Let’s Get together Yeah Yeah Yeah!

➡️ Not every medium of fiction and storytelling has or is expected to have content warnings or extensive tagging.

➡️ Print novels do not traditionally warn for content in any way.

➡️ Until AO3 came along, fanfiction did not traditionally warn for content in any significant way.

➡️ An author is only obligated to warn for content to the degree mandated by the format they publish their fiction on.

➡️ Content warnings beyond the minimum are a courtesy, not an obligation.

➡️ 'Creator chose not to warn' is a valid tag that authors are allowed to use on AO3. It means there could be anything in there and you have accepted the risk. 'May contain peanuts!'

➡️ Writers are allowed to use 'Creator chose not to warn' for any reason, including to maintain surprise and avoid spoilers.

➡️ 'Creator chose not to warn' is not the same thing as 'no archive warnings apply'.

➡️ It is your responsibility to protect yourself and close a book, or hit the back button if you find something in fiction that you're reading that upsets you.

Thank you so much for the tag, @diphthongsfordays!! Let's check in on Quintus the Necromancer again...I'm sure he's doing juuuust fine ;)

Fresh:

“Good grief,” Quintus manages, his voice hoarse in his throat. “Does it need stitching?” “I don’t know.” “Then show me how big it is.” Nikolaos’s right hand comes around, two of the fingers glistening with fresh blood. His thumb and first finger spread, describing a space the size of a large apple. “Good grief,” Quintus repeats. “Yes, it needs stitching.” “Wonderful,” Nikolaos says, in the most un-wonderful tone Quintus has ever heard.

Dull:

All her training is suddenly gone when faced with this mountain of a man. Miriam looks down the flat of his blade – Nikolaos’s blade – and quails in her stockings. How can she hope to survive with only this dull, diminutive, dagger? Breathe, Daniel says in her mind. Shoulders loose. If you have the smaller weapon, rob him of his reach. Miriam charges, ducking under the pirate’s arm and slashing with her blade. He has to twist to avoid her strike, and in the moment before he can turn, she slips past him and sinks her knife into his back.

Peace:

They’re shown the water pump outside, handed a stack of blankets and a lantern, and left alone for the night. The inky dark settles around Quintus like a lover’s arms, and he looks more at peace than he has in many days when he looks over at Nikolaos.

Free:

“Is something wrong?” comes Miriam’s voice, thick with sleep. “No, nothing,” Nikolaos calls back immediately, sitting up and taking ahold of Quintus’s face with his free hand. “Go back to sleep.” To Quintus, he adds quietly, “Breathe, you blockhead.” Quintus does, buoyed by the hand against his heart, the hand warm under his chin, around the side of his face. It is grounding, to be held like this, forced to be still. His tripping heart finally starts to take notice.

Let me start out by defining a few things:

Pantsers

These types of writers generally plan out very little before diving into their novels. They might have some ideas, maybe a small outline, but they feel free to take their story in any direction they please. The lack of outlining and planning lends itself to untethered creativity.

Plotters

These types of writers usually have some sort of outline that they follow while writing their novel. They spend some time planning and rewriting their outlines and know what’s going to happen (to an extent). Usually the novel is planned out before they begin writing it, which cuts out the element of surprise for the writer and tends to reduce writer’s block.

There’s no right way to be, but personally I’m a plotter. I probably plot too much. If you’re a pantser and it’s working for you, keep doing it! More power to ya!

However, if you’re looking to experiment with plotting or you just want to learn how to do it, check out these tips below:

Where to Begin:

Skeleton Outline

If you’re looking for a little bit of direction, but don’t feel like/find it necessary to build a huge outline, this is probably what you’re going for. Create an outline that focuses around the main points of your story.

Detailed Outline

A detailed outline usually builds on what you did for the skeleton outline. This adds more detail to the structure of your story and helps focus on fleshing out what’s going to happen throughout the novel. I usually add in some sections about my characters and any sort of world building I might do.

Chapter-by-Chapter Outline

This is literally when you plan out each chapter of your novel. Some might find it unnecessary to get that detailed, but if you have pacing problems or want to cut down on extensive editing, this might work best for you.

How to:

Skeleton Outline

This is essentially the “road map” of your story. Figure out what the conflict is and focus on the beginning, middle, and sometimes the end (a lot of writers aren’t completely sure what their ending will be, but sometimes it helps to have to planned out so you can effectively lead up to it in the story. It could also help with tone issues. Example—if you ending is dark, you might want to set up the audience for that).

For a skeleton outline it helps to focus on story arcs. For example,

·         Stasis

·         Trigger

·         The Quest

·         Surprise

·         Critical Choice

·         Climax

·         Reversal

·         Resolution

Learn more about story arcs here: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/

Filling out those story points will help you build a more detailed outline if you choose to do so and will help you focus your story, so it’s not all over the place. If you want to have a clear idea where you’re headed, but don’t want to bog yourself down with the details, a skeleton outline might be best for you.

Detailed Outline

For a detailed outline, you basically just take your skeleton outline and flesh it out. Add to each section of the story arc and drop in more detail. Focus on what scenes will help you get across each main story point.

For example:

Stasis – Amy lives with her mother and her sister in a house that’s nearly falling apart. She’s unhappy with her life and her family doesn’t treat her well.

This is Amy’s everyday life, but you can do more to plan it out before jumping into writing. What’s Amy’s home life like? What does her family do to treat her poorly? What scenes will you explore to show the audience what’s going on.

Maybe Amy’s sister teases her or makes her do all the chores. Maybe Amy’s mom often doesn’t come home or doesn’t take care of her children. Explore these ideas and use them to flesh out your outline. Then, you’ll have some idea what to write when the time comes, instead of just something vague. This could also help you cut down on telling instead of showing.

Chapter-by-Chapter Outline

This takes a lot of time, but from experience, it does help cut down on the editing process, AND it helps you write a synopsis and query letter when or if the time comes. I spent around a month writing my last chapter-by-chapter outline, so I know exactly what I’m going to do when I start writing. I prefer this because I know I won’t get stuck and I’ll be able to get through the draft quickly. If you like to write fast, which I do because I like to keep my excitement for my project up when I’m writing, a chapter-by-chapter outline might work for you.

A chapter-by-chapter outline might be difficult for your first time writing a novel because you might not know how long it should be or what your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer. There’s no right answer for how long a chapter-by-chapter outline should be because only you know how long your chapters usually are or if you have any problems with word count (Is your novel usually too long? Too short?).

Anyway, if you feel like you want to do a chapter-by-chapter outline, I usually do something like this for each chapter:

Chapter 1:

Paragraph or more about what’s happening in the chapter. Think about each chapter as its own tiny story. Each chapter should have a beginning, middle, and end, and should lend itself to the overall story. Think about what the purpose is for each chapter and what information you want to convey to the reader.

Conflict (I tend to write a sentence about what the conflict is in each chapter. If I can’t find any, I know that’s a sign I need to rewrite that section of the outline. There should always be conflict! There should always be something driving the plot forward!)

I also suggest letting your chapter-by-chapter outline sit for a week or so and editing it. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but that will help your catch any plotting, pacing, or conflict problems BEFORE you start writing. If you’re a planner, this will help tremendously.

Additional Notes:

Obviously, some people like editing. They feel that’s when their story really comes together and they love that aspect of it. They like tearing their story apart, starting over, and building something new. That’s perfectly okay! You don’t need to have a detailed outline if that doesn’t work for you.

The reason I focus on planning is because I can look at the bigger picture before I start the draft. I have a clear focus and I know what’s coming next.

Also, there are plenty of ways to write an outline. How I do it isn’t necessarily right, it just works for me. Experiment with it until you find something that makes you feel comfortable.

What I’m really saying is:

I LIKE it

someone else might LIKE it

it is FUN to do

I get those THOUGHTS out of my head

it's fun to look BACK on

have I mentioned it's FUN?

it's CATHARTIC

it's nice to see what I CAN DO

Specified Lines Tag

Look, okay, I let things pile up a bit, so it's under the cut because it got a little long!

Passing the tag along to @author-a-holmes, @axl-ul, @bi-focal12, @byjillianmaria, @cat-esper, @cheshirewrites, @inadequatecowboy, @kitcatling, @lamuradex, @magnus-sm-writes, @moltenwrites, @nerasnotes, @no-relief-next-to-me, @nossumusstellae, @rayne143, @rhikasa, @roselinbooks, @rosesonneptune, @savvyminnow, @theheartofsanlobato, @thesorcerersapprentice, @toribookworm22, @traderotales, @vyuntspakhkite-writes, as well as an OPEN TAG if anyone's got a hankering!

If you're getting in on this, your lines to find will be:

A line between friends

Something to do with fire/heat

A line that's going to be significant much later

A lie

@faithfire-writes, @acelightningwhumper, @justnerdy15, @jacqueswriteblrlibrary, @tricksexual

@of-potions-and-blades-official, @kingragnarok-writes, @boonasaurusrex, @traderotales, @sodetectivefestival

@necromancywhump, @writingamongther0ses, @sapphire-writes-stuff, @thehungrycity, @willtheweaver

@purple-dinosaur27, @sometimesraven, @dontcallmepixie, @savvyminnow, @cheshire-castle-library

@skuwu, @i-do-anything-but-write, @seaglasswrites, @theghostofarbyrouse, @shadowswrite

Mine was buried even deeper, under Devices -> Typing -> How AI has helped you.

Thanks for the tag @pertinax--loculos!!! Have some of the weirdos <3

A line about work:

“On top of everything else, frostbite,” Quintus complains. Barely visible off to one side, the one armed skeleton stands uncomfortably.  “And no, it doesn’t add that much to my workload, but it’s not very nice to deal with. If Nikolaos doesn’t wake, I swear on his god that you’ll never sleep again, you sad sack of – oh.” His face comes into focus, inquisitive. “Welcome back, Niko.”

A line of description:

Miriam marches up two flights of stairs and into a decently sized chamber with a view of the street through large windows. A wide bed covered in wool blankets sits against the back wall, a carved cabinet beside it. Stone benches carved from the wall itself fill another corner.

A line that breaks your heart (the less context the better ;)):

He doesn't speak any of it out loud. He doesn't need to. Nikolaos has been reading Quintus's mind for a long time now, denying himself even longer.

A line that makes you smile (no context also encouraged! :D):

“Yes, yes, it’s tugging at my ethical heartstrings,” Quintus says, standing and grabbing the pot. “I’m going to make you some soup, you ungrateful knave.”

I'll tag @reneesbooks @writingrosesonneptune @eccaiia @memento-morri-writes @zmwrites @thegreatobsesso @mrbexwrites @sunset-a-story and anyone else who'd like to play with these prompts!