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Further, some authors may never even find out the lawsuit is happening. The court's suggested notification scheme "would require class claimants to themselves notify other potential rightsholders," groups said, overlooking the fact that it cost Google $34.5 million "to set up a 'Books Rights Registry' to identify owners for payouts under the proposed settlement" in one of the largest cases involving book authors prior to the AI avalanche of lawsuits.

If you're an author, please use this database to see if you could qualify for that sweet GenAI lawsuit money.

I have never ever ever in my life asked someone to blaze my posts.

But if you want to throw me some pennies blaze this. I want ALL OF THE AUTHORS to know that they have the opportunities to get some sweet sweet GenAI lawsuit money.

Like to charge. Reblog to cast that Anthropic will have to pay out the ass.

It doesn't matter if all you did was day-dream about your characters while staring at the ceiling.

so. here’s the thing. if your main character is just kinda floating through the story like a passive sad bean™️ with no real goal or drive, then the plot? is not plotting.

this isn’t a ✨you suck✨ thing. it’s a common first draft curse. but if you’re 30k words deep and your protagonist is still just reacting to stuff with vague concern and inner monologues about The Past™… we need to talk.

📍what even is a character “want”?

your character’s want is their external goal. the thing they’re trying to get, do, or change.

avenge someone

win a trial

run away from their cursed bloodline

steal the crown

get through one (1) normal semester without summoning a demon by accident

it’s tangible. it’s active. it’s visible. other characters should be able to argue with it, get in the way of it, or try to stop it.

💥without a want, your character is just:

wandering

reacting

monologuing about their feelings

getting dragged into scenes by external forces

waiting for the plot to happen to them

and honestly? same. but also: no.

readers need to feel like your character is making the story happen, not being passively pushed along by fate and side characters with better motivations.

⚠️ want vs need (aka: the emotional trauma part)

quick breakdown:

the want = the external goal (win the throne, survive the week, kiss the hot villain)

the need = the internal arc (heal the grief, learn to trust, accept their identity, realize kissing the hot villain is a bad idea)

your character should want something that will eventually lead them to what they need. but the want comes first. the want is the engine. the need is the crash landing.

plot starts with the want.

character arc ends with the need.

🎯 signs your character doesn’t want anything (yet):

you keep skipping scenes because “nothing is happening”

you’re relying on vibes or worldbuilding to carry the tension

side characters are doing all the heavy lifting

your protagonist spends more time reacting than deciding

your outline says “stuff happens” for 8 chapters

🛠️ how to fix it:

Make them want something that’s wrong. they don’t have to want the right thing. they just have to want something strongly. wrong goals lead to better tension. and failure. and chaos. (yay!)

Put something between them and that goal. wanting something isn’t enough. they need to pursue it, and get blocked. by enemies. allies. their own self-sabotage. this is where conflict comes from.

Tie the want to survival or obsession. if it’s not urgent, it’s background noise. raise the stakes. why now? why does this matter? why can’t they walk away?

Let them choose. at some point in Act 1, they need to make a conscious decision to pursue the goal. even if they get manipulated into it. even if it’s a bad idea. it needs to feel like a choice.

📦 examples:

✨bad✨: “she’s just trying to get by and see what happens”

✅better: “she’s trying to disappear, but someone recognizes her from the war and now she has to fake a new identity while hunting them down before they ruin her life”

see the difference? one is vibes. one is a whole plot engine.

the story doesn’t start until your character wants something badly enough to make a move, and risk breaking something.

give them a goal. a plan. a terrible idea. and then go ruin their life.

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:

21.01.26 || doing it scared

Well, thanks to the Queer Liberation Library, you can!

Shadow's Hidden Blade - My debut novel, about a woman who teams up with an amnesiac circus performer to solve a murder in a steampunk world torn apart by a war between gods.

Splintertown- An orphaned mind reader must use her powers to enact a revenge plot to save her friends from a dangerous criminal.

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