment when his life wasn’t destined to be a nightmare, only to open his eyes a century later having lost everything.He knew it was starting to become a hindrance on their quest and the last thing he wanted to be was a burden. (part of a series focused on the Wolf Trio)

I’ve Seen Hell (But This is a Bit More My Style): BOTW Fem!Link fic focused on how being the first female incarnation of the Heroes Spirit would be treated with a little bit of Zelink as a forbidden relationship. Link is angry and all of her past lives are just as pissed as she is. She’s seen as a harbinger of the calamity rather than the hero sent to stop it. And she’s seen as a mistake of the goddess and proof that the 10,000 years of peace was now at an end. General woman problems you know? (Sequel incorporating LU in progress) also please mind the tags.

Swordcrossed Lovers: Fluffy oneshot of the above au, Link and Zelda go to Gerudo Town and flirt while sword fighting. Zelink Week 2022 prompt: Sparring. 

Champions Possessing Wild Oneshot Collection: The champions possess Wild sometimes, it leads to some shenanigans 

The Unironic Magical Properties of True Love: totk role swap, Zelda find where Link has been hiding since being stuck in the past.

*NEW* Forever Changed: post totk zelink, where they both come back a little differently and have to deal with the immediate aftermath of... everything.

Requests/ short oneshots:

The Idiots of the Wind: Wind makes friends with the spirit of Revali and they team up to mess with Wild, mildly traumatizing him in the process. 

A Waste of Pretty Faces: Wild and Warriors bond over something they didn’t expect (mind the warnings and tags)

To Kill What’s Already Dead: Set after sunset pt.7, Wild deals with not being allowed to see Twilight and with the very real possibility that his mentor is dying.

A Mosaic of Broken Glass: Link has a lot of scars, they don’t like them very much. Zelda is determined to help them work on loving themself. Non-Binary BOTW Link and I accidentally made Zelda asexual.

On Top Of The World: Day 1 prompt for Zelink week 2022- One Last Look, Link and Zelda reunite after the final battle with the calamity. Idk what to say it’s just pure fluff. 

Frightful & Delightful: Wintery LU fic that is Hyrule-centric for a secret santa. Hurt/comfort, but mostly fluff. 

3 Sentence Fics: Lots of short fics in one place, including LU, botw Zelink, and my own AUs!

The Many Duties of the Princesses Appointed Knight: Fluffy pre-calamity zelink hair braiding, not me basing a whole fic off of a vague idea... 

The Caretaker of Holy Things: OC fic made for a zelda creators collab, the Priestess of the Temple of Time remains at the great plateau while the calamity rages around her, unfortunately, she’s due to have visitors. 

Whumptober 2022:

Prompt 2: Nowhere to Run: Aryll from my priestesses AU meets the Fierce Deity for the first time.

Prompt 5: Hypothermia: Link and Zelda from my Golden Priestesses AU journey up to the Temple of Nayru to the spring of wisdom.

Prompt 9: Caught in the Storm: Zelda spends one hundred years fighting the calamity, even though he’s slumbering in the shrine of resurrection, Link still finds a way to help her keep her head above water.

Prompt 10: Whipping: Wild from my Fem!Wild AU has to reveal some things about her past after having a panic attack post-battle. Kind of a rewrite of part of the comic where Wild throws himself in front of Wind during a fight, you know the one. 

Prompt 15: Emotional Damage/ New Scars: Wild visits the forgotten temple after the events of LU, he mourns. 

Zelink Week 2023: 

Day 1: Yearning: All In Good Time: Fem! Zelink AU during the events of LU, Wild misses her Princess. 

Day 2: Forbidden: The Ballad of Frost and Flames: Fem!Zelink AU, pre-calamity while Link is still in hiding, they meet at a masquerade ball. 

Day 4: Hand in Hand: The Fable of the Dragon and the Phoenix: MAJOR TOTK SPOILERS, Zelda makes and eternal choice and Link learns to rise from the ashes.

[greenerteacups]

Hi 👋 I absolutely adore Lionheart, the prose, and the version of the story and characters that you've written. It's inspired me to try writing longer fanfics myself and I had some questions about your writing process.

Something I love about Lionheart is the gradual but thoughtful progression of the characters from each book to the next, and how within each book, there's multiple themes, subplots, and foreshadowing all intentionally woven together. What's your process look like for planning out the plot points/character arcs of each book while keeping track of the overarching story? And what level of detail do you typically pre-plan vs. figure out as you're writing?

I aspire to create something that can evoke the same feelings as Lionheart did for me one day! Thanks in advance :)

ABSOLUTELY! welcome to the longfic writer insanity circle! i can't wait to read whatever you come up with.

so this post is my big comprehensive How To Plot And Write Long Fic method, which i can guarantee works for at least one (1) human being on this planet, but mileage may vary for anyone else. in writing, as in all things, the unwritten zero rule is "do whatever you can get away with," and if somehow you can rip 100,000 words of fanfic straight off the dome, then by god, shine on, you crazy diamond. otherwise: the outline is my bestie and i am sure she would love to be yours.

so that's the plot bit. character is harder to explain. arcs usually come to me in the early stages of the process, because, as a character-focused writer, what i want to happen to the characters on an emotional level is usually the engine behind what I want them to do. Lionheart exists to be, among other things, a story about Draco Malfoy (1) getting hauled kicking and screaming through a redemption arc, and (2) falling in love with Hermione Granger. so i start each stage of planning by asking: how far do i want each of those two goals to be advanced by the end of this book? (you can use the same method by splitting your longfic into segments, or "acts," or periods of time — whatever your mind gravitates to.) then, once i know what the end of the arc is, i start thinking, okay, what needs to happen? what are the secondary milestones of that development? how can i use plot and imagery to ensure that my reader's getting it?

this is not how all writers do it — more plot-centered writers go story first, and then figure out what's happening to characters from there. what works for you will ultimately be a reflection of what you like and why you're writing the fic.

[theneighborhoodwatch]

I been having so much fun thinking and looking up things with this new update, I have a big theory about the bugs and some though about some of the glitch that happens in the audios on some of the official content (maybe we have to form a phrase or hints of the next update, posible through Eddie, as wally asking for purple in the "just so" segment) but with way

Soo I know a ot of people say much about how Wally's message talk to us directly bc he's being sentient and trying to reach us (posible through the red book) and the QA can hear his callings through the phone, much of this is how Wally is trying to interact with the REAL world, with US the humans. (Also as the message progress he sounds more distorted and in distressed)

So that made me think about the bugs tapes and how different they can be compared with what we seen only the public knows, for instance they sound more clear, like your hearing a recorded video or passing conversation, but my point is that they sound so free and casual like just living in their own world,

I think (besides the point that they're maybe in a capsule world unaware of all this) I have two options:

1 this are the first time when wally start to being more self aware of his surrounding, friends and his world making him disassociate bc some of the audios sounds more fainted that the other and as they progress they were becoming more clear and loud

2 OR we're seeing through him, like asides of him just being there it looks he barely moves and speak zero times until someone else call him up (I think they don't notice much bc he's normally a calm fellow and just interact when spoke too) like he's snapping up to them again (I mean he could just being in his own head I been there before and now but something about us seen and hearing this, I don't think it was supposed to)

Either way I believe this moment all were from the same day (Barnaby and Eddie telling thing that happened in other tapes) I'm unsure if this are from the past or recent time but something is clear for sure: he's getting distant and quiet and something is coming (maybe he's getting more focused on seeing and start to get distracted from his reality)

At least Barnaby and Home start to notice.

On a side note I don't think neither wally or Home are evil or the villains from this story but I do think something sinister and dark is influencing on them big time (the black mold maybe)

If this has been sent to you before feel free to ignore I been having so many thoughts about this and just wanna see what you think

See ya!

i don't have much to say to this that you haven't already said yourself, so just imagine that i'm nodding along emphatically. as sweet as it is to see the neighbors freely interacting with each other, there's also this sort of. aimlessness? to it all. the reason behind their world being constructed in This Very Specific Way is no longer there, but the universe still functions as though it is, so you have these characters acting out the general structure of a typical episode, but there's no actual overarching plot or lesson (at least, none that we see) because who's gonna be there to see it anyway? but - if you were made for that kind of show, what else are you going to do? can you do anything else? is getting the show back, or at least an audience, really the answer here? questions that i think the neighbors will have to grapple with once more of them start to Notice Things.

as for what is actually going on in these videos, i think i lean more towards the first option. i don't see wally or home as particularly villainous, either - but desperation can drive well-meaning people to do some terrible things.

[bandtrees]

🛒 tell me about ur themes ollie

I WOULD LOVE TO DO NOTHING MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fanfic writer emoji ask!

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc. - im going to speak these words and you're going to think "HIGURASHI FAN", and you will be correct. generally speaking, a theme i am obsessed with, is perception vs reality. being neurodivergent, in my experience, is like being your own unreliable narrator, not even knowing you're unreliable - so it's a topic that's very near and dear to my heart.

in particular, i love getting into the nitty gritty of it: in particular, outside forces shaping how a person thinks, but they're not aware of it. tttaac mob and crowfic ritsu are biggest examples of this, so is tmtrainer eden, you feel protected isaac, and reanimation technician itadori - the feeling of when you're angry and don't know it's because you're hungry, or depressed but don't know it's because of stress you've been carrying for a long time? that there is my bread and butter.

(^it's also the reason i'm so into um... brain damage? just conceptually? i find it fascinating as someone who, albeit in a neurodivergent sense, has a lot of their perception of the world changed by physical nonsense in their noggin (like autism, adhd, anxiety). it's a specific thing to keep returning to, from my transformers fics to tttaac and beyond, but what can i say. i love the intrigue that comes with someone's entire being being shaped by a physical organ and what happens if you poke at that.)

i also, PREDICTABLY, love gory imagery, i think gore is a constant in my writing, whether it's actually happening or is just used as extended metaphor - cuz, and i tell this story often, i got my start with fanfiction (and writing in general) through grimfics and creepypastas, and one of my biggest fandoms ever, the one i have to thank for a lot both creatively and for the reason i even know my qpp and why i'm on this site at all, was warrior cats - where, to a kid, feeling cool and mature reading about death scenes and gore is awesome. so i'll always gravitate towards some manner of blood and guts, its my favorite

speaking of warriors, in my oc fic, spottedfur's pride... i need to learn to use nature imagery other than going off of what season it is, lol, but for characters living in a forest, it checks out. there's so much season imagery in spottedfur's pride. i put maybe a bit too much emphasis in the first arc on half-melted snow and muddy slush at the tail end of winter, but in my defense, i think it makes for cool visuals, and i'm still kind of struggling to write for characters i cant fall back on human traits, concepts, etc, to describe. so for now, have sooo much season imagery lol.

also i've been told my writing style is very "psychological/out of body introspection -> physical sensation -> psychological/out of body introspection -> so on and so forth" - not as a criticism, just something my friend cyn pointed out to me once, and.. i always notice that lol. it's because i think i'm very good at writing overarching thoughts and broad-strokes feelings and how they change over time (i'm a huge character study guy) but i struggle with scene-by-scene action-by-action Plot Progression(tm), so i cheat my way out of it by using paragraphs of internal monologuing as free timeskips. and granted i think i'm good enough at it lol

tysm!!! i love getting to ramble about my process... if you couldnt tell lolol.

[surely-galena]

ToT Main Story 10 Thoughts/Commentary (Part 2)

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Oh it's Skye Harper again! It's interesting seeing her not in her scrubs (i.e. what an outfit change can do to a character). She doesn't seem like much of a threat at all -- although, of course, she's still under supervision.

Meanwhile, Vyn is over here with 10/10 lines. Wow, Mischievous Boy, shut down. Vyn's really good with those mic drop moments when he wants to be, huh?

And now we cut to a comedic section about... chili oil gummies? I had the exact same reaction as MC, what exactly could have been going through Artem's head when he bought those? And honestly I probably should not have expected anything more than his incredibly in-character response. It all comes back to coffee (caffeine).

Hold on. Hold on, now that I'm done being amused by the earlier bit about the gummies, what's Bryan up to? Why did he ask Artem to become Skye's attorney? And he's also the one responsible for getting Artem that auction ticket? While it's true that Bryan Wing has been cropping up gradually in the main story (ever since Artem revealed to MC who is father is), I didn't expect him to have a backseat role like this. It makes me wonder if he'll have a bigger part to play as the story progresses.

Oh wow, she had good intentions all along! I really like how the devs have managed to link her story to the overarching NXX plot and give her more depth at the same time.

Ah, here we go again. It's honestly kind of funny (from a meta perspective) that this is the second time MC's been stuck in a closed space (and facing potential death), and both times have been during an Artem-centric episode.

And okay, Vyn coming in with the save. He's actually... kind of cool this chapter? I don't know, it feels like his lines got a lot of love in this episode because whenever he's on screen, his dialogue is always really entertaining.

[murasakibonnet]

Liminal Space

A ROTTMNT Experimental AU Masterpost

Based off the 2003 TMNT episode Same as it Never Was, Liminal Space is a ROTTMNT AU meant to twist the central plot of the original. It asks: what if instead of Donatello traveling to distant dystopian future scarred by his absence, it was his brothers that were sent in his place.

Now twenty plus years into the future, Leo, Mikey and Raph must navigate through a whole new world occupied with familiar yet different faces. They’ll come to learn that during their absence, war broke out between yokai and humans with mutants simply caught in the middle. And though it’s been years since the war has ceased, the world is still working to heal from it’s fallout. 

Peace was established but tensions are high, taking the combined strength of a mysterious power hierarchy to keep it all civil.

Surprisingly, it isn’t the foot clan that’s up to anything foolish, though, why is someone running around in armor that bears distinct similarities to the Kuroi Yoroi? 

And what’s all this talk of multiple universes and bifurcated time branches?

Leo’s worried about getting back to the past. Raph’s focused on “fixing” this dreary future. And Mikey just hopes they’ll make it through all this alive.  

... Except we’re not just following their story ...

Now faced with the reality that his brothers have disappeared with no real method of getting them back, present timeline Donatello must overcome hardships and obstacles that threaten his home, friends and family. 

He’ll have to make new allies amongst faces that have yet to appear in the ROTTMNT universe, if he hopes to survive with his sanity intact. 

At the end of the day, though his brothers are not there to help him, he is not alone.

Additional info:

- This takes place two years after the movie so the brothers are aged 17,18 and 19 respectively.

- As mentioned, this is an experimental AU which means I’m moreso using it to learn and experiment with my art style than to create a cohesive story. Maybe something resembling one will come through with enough time and posts. *shrugs* But my main concern is having fun with worldbuilding and learning about techniques used for comics and maybe animatics. 

- Feel free to ask me questions, I’m gonna be pretty generous on answers. I’ll place a general *SPOILERS* warning on top of my posts should it feel necessary. 

Plot:

The plot is going to be divided in two different story lines respectively called Cause and Effect.

Murphy’s Law (How’d we get here?)

