#plot focused

Title: The Importance of Chao Care

Author: Whimsytoon

Website: Ao3

Published: 28.01.2019

Word Count: 4.417 words

Language: English

Suited for minors? Yes

Warnings: No

Smut? No

Finished? Yes

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Balze the Cat, Miles Tails Prower, Rouge the Bat, Tikal the Echidna, Chaos (mentioned), Topaz

Ships: Sonic/Shadow, Rouge/Topaz, Amy/Blaze

Author Tags: chao care is very important, Slow Burn, cuz sonic and shadow are both oblivious dummies

Author Summary: Shadow babysits Sonic's Chao for a day to give him a well deserved break and it turns out to be a more enjoyable experience than he'd expected.

My summary: Sonic needs a break and asks Shadow to babysit his Chao. After some reluctance, he agrees.

I was glancing through the  (admittedly few) posts about developmental editing, and I came across the point that not every scene in a book has to be plot relevant. 

And honestly, I disagree. 

I think the issue is the difference between plot relevance and plot focused. 

While it is 100% true that not everything has to be plot focused, every scene should advance the story in some way and/or be relevant to the plot. 

The reason why is that space on the page is limited, so useless fluff is better off cut. Whatever stays has to pull it’s weight. 

Here are some ways that a scene could be plot relevant without being plot focused. 

Establish or emphasize characterization

Establish or emphasize character dynamics and relationships

Emphasize the story’s overall tone by offering something contrastive.

Forward subplots in ways that aren’t directly related to the main plot

Establish more worldbuilding (in a not info-dump-y way)

Drop hints or foreshadowing that don’t seem plot relevant until later (sort of doesn’t count but whatever)

Showing/revealing the backstory of characters, places, groups, etc.

Title: A Hole In My Heart

Author: Neorulez

Website: Ao3

Published: 24.03.2018

Word Count: 1.462 words

Language: English

Suited for minors? Teen and up

Warnings: No

Smut? No

Finished? Yes

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Miles Tails Prower, Knuckles the Echidna

Ships: Sonic/Shadow

Author Tags: Soul Bond, Soulmates, Soul-Searching, Bound by a soulmate, Romance, Denial, Tumblr Prompt, Prompt Fic

Author Summary: Commissioned for Kiddilunafanfiction A Sonic and Shadow soulmate story.

My summary: Knuckles and Tails urge Sonic to go looking for his Soulmate

Title: My Way

Author: Cubricot

Website: Ao3

Published: 11.03.2018

Word Count: 119.113 words

Language: English

Suited for minors? Teen and up

Warnings: Violence

Smut? No

Finished? Yes

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Miles Tails Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Rouge the Bat, Silver the Hedgehog, Gadget the Wolf

Ships: Sonic/Shadow

Author Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Humor, Mental Health Issues, Angst, maybe some background Espio/Silver, "We'll be fine", Slow Burn, No Classic Sonic? Game: Sonic Forces, POV Multiple, Unleashed-style tour of the planet fighting Eggman

Author Summary: Two months after Sonic fell to Infinite, the resistance rescues him from the Death Egg and brings him to their hideout aboard the space colony ARK. But Amy’s overworked, Knuckles thinks he shouldn’t be commander, Tails is losing sleep worrying, Shadow’s lost his immortality - and when Eggman discovers where the resistance is hiding only a desperate battle in space to blow up the Death Egg before the ARK’s shields fall can save them-

Oh yeah, and Sonic has to keep fighting Infinite, of course. No big deal, right? Right. Just facing his fears, just like how he’s not thinking about anything that happened on the Death Egg, and not thinking about his feelings for Shadow.

My summary: This takes place during forces. There is a war, Sonic is still dealing with the torture he went under, Shadow becomes mortal, and he and Sonic are growing closer during all this.

Title: Everybody's Super Sonic Trick-or-Treat

Author: ThisCatastrophe

Website: Ao3

Published: 03.11.2019

Word Count: 2.378 words

Language: English

Suited for minors? Yes

Warnings: No

Smut? No

Finished? Yes

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog

Ships: Sonic/Shadow/Silver

Author Tags: Trick or Treating, Gift Exchange, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Pre-OT3, Fluff and Humor, Teens being teens, why is sticks in idw-verse? who cares, Holding Hands, punny animal names for real human authors, Dialogue Heavy

Author Summary: Sonic, Silver, and Shadow go trick-or-treating together at Sonic's insistence. What's his angle? (Gay Mobius 2019 Halloween gift exchange!)

My summary: Sonic persuades Shadow and Silver to go Trick-or-Treating on a date with him.

Title: I'll be good

Author: Cubicrot

Website: Ao3

Published: 09.08.2018

Word Count: 2.461 words

Language: English

Suited for minors? Yes

Warnings: No

Smut? No

Finished? Yes

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Infinite, Gadget the Wolf

Ships: Sonic/Shadow

Author Tags: Talking, so much talking oh god, philosophical nonsense, i'm sorry tek, Self-Hatred

Author Summary: “It’s Infinite-“

“Finn,” Gadget says, in a gentle voice but with such force that Sonic goes still, the scream in his head going quiet. “His name’s Finn, and he needs help.”

My summary: Gadget finds an injured Infinite and brings him to Sonic. They all decide to give him another chance.

Title: Prince Sonic

Author: Usagi42

Website: Ao3

Published: 05.01.2018

Word Count: 5.240 words

Language: English

Suited for minors? Yes

Warnings: No

Smut? No

Finished? No

Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonia the Hedgehog, Manic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Miles Tails Prower, Honey the Cat, Cream the Rabbit

Ships: Sonic/Shadow

Author Tags: /

Author Summary: Sonic the prince of Mobius was always forced into princely things that his heart was never quite into. With his parents away and him being in charge of a whole kingdom what situations would he be forced into? What new people would he meet?

Sonic flops on his bed. “I hate this”

“What Manic or being king?” Sonic laughs “Both” He stares at the ceiling as he drops his sword on the floor. “I just wish it was like when we were younger”

“You mean the lack of responsibility” Shadow says sitting at the edge of Sonic’s bed.

“The freedom. The lack of competition I miss that.”

“Well you can’t go back in time”

“But I wish I could. I mean do you know how it feels to” Sonic pauses. “Live here the tension I feel”

My summary: Sonic is next un line to be king. Shadow is his personal guard. Unfinished.