was struggling with writing so i turned to the best fic author i know (ahem. you.) this may sound spectacularly dumb, but how do you decide what exactly you want to happen in a fic? i've had this lestappen soulmate au thought worm lingering in the back of my mind for ages and i so desperately want to write it and put it out into the world. the only problem is, i know the general idea and the ~vibes~ i'm going for, and when i write a scene, it comes pretty easily to me and i'm usually happy with out it turns out, i just really can't decide WHAT to write. like i don't know where i actually want to go with it, plot wise?? do you think it would be worth forcing myself to just step back and see if inspiration strikes? issue with that is i really desperately want to write SOMETHING and idk when inspiration will actually come 😅
hmm, well when you say what to write, do you mean like. how to figure out what specific scenes to write? like "Charles does this. max goes here." or do you mean like "soulmate mark discovery, confession scene, fight his feelings about" ?
I think you mean more the second one, based on the fact you said plot wise. I've probably got some generally helpful tips in the tag about me: writing, and also probably in my writing diary tag! BUT I can help a little!
so I start with a basic idea, i.e. soulmate fic, and usually either a) I immediately just have some scenes that come to mind or b) there is nothing further. I'll be honest, if that second one happens usually I would abandon the idea. but if it's the first one, I would generally arrange them in a way that makes sense, and then ask myself some questions along the way.
so e.g. off the top of my head with a soulmate idea, my train of thought as I'm having it is:
Charles discovers mark and is scared (scene idea)
does Max know about his own? (question to be resolved based on what other plot ideas I have)
Charles trying to keep it a secret (no scene ideas, general plot point. probably includes angsting. maybe a close discovery! does he tell anyone (question to be resolved later)).
oh ok so clearly I'm writing a Charles POV then
probably doesn't matter what Max knows yet
the secret comes out .... how to make this the most dramatic? in public? ooh at a race? yes, at a race! wait does max see it in person .... or does he find out on social media with everyone else ....
max goes to Charles? reveal of what he knows ...
also opportunity for a Max POV here with some backstory of what he knows. will decide when I get to writing this to see if I've run out of steam.
kiss.
fuck.
end??
idk if that helps at all tbh. for me it's really just kind of asking some questions and seeing where that takes me. and ALSO listening to music often helps me, particularly if I need inspiration for a specific scene! and then sometimes when you have a scene in mind, you can build plot around it.
as for stepping back, if you're really stuck, this is my preferred method for figuring things out. you'll see in my writing diary that I'm a thinker and ponderer when I'm showering or driving, and that's often how I get struck with inspiration.
anywayyy I hope that all helps somewhat!!! good luck!!