The obligatory set-up to the whole story which can be found here. 

Cause largely goes over how present Donatello had to deal with his brothers being otherwise preoccupied as the relation between humanity and mysticism reach boiling point.

Effect is primarily from Leo, Mikey and Raph’s point of view in the future. I don’t plan to actually post these details in a chronological order so I’m just warning you all this now and hence the Effect Arc is absolutely going to have spoilers from the Cause Arc. 

Honestly, I’m hoping to focus on funny moments for this portion of the story. An overarching plot is in the works but shenanigans is the prime goal. 

Bonus Content:

Effect Arc Wardrobe Concepts-  Mikey Leon Raphie

Toughest Shell

Power UP!

Progress Update

[ginshariboy]

#3 and #7 for those video game asks 👀

3. 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you really enjoyed Pokemon Scarlet

i genuinely loved this game which was a difficult thing for games to accomplish after i was consumed by elden ring and didn't want to wriggle free of its grasp on me lol. i think it has its flaws of course, i'm not going to be delulu about that but i dont know unpopular opinion but i like open world games!!! i dont know if this scale and direction will be the best to stick with in the future for pokemon but i really loved having a generous amount of freedom in where i went and the order in which i did shit. it was wild to wander off to casseroya lake and just frantically try to juke around all of the dragon pokemon a shit ton of levels above mine while screaming until i managed to get to the other side. i also just really loved the story and characters (except for SOMEBODY), got me really emotional also arven best boy

Silent Hill 3

bought the game for the first time when i was like fourteen, just finished it basically fourteen years later lol. loved the idea of horror games as a kid but i was so bad at playing them, they were mostly just prime sleepover games at the time 😂 but it was great to revisit the game after getting a lot more context for themes and the overarching story of silent hill. while i'm not as susceptible to getting scared by these games anymore, i feel like knowing more about them on top of just having a lot more uhhh life experience than i did when i first got the games helped to elevate the horror from oo spooky scary to oh god oh fuck that's the dread isn't it oh no it's hitting awful close to real life now oh shit. also it was just cool to see how bizarre and clunky silent hill could be compared to like…Nostalgia Glasses Silent Hill. it sounds like something that's all sorts of bad but i honestly liked how weird and disjointed progression could be in the games.

Baldur's Gate 3

i mean......come on i think this is everyone's choice if asked lol BUT.....plot twist, i really didn't want to touch the game initially. i loved the original games, they're literally my top favorite games, but for me, i'd given the series its kiss goodnight and i couldn't really figure out what a third game would add to the main storyline. it was pretty wrapped up and i don't know this new studio and everyone was pushing me about it and trying to make me trust the new studio but it didnt change the fact that i didnt know them, i didn't know what they were going to do with my favorite game and i was like eugh i dont wanna roll the dice and i just wanted to be left alone about it, and the bear shit happened and i was like ohhhh the legacy is gonna die because this is all people are going to focus on oh jeez scoob no one talk to me about this game ever again, baldur's gate is at rest in its tomb and i will hear no more!!!! then i played it. and i'm still working through it. but once again i was Consumed to a degree that i hadn't been consumed since elden ring. i keep making new characters because its just fun to try the game out from a completely different character from the beginning, i don't know how they fit it all in there. i know its a huge game but holy shit there's so much to it i dont even think the actual size of the game sounds feasible for all of the shit going on. i didnt think i'd give a single shit about any of the new companions but i love them dearly and i'm so happy to see my old pals minsc and jaheira but it's so hard to form a proper party because i just want everyone on my team because i love them all!!! i think if i had to choose, i do still love the original games about gorion's ward, it's a hard story to beat and i mean i've loved the game for like 20 years for a reason, but i do think 3 is a great addition to the series and manages to pay respectful homage to its predecessors for old players while still bringing the world and mechanics up to speed for modern day. anyway my first character fucked the guy who turns into a bear so whatever in that department i guess.

7. A series you’ve lost interest in Fallout

i don't say this in a bad way but i think i've lost a bit of interest in it in the sense that it's just not really at the forefront of my mind these days? i still really love the games but i mean my favorite one is 3 and i don't think i've gotten the same exact feeling from the games afterward. i know new vegas is a fan favorite and 4 was good but i was consumed by 3 lol. so it's less like eugh ew eauaugh hate it and more just i tucked it into bed and kissed it goodnight and it will awaken when it awakens.

[septembercfawkes]

The Secondary Principles of Plot: Progress, Setbacks, Costs, Turning Points

Plot is more than "stuff happening." At the most basic level, a plot should have these elements: goal, antagonist, conflict, and consequences. In this article, we will go over the secondary principles of plot: progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.

But first, let's briefly review the primary principles. Without these things, the storyline will always feel weak or even "broken."

The protagonist has a want (which may be abstract) that manifests in a goal or even goals (which should be concrete and measurable--in that the audience knows what reaching the goal looks like). Not all protagonists start the story with a clear goal, but nearly all protagonists should have one by the end of Act I. Furthermore, not all protagonists have the same type of goal--for example, some goals may be aspirational, others goals may be simply to stop the antagonist, others may be to return balance to a previous lifestyle. It's possible the goal may change, and in such cases, it may be helpful to view the story as having act-level goals, rather than one, grand overarching goal from beginning to end.

Something antagonistic is in the way of that goal. The antagonistic force is a form of opposition--it is something in the way of the goal, not just something annoying or heckling the protagonist. In some cases, it may be more helpful to think of the antagonistic force as the resistance or obstacle in the way of the goal, and there will probably be more than one. Not every antagonistic force that appears in a story will be the "main bad guy" (or what have you), particularly in scenes and sequences. Nonetheless, if it is something obstructing the way, it is an antagonistic force.

The protagonist and antagonist want conflicting things. There isn't an easy, foreseeable way for them each to have their desires. This leads to conflict. The protagonist needs to somehow outsmart or overcome the antagonist. The more the protagonist wants the goal, and the tougher the antagonist, the bigger the struggle. This helps create meaningful conflict, not conflict that is cleverly disguised filler.

Conflict only really matters in that it affects what happens next, or in other words, it has consequences. This is where cause and effect come in. A strong plot follows a sense of cause and effect. In most stories, the effect will be both internal and external, but it's possible to be only one (internal emphasizes character more, external emphasizes plot more). When we project the cause and effect trajectory forward, we create stakes (what is at risk in the story). Stakes = potential consequences. Ramifications = actual consequences.

Next, we will dive into the secondary principles of plot: progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.

Why Are the Secondary Principles "Progress, Setbacks, Costs, and Turning Points"? 

The primary principles are required to create the most basic level of plot. You can't have a solid plot without goal, antagonist, conflict, or consequences. You may think you can, but it will probably always feel flimsy or "lesser." 

The secondary principles build directly off the primary principles, strengthening and reinforcing the plot, making it more stable and satisfying. Here is how this works:

Progress relates to goal.

The goal is something the protagonist wants and is therefore taking action to get. Progress is used to measure how close the protagonist is to getting the goal. It's seen as something positive.

Setbacks relate to antagonist.

Setbacks happen when an antagonistic force opposes the protagonist and the goal. The antagonistic force gets in the way and sometimes even "wins" the conflict within a scene, sequence, or act. These create setbacks, which are the opposite of progress. They are seen as something negative.

Costs relate to conflict.

When the protagonist moves forward and comes into conflict, there is often some form of cost. The conflict may cost the protagonist their physical or mental well-being, time, money, or any other sort of resource.

Turning points relate to consequences.

Turning points shift the cause-and-effect trajectory the story is on, which means they change the consequences in some meaningful way.

Since both the primary and secondary principles are merely principles, there are always rare exceptions of likable stories that don't adhere to them exactly. But in order to have a strong plot--as opposed to a story that focuses more exclusively on character arc or theme--this is often what is necessary.

Still, even that argument can be a little iffy--after all, a strong plot can breed a strong character arc and theme. Nonetheless, some types of stories emphasize one or two elements over the other(s).

Show Progress Toward the Goal

In a lecture series on Youtube, #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson talks about how a sense of progress is key to a good plot. Progress keeps the audience invested, particularly through the middle of the story. If there is no progress, then the reader feels as if the plot isn't going anywhere. 

But we can't even begin to have progress until the protagonist has a goal--because we can't measure what progress is without knowing where we are going. So this again shows why a goal is so important. Yet, a goal with no progress feels stagnant. And a sense of progress will naturally reinforce the presence and importance of a goal.

Sometimes in the writing community, we are told to keep our protagonist failing until the end, but this is really a half-truth. If we adhered to this literally, the story would be annoying because there would never be any progress. What people actually mean is, don't fully resolve the primary plotline until the end (there may be some exceptions, but this is the general principle).

In some stories, the protagonist appears to be making progress, but in an ironic twist, it turns out they were heading the wrong direction. These stories still work, because there is perceived progress--there is still a sense of progress. 

Similarly, in some stories, the protagonist may obtain the goal halfway or three-quarters of the way through, only to realize it's not what they actually need, or to have it taken away, or to recognize there is actually a greater goal beyond it (this is why sometimes it's more useful to think of the plot as having act-level goals).

Nonetheless, the feeling of progress still exists--the audience feels as if the protagonist is getting somewhere. 

Recall that we talked about how larger goals are usually made up of smaller goals. The big goal to be a lead singer requires smaller goals to accomplish. The protagonist must make goals to take singing lessons, nail auditions, and perhaps perform in lesser roles to gain renown. Each time the protagonist succeeds in a lesser goal, it creates a sense of progress by bringing him or her closer to the larger goal.

Dramatica Theory outlines some points of plot that can be utilized to better understand progress. There are essentially one of two ways to reach a large goal, and both require smaller goals along the way. Dramatica refers to these as "requirements," and they will manifest like this:

In one, the characters must follow an order of steps, like following a set of directions. For example, in Jumanji, the characters have the goal to restore the world to normal by winning the game. But they must do this in a proper order--they can't skip turns. They must each take their turn and deal with the inevitable obstacle and conflict.

In the other, the characters must do or obtain things in any order, like a shopping list. For example, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the trio wants to defeat the antagonist by destroying all the Horcruxes, but it doesn't necessarily matter what order the Horcruxes are destroyed.

However, keep in mind that, again, smaller goals fit in bigger goals, so in a given story, the two approaches may not always be so black and white. For example, while the trio can (more or less) defeat the Horcruxes in any order, in smaller goals within that, there may be a specific order. For example, in order to destroy the locket, they must first locate it, then obtain it (a specific order). One may also argue that ultimately, there is somewhat of an order the Horcruxes must be defeated by the end, as a sort of twist. The point being, there is room for complexity: it may be like following directions, or it may be like a shopping list, and each can fit into larger versions of the other. (As a side note, this is also similar to how basic story structure works, with smaller structures making up bigger structures.)

You can also think of progression as hitting stops on the way to a final destination. In a sense, each stop is its own destination--it's a progression. After you get there, you eventually leave to travel to the next stop, and then the next stop, and then the next stop . . . until you arrive at the last.

Dramatica argues that beyond the "directions" or "shopping list" there may be prerequisites: essentials one must have, to pursue the goal at all. Prerequisites on their own don't bring the goal closer. For example, in order to win the game of Jumanji, one must have the game and all the players present. When the characters don't have that, they can't pursue the overall goal. They must recover the game board or find and convince the other players to play. 

There may also be preconditions: non-essential demands placed on the characters in exchange for prerequisites. For example, in Karate Kid, a prerequisite is that the protagonist must receive extra lessons from a master, but the master adds the precondition of doing chores. One does not technically need to do chores to do karate. But he must do the chores in order to have access to karate.

While I certainly find Dramatica's approaches useful in certain situations (and these can be helpful with brainstorming plot), if we want to keep it simple, the overall idea I want to communicate in this section, is that inside bigger goals are smaller goals, and as smaller goals are met, it helps create a sense of progress. 

Even if recovering the game board in Jumanji is a "prerequisite" in the overall plot, it still becomes a goal within that scene, sequence, act, or what have you. Even if doing chores is a "precondition" on the road to the end goal, it still becomes a goal within that scene, sequence, or act. 

Just remember that a sense of progress comes from reaching smaller goals within the larger goal.

Show Setbacks from Antagonists

Setbacks are the opposite of progress. Just as obtaining smaller goals on the road to the big goal creates progress, the opposite is true. Setbacks happen when the protagonist is obstructed, outsmarted, or overcome by the antagonistic force. Instead of making headway, the protagonist may be pushed further away from the goal. While we don't want a whole story where the protagonist makes no progress, we also don't want a whole story where the protagonist experiences no setbacks. Life just isn't like that, and the story will ring of inauthenticity. Progress without setbacks is bland and boring, and weakens the plot. 

Setbacks will come from antagonistic forces--even if they aren't the primary antagonistic force. Remember, the antagonistic force is something that opposes the goal. It may simply be seen as an obstacle or some form of resistance in the way of the goal. While one may argue that the obstacle itself is a "setback," to keep things clear in this series, I'm defining a "setback" as an outcome (not getting a goal). 

Again, just like with goals and progress, you can look at setbacks as living inside structural units. A scene may have a setback, a sequence may have a setback, and an act may have a setback.

There are a couple ways a setback can manifest.

In the first, the protagonist is simply obstructed or stopped from getting the goal. For example, say our protagonist who wants to be a lead singer has the scene goal of getting to her audition on time. She's cutting it close, but manages to get ready fast, outmaneuver her chatty neighbor, and take a side route to avoid traffic. Then bam! There is a car accident that brings the traffic to a grinding halt. She misses her audition. 

The character was obstructed by the antagonistic force (this time, coming from the environment) and didn't make her goal.

In a more drastic setback, not only will the protagonist not get the goal, but will get pushed further away from it. Same scenario as above. Our character takes a side route to avoid traffic. Then bam! She gets in a car accident and gets sent to the ER. Not only did she not get her scene goal, but she's now even further away from getting her ultimate goal, as she may have to do physical rehabilitation before being able to even attend another audition.

The second has greater consequences. Not only does it slow progress toward the goal like the first, but puts her on a different cause-and-effect trajectory, with new complications she has to deal with. Both types have their places, but if you feel your setbacks lack luster, or alternatively, feel too dramatic, it may be because you are only utilizing one type.

When we talk of progress, the audience needs to know ahead of time what direction the protagonist is going (goal). Unlike progress, some setbacks can be totally unforeseen, like the traffic accident above. Other times they may be a known risk. For example, two boxers want to be victors in a fight. The protagonist loses to the antagonist. This is a setback that the protagonist would have imagined as a possibility prior.

To summarize, the setback may simply stop the protagonist from reaching a goal, or may actually push the protagonist back further from the goal. This may or may not be foreseen as a possibility.

Another way to look at the second setback, is to think of it as taking away something the protagonist already has, or is on track to have. In our earlier example, our protagonist already had her health--so we took that away in an accident. In Jumanji, the characters already have the game board and are dealing with the horrors that come out of it. Then a pelican snatches up the game and takes it away. Now not only are the characters having to deal with the creatures, but they no longer have the game to even play (setback).

But of course, like progress, setbacks may appear more complex in the actual story. There may be ironic moments where the protagonist progresses and experiences a setback simultaneously. For example, the protagonist may get the goal (progress) only to realize it's about to destroy them (setback). The starving character finally gets food in his belly, only to learn the food is poisoned. This creates an ironic twist.

Make Costs Meaningful

I very much debated whether costs belong in the secondary principles or the tertiary principles, but ultimately decided to stick them here because a plot that doesn't handle costs right can be disappointing. Costs also seem to build off the primary and other secondary principles better than the tertiary. 

Costs are what the protagonist has to "pay" to move forward on the journey. This may be physical and mental well-being, time, money, resources, or what have you. 

Just as random conflict doesn't make a story great (it needs to be conflict related to goals and consequences) random costs aren't very effective either. This is where I sometimes see issues come up when I'm editing manuscripts; bad things happen to the protagonist, but they are random. His grandma might suddenly die, and that's hard for him, but it doesn't come out of or affect the plot. Or some jerk having a bad day punches him in the gut, but it doesn't change anything. These would be examples of what I call "passive pain." 

Passive pain is hurt or hardship that just happens to the character. It does have a place in storytelling, though. Passive pain is usually introduced in the first act during the setup. This is where the audience learns about any unfair hardships the protagonist has been a victim to--being an orphan, a deformity, being hated or abused by someone. The passive pain promotes likability and helps the audience care about the character. It helps the audience get invested in the story. 

Passive pain can also come up in other parts of the story, and work well, but once the main conflict gets started, it shouldn't be the primary type of pain. It's only interesting for so long, and then it can become boring or even annoying. We all have random crap we have to deal with; it's part of life. And if the story just focuses and reiterates what pains happen to the protagonist, it's usually not very engaging for very long.

It's much more interesting, and more intense, when the pain becomes a cost for the protagonist on his or her journey. Having grandma die randomly is one thing. Having grandma die because the protagonist was pursuing the plot goal (cost), is way different. It's more intense, more painful, and more meaningful. Of course, costs need not always be as intense as death--it depends on the story you want to write. Nonetheless, the steeper and higher the costs of the journey, the more intense the plot (and sometimes the steepness is more internal than external).

Costs should generally come out of meaningful conflict--when the protagonist's pursuit of the goal hits an antagonistic force, and has to "battle" it out. This creates a struggle with consequences. If the protagonist doesn't struggle for success, the problem isn't actually that difficult, and the victory doesn't feel "earned." It can still be effective to employ unfairness--it's unfair that the antagonist tortured and killed grandma, who knew nothing about what the protagonist was doing--but it's unfairness related to the plot. 

The costs will again illustrate how bad the protagonist wants the goal. (And remember, the more the protagonist wants the goal, the more the plot can seemingly torture them.) If the protagonist is in a cooking contest and burns her hand, and keeps going, the audience can see how much the contest means to her ("show, don't tell"). 

Costs can also be more indirect. Perhaps our protagonist wins the cash prize of the cooking contest, and because of that, now her neighbor (who was also competing) can't afford to take his young daughter on a trip this summer. The neighbor, who was always friendly, may now be rude to the protagonist, which makes the protagonist's dog walks a nightmare . . . This is more indirect, but it still comes as a cost of the journey.

It also leads me to my next point. Costs should be there whether the protagonist is pursuing something "good" or "bad" and whether the protagonist is experiencing progress or setbacks. Everything has a cost and everything has a struggle. Even in the story of Jesus, someone who was perfect, had to pay tremendous cost to do the right thing, for other people. 

If costs aren't there, the story feels inauthentic. No one gets anywhere without struggle and sacrifice. Innocent, pure-hearted, talented people pursuing good things have to pay painful costs on the road to success, just as wicked, hard-hearted people pursuing bad things have to. 

Costs are also important because they put responsibility and accountability on the protagonist. The protagonist doesn't bear responsibility and accountability for random bad luck. But when they lose the rest of their rations because they thought crossing the river would lead to civilization--it's their fault the remaining food was lost to the waves. And that's more effective. 

It also means we can haunt the protagonist with their choices. Maybe if the protagonist wasn't pursuing his goal, grandma would still be alive. This can lead to great character moments, that in turn, affect the plot. Should the character continue the journey? When it's costing lives? Is this worth it? Are they helping or hurting the situation? Turning into someone better or someone worse? And that plays into character arc. In order to defeat the antagonistic forces, they must become someone different. Or, they must find it within themselves to remain steadfast. You can't have these strong character moments without costs. What the character chooses, reveals who she is, and what she then does affects what happens next.

One way to strengthen the pain of the cost is to make the resource very limited. If the protagonist only has three matches and needs to build a fire to stay warm, using one to cauterize an ally's wound becomes more costly. Using two to do that becomes even more costly. Or, when the protagonist is trying to defuse a time bomb, every second counts, and anything that takes more time, is more costly.

Costs are closely related to consequences. They come out of conflict, but they also lead to ramifications: grandma's death, a burned hand, lost rations, one match left. When the character can foresee the costs beforehand, they become part of the stakes: "If I keep pursuing this, grandma will die."--grandma dying is the cost. Sometimes the costs are unknown until the conflict unfolds, and sometimes they are only revealed after the conflict seemingly resolves.

They need to come out of meaningful conflict and matter, and they need to come (directly or indirectly) out of the protagonist's pursuit so that she bears responsibility and accountability. Those things can go far in strengthening a plot.

Change Trajectories with Turning Points

I've talked about turning points several times on here before, but now let's talk about them within the context of this series, and in particular, how they relate to consequences.

A turning point works by (you guessed it) turning the direction of the plot.

This can only happen one of two ways (well, or both of them): a revelation, or an action. 

These are the only two ways to turn a story. 

The biggest turning point of a story is the climax, so referring to it will be the best example. THE climactic moment in a story will either be a revelation or an action and often it's both. 

It might be a revelation that leads to an action. Or it might be an action that leads to a revelation.

For example, the protagonist may have an epiphany (a revelation, and often a thematic one) that informs him how to defeat the antagonist, so the protagonist takes that action. Alternatively, the protagonist takes an action to defeat the antagonist, and the result leads to a realization. (Generally speaking.)

Whatever it is, that's a turning point. 

But a plot will have multiple turning points. Each act should have a turning point. Each scene should have a turning point. It's just that a scene's turning point will be smaller than an act's turning point, and an act's turning point will be smaller than the major turning point of the climax.

Sometimes it's helpful to keep this in mind:

Revelation = Information

Action = Event

(. . . just because that sounds a little broader.)

And it's worth noting that a choice can lead to gaining more information or taking action. A choice may lead to a turning point.

Turning points work by changing the story, by changing its direction.

In our earlier example about our singing protagonist trying to get to an audition, the car accident is a turning point. The protagonist was on a trajectory to arrive, but there was an accident (an event, something or someone taking action) that changed her trajectory. She didn't make it to the audition, and is now on a different path in regards to the plot.

A turning point can happen from outside the protagonist or the protagonist himself can create a turning point. The car accident is something that comes from beyond the protagonist. The protagonist grabbing a knife and fatally stabbing the antagonist is a turning point the protagonist creates.

Recall that in the last article, we talked about consequences, which add meaning to the plot by giving it a sense of cause and effect. Plot isn't just random things happening. It follows a sense of cause and effect. Stakes happen when we project cause and effect forward; they are potential consequences: "If I nail my audition, I'll become a lead singer." Ramifications are the actual consequences that take place.

Turning points work by shifting the cause-and-effect trajectory.

Our protagonist was on the trajectory of getting to her audition and maybe becoming a lead singer (projected cause and effect). Then bam! She's in a car crash that leads her to the ER. She's now on a totally different path--instead of going to auditions, she's going to physical rehabilitation. This is an example of a big turning point.

Not all turning points need to be that drastic. Our protagonist may be on course to lose an upcoming debate with a political opponent. As he does research to prepare, he discovers a juicy piece of info that will undermine his debater's strongest arguments. New trajectory. Turning point.

Remember how on railroads, a train's path can be shifted by simply switching a track to go another direction? Think of turning points like that. It might be a big turn, or it might be a smaller, but nonetheless significant, turn. Why "significant"? Because it doesn't just change that one moment, that one conflict--it changes a trajectory,it changes a path, it changes the future. That's a turning point.

You'll notice that turning points often lead to progress or setbacks, because they change outcomes and directions. You can create some great zig-zags by moving from positive progress to major setback, or vice versa. But it's also possible to move from progress to greater progress, and setback to greater setback. The point is that a satisfying plot will change, shift, and turn directions.

If there are no turning points, or you never have major turning points, you run the risk of the story becoming repetitious. This is especially true at the act level. If the plot stays on, more or less, the same trajectory the whole time, it becomes predictable and boring. There is only so much of the same foreseeable path the audience can take.

And even if turning points are new to you, you've probably heard of them before. They are also called "plot turns" and "plot points."

Yup.

So when you hear terms like "Plot Point 1" or "Plot Point 2," you know what those are supposed to be? Major turning points. Act-level turning points. (And the recommended percentages are there, in part, to keep the story from feeling repetitious--you can only go so long before the reader needs a shift.)

This is why my series on plot doesn't contain things like "inciting incident," or "midpoint," or "All is Lost," or "climax." Those are all structural turning points. They are important and interweaved closely with plot, but at the end of the day? They are turning points. 

The inciting incident is part of the plot--it's an important part--but it's ultimately just a turning point. The fact that particular event is the inciting incident has to do, in some sense, mainly with how the story is structured. It's not plot itself. Plot and structure? Not the same thing.

Real quick, I do feel the need to give credit where credit is due--you should know that some of this definition of a turning point came from Robert McKee's book Story, which also influenced Shawn Coyne's Story Grid. However, the commentary on them, along with the majority of this stuff, is my own.

And those are the secondary principles of plot. The tertiary principles will be for another day.

Get plotting!