me coming back to a WIP after not looking at it for months:

How to write a character-driven plot

The Character-Driven Plot Wheel

1. Emotions drive actions.

Make your hero act on their deepfelt emotions. This not only adds meaning to their actions, but also helps communicate to readers your hero’s core emotional struggle.

2. Actions trigger consequences.

When your hero acts, give their actions consequences that affect the plot, themselves, and/or the surrounding characters. For example, driven by curiosity, maybe your hero opens Pandora’s box; maybe they act recklessly and someone dies; or maybe they stand up for what they believe in, but at great personal cost. Consequences raise the stakes and empower your hero with agency.

3. Consequences compel change.

Use the consequences of your hero’s actions to create a crucible of growth — challenges and situations that force them to take the next step on their character journey. That step may be forward, or backward, and it may be large or small; but something inside them changes.

4. Change influences emotions.

When a character goes through a change, even a small one, allow it to affect them emotionally. Maybe they feel increasingly frustrated or guilty. Maybe they’re afraid, having just taken another step closer to abandoning their old way of seeing the world. Or maybe they finally feel peace.

Regardless of the form it takes, remember to reflect your hero’s change in their emotions. Then let their emotions drive action, to trigger consequences, which will compel further change.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

And there you have it! That’s how you write a character-driven plot.

So what do you say?

Give the wheel a spin.

— — —

Your stories are worth telling. For tips on how to craft meaning, build character-driven plots, and grow as a writer, follow my blog.

Robert Hass (via writingdotcoffee)

Save The Cat! Writes Fanfiction

All right, so some of you fanfic writers out there may not be ready to hear this, but the reason some of y’all never finish your stories is because you had no idea where they were going in the first place. Being a ‘pantser’ is totally fine, for a traditionally published or indie author, but for fanfiction, you need something other than Character A and Character B do the things and there’s a Happily Ever After. 

Since I am a screenwriter first, I am VERY familiar with the Save The Cat! formula, so I’m going to apply it to fanfiction below in hopes that we see more finished stories out there and less abandoned WIPs. 

P.S. You only really need a few sentences in each of these slots, but the more you have, the more helpful it’ll be later. 

P.P.S. Not having the emotional bandwidth to finish a project is NOT the same as not knowing where a character is going. Not having that bandwidth is (as far as I’m concerned) the only legitimate reason to pause or never finish a fanfiction. But don’t use that as an excuse for lazy plotting. It’s not a cute look. And readers everywhere don’t trust new authors because all the others they read just quit because ‘the muse wasn’t talking to them anymore’ or they abandoned a fandom entirely. Don’t do this! 

Story Starts

Opening Image: This is the before snapshot of your Main Character (MC) and their world. As this is fanfiction, this part is probably fairly short, but you could put something about where in canon you’re placing it, if you are at all, or if it’s going to be an AU. 

Theme Stated: This is what your MC must learn before the end of the story. It’s either hinted at or explicitly stated, but not by the MC themselves. It’s usually a friend, a sidekick, a mentor, etc. If they are self-aware enough to state it, they already learned it. 

Set-up: This is where we see the MC’s status quo (e.g. their life before they learn the lesson). It’s important here to show their reluctance to change. In romance, if it’s friends-to-lovers, for example, it’s the point in the narrative where your MC is saying things like, “Oh my God, they’re just a friend.” And even though the reader knows what’s up now, it doesn’t matter. If it’s exciting, scary, upsetting to the MC, it’ll be that way for the reader too IF you’ve done your job as the writer. 

Catalyst: This is what catapults them into a whole new way of thinking or sometimes a whole other world. It can happen in the first chapter, but whatever happens, make sure it is irrefutably the thing that makes it impossible for them to go back to their status quo. 

The Debate: This is when the MC literally debates what they’re going to do in response to the catalyst. Again, this needs to reinforce their reluctance to change before they eventually embark on their metaphorical (and sometimes literal) journey. 

ACT I ENDS

Break Into Two: This is when the MC finally agrees to leave their comfy status quo world for the upside down one. 

B Story: This is when we usually meet a new character who will help the MC learn the overall theme we stated back in Act I. For fanfiction, this is usually a mentor-type person, but it can be anyone. 

Fun and Games: This is your hook. This is what everyone came to your story to read. Also, at this point, the MC either loves or hates their new world, but they’re in it now and they can’t go back. 

Midpoint: THIS DOES NOT NEED TO BE THE LITERAL MIDPOINT OF YOUR STORY! You don’t need to count out chapters or scenes or whatever and figure out what the middle is, but it is the point where your MC has a false victory (or false defeat) and it pushes them toward real and actual change. No more of that superficial crap! 

Bad Guys Close In: DUN DUN DUN! Now we’ve got the MC dealing with things getting worse (or better, depending on your story), but their flaws are starting to show. You’re literally setting them up to fail. And, as with everything, sometimes it can be super literal and involve a group of actual bad guys closing in. 

All Is Lost: This is rock bottom for the MC and my personal favorite part. It’s the section of the story where it looks like nothing is going to get better, they’ve said or done something horrible, and there’s no way out. But then… 

ACT II ENDS

Dark Night of the Soul: The MC is being forced in this scene to learn their lesson. Since it’s a fanfiction, they are going to learn it. You, as the author, decide whether it’s the easy way or the hard way. 

Finale: If they’ve decided to go catch their true love and confess their feelings at the airport (ps. I love this trope!), then this is where they do that. It doesn’t only apply to action-oriented stories. All stories have a finale. The MC is enacting their brilliant plan and the bad guys (or their stubbornness) are vanquished. 

Final Image: This is our fluffy epilogue section. It’s the ‘after’ snapshot of the MC, their world, and their new view on life now that they’ve learned their lesson. 

STC has a whole book for novel writing for those of you who follow me and don’t write fanfiction also. 

A Guide to White Privilege by COURTNEYAHNDESIGN

1. White Privilege doesn’t mean your life hasn’t been hard. It means your skin tone isn’t one of the things making it harder! There’s plenty of other privileges (socio-economic, male, heterosexual, cisgender, christian, able-bodied) but white privilege is perhaps the most enduring throughout history.

2. White Privilege exists as a direct result of both historic and enduring racism, biases, and practices designed to oppress people of color.

3. White Privilege means you actively benefit from the oppression of POC You are the dominant representation on all media No on questions your citizenship Products are designed for you 1st People at work look like you You don’t get harassed for existing in public locations Inherited power and wealth Your actions aren’t perceived as those of all your race

4. Systemic racism exists at every level of society. The wealth gap (90% White owned vs 10% POC owned) Black graduates are 2x more likely to be unemployed Black americans are 30% more likely to get pulled over Black students are 3x more likely to be suspended Black americans make up 40% of the prison population Black americans are shown 18% fewer homes Black women are 4x more likely to die from childbirth And this is only a small port of the oppression

5. What would I do with my White Privilege?

Teach other White folks the barriers to success for POC Promise to listen to and amplify the voices of POC Be more than “not racist” but actively anti-racist Confront racial injustices even when it’s uncomfortable.

Don’t run away from your privilege! Wield it to shield Black voices from harm so they can be heard. This isn’t a difficult concept. 

Yoooo lemme bless your dashboard

(Feel free to add your pics too 😏😏)

the good energy in this post,,,

50 Types of Kisses - Writing Prompts

Send in a number and a pairing!

I need to get back into writing so feel free to request these with Esperanza and an Li or apprentice! Or reader x an Li! I write a short drabble about it!💜

When you realise your side characters' backstories are more tragic than your protagonist's.

i love all the words we have that mean traveler. i love the shades of difference between wanderer and rambler and rover. i love the boldness of adventurer and the purposefulness of explorer, the lawlessness of vagabond and the capability of wayfarer, the quiet reverence of pilgrim and the wild rootlessness of nomad.

Things that make you a writer:

That's it! That's the criteria!

You're a writer now, congratulations!

Art by Bup Koo

Breaking Writing Rules: "Never Edit During Your First Draft"

I recently had a follower ask me to what extent it was true that you shouldn’t edit your first draft while writing it.

I almost started laughing out loud because I never follow this rule.

Which means, you don’t have to either.

But first, let’s talk about this rule.

What’s the Rule?

Don’t start editing until you have your first draft complete.

There is a very popular idea that you shouldn’t edit your first draft while writing it. Instead, you should just focus on getting it all on paper, first. And then you can come back and start fixing things.

Why is this a rule?

Well, it’s been so long since I followed it that I actually decided to take to the internet, look up articles and ask actual writers who follow it–because I couldn’t quite remember all the reasons anymore. (Which might be hard for some to believe.)

