Tbh, getting it to be actually more than a concept, and if it does become more than a concept, getting myself to write it for more than a page before my brain burns out and I give up forever. Then I try to do it again, and it just plays itself over again like a broken record. So ye, preventing that is my greatest worry. ( •̀ᴗ•́ )
You and me both.
Hmmm…
That I don't have good opening scenes and that I have too much dialogue.
Honestly, I have a problem with deciding on a main villain, like deciding what the villains personality, motivation and goals should be compared to my main character. My main character is a superhero who's so obsessed with "justice" that she sees all crimes as equal and either wants to "redeem" bad people, or imprison them if redemption isn't an option. But I don't know how to base a fun, interesting villain (or villains) out of that?
I just need to write. I've been doing more art lately, and the casual school burnout is not very snazzy, so I just need to write out a better outline so I can figure out where I'm going with this chaos. I have fantastic characters and a couple of ideas, but that's not really gonna get me anywhere if I don't have a plot.
I feel like one of my characters is incredibly more nuanced and developed than my other. They’re both the protagonists and the once with less development should arguably be a more interesting person since he has a whole ass superpower which put him through a traumatic experience and the other one is just a psychologist dude, but I find myself adding more and more things to psych guy and just sorta ignoring power guy? Like, there’s so much to be done with him but I’m not doing any of it.
i dont spend enough time with other characters and other chapters of where the story goes, i know we all got that one character that you somehow manage to always draw to, or unconsciously make everything about them because of how attached you are to them, cuz it sure as hell happens to me more than id like to admit.
also a lot of characters feel like card board cutouts of other better handled tropes, im trying to fix that problem by spending more time with certain characters and squeeze every single detail out of them, but man, does that feeling suck
i dont spend enough time with other characters and other chapters of where the story goes, i know we all got that one character that you somehow manage to always draw to, or unconsciously make everything about them because of how attached you are to them, cuz it sure as hell happens to me more than id like to admit.
also a lot of characters feel like card board cutouts of other better handled tropes, im trying to fix that problem by spending more time with certain characters and squeeze every single detail out of them, but man, does that feeling suck
Yeah, