#sopdoe

SoPDoE began as a spite fic. I read (well, started reading) a different shakarian arranged marriage au and found myself frustrated that the plot wasn't being handled the way I wanted it to be--which is really the best way to begin a story because it means you have an Opinion. The first chapter just sprang forth fully formed [their parallel "Absolutely Not" answers and Garrus' "With all due respect, what the fuck?" and Shepard just verbally bitch-slapping in their first interaction]. And then major pathways became clear very quickly. I knew that the Council was going to break them up quite early on in the writing. I knew that Galena dying would be a major catalyst to push them together. But some things came later, like the whole Garrus starting a Pier Earth Imports for Shepard plot-line came. And a whole slew of kissing scenes had to be removed/reworded because their relationship arc wasn't making sense for the drama I wanted in act III. (I did save those scenes, btw. they're in a doc called Kissing Graveyard XD)

There's this concept you've probably already come across of plotters vs. pant-sers. Aka writers who plot out their whole stories before beginning writing and writers who just jump into the story without anything planned more than the next sentence. If I had to pick, I'm definitely in the plotters, but realistically, I'm in both. I like knowing where the general flow of the story is going, even if I'm not sure how to get there or what getting there will actually look like. For SoPDoE, I always knew that Garrus & Shepard would finish the story Together, but the exact details of Together changed over time as the story progressed. (At one point Garrus & Shep were duo spectres, till I realized that would make no sense for a turian who just turned his back on the whole Hierarchy.) And that's really the best way to do things, at least in my opinion. You have your heading so you have momentum, but you also aren't so driven that you can't stop and smell the roses along the journey.

I think the biggest thing that SoPDoE taught me was how much work goes into writing a whole-ass novel. Knowing that makes me feel better about starting wip's that I eventually abandon, because I know that the idea wasn't worth the effort. It's a good way to grant myself permission to move on and find the next idea that actually Is worth the effort.

The other thing SoPDoE taught me was how to keep myself engaged in a story. People write for all different reasons and when I began I don't think I knew what mine was. I know now. SoPDoE was catharsis for me. Garrus was my self-insert in this fic, especially through the Galena plot line as I am also losing a parent to a long drawn-out terminal illness that will one day take a sudden turn for the end. This is what they mean when they say Write What You Know. But besides catharsis, SoPDoE and all of my writing really are performance. I love having an audience beyond just my wonderful readers. I have a close circle of friends who see my stuff before anyone else does. I trust their opinion, their critique; I strive to surprise them, to delight them, to make them bust into my DM's in a frothing rage. They've taught me so much about writing, and they are who I write for when I can't write for myself. If you can figure out what type of carrot will keep you plodding along the path of writing, you'll be leagues ahead of so many.