Why is it a Rule?

“Rule” might be a bit of a strong word, but honestly, it is for any writing rule, so I’m using it.

As I revisited this rule, it seemed to revolve around the idea that after you’ve thrown everything on the paper, then you can have a clear concept of how to shape it. It’s about getting your ideas down, first.

I could also see how it might be a waste of time for people to edit things they will be throwing out (I once felt this same way, and years ago, even blogged about it on here).

Some of the writers I talked to said that if they edit while writing, it pulls them out of the story, and they get focused on the fact the writing sucks. Some of them start second guessing themselves and get discouraged. Others find it easier to be creative if they just get the story down as fast as possible.

And it was also suggested that for beginners, it was a good rule to follow, because beginners are often just trying to finish a full draft, period. That makes sense to me.

I could also see how this approach could be great for some discovery writers–since they don’t know the story, they need to “discover” it in the first draft.

That is all fine and well, and if it works best for you, awesome. There are professionals who like to use this same approach.

If it doesn’t work for you, you’re in luck. Because it doesn’t really matter… .

Breaking the Rule

Back in college and for a couple of years after college, I largely followed this rule. At the time, it made sense to me and seemed to work.

Until I tried to write a novel.

People say first drafts always suck, but mine really sucked.

Most of this probably had to do with the fact that it was my first time actually trying to write a novel at all, and I still had a million things to learn.

But over the years, I have found that I work much better and tend to be much happier if I edit as I write.

I’ve talked about this before, but I prefer to write scene by scene, chronologically, generally speaking.

Even my “writing” approach is a little wonky, because I usually write in passes.

So first I might write mainly just the dialogue and literally put things in like “insert several lines of setting description,” where I need it.

Then I might go through and write the viewpoint character’s thoughts.

Then I might go through and write the blocking.

And on and on. Usually one of the last things I put in are the descriptions.

During this, I’m sort of going back and editing as I go. This helps me get the pacing and flow right.

But then I also edit the scene once it is complete.

It’s like I start with scraps and vague pieces and slowly take passes over and over until everything becomes specific and precise.

Then I prefer to largely polish the scene and go on to the next one, where I start the process over again (beginning with brainstorming and organizing content).

Absolutely things will be cut, changed, or rewritten through the process, but even then, I find that this is how I produce my best work.

For me, I find if I just have largely crappy content, it’s harder for me to come up with good ideas. But if I have a rather complete scene, I can build off that, sometimes in things as small as descriptions. I find I have more to play with to help me come up with future ideas. As Editor Lisa Cron says (that I very much agree with in my experience), “Specifics beget specifics.”

If I don’t take the time to get the details right, I have vague stuff, which leads to more vague stuff. Vagueness begets vagueness. And if everything works off cause and effect, then how do I know how everything is affected, if I’m not solidifying each scene?

But I think I should mention, that I also have a rough outline or idea for where the story is going before I write anything.

This is what seems to work best for me. But it took me years to figure that out! It could possibly take you years to figure out which method seems to work best for you.

I just find that if I write a bunch of crap, I also feel like crap. And produce more crap. 😅

So do you need to follow this rule?

Absolutely not. I don’t follow it … like at all. I’m like clear on the opposite end of it.

It’s probably just going to take experience to figure out how you like to work.

These days, before I even start a new chapter, I like to go back over what I’ve written so far again. It helps me with creating cohesion.

But here’s the thing–I prefer to “front load” as much of the work as I reasonably can, which means doing lots of prep and editing as I go. Others prefer to “back load” the work–getting something on the page and then fixing it all afterward.

I’m sure a lot of people like to do some of both.

I know others prefer to only go back and fix a few things here and there that are bothering them, before pressing onward.

And I’ve heard of some writers scrapping everything that isn’t working and going back to the starting. In fact, recently, I learned that Philip Pullman restarted His Dark Materials 15 times because he couldn’t get the beginning to work right–this is actually what led to him coming up with the concept of daemons, which sounds pretty crazy when you think about it, since that ended up being one of the most important and most striking elements of the books. His protagonist didn’t have anyone to talk with, and that was becoming a problem, so he gave her a daemon, which altered everything. If he had followed this rule, we’d probably have gotten a much different story.

So basically, if not editing during your first draft seems to be doing more damage, then please go back and edit! Consider this post as permission to do just that.

this! exactly this!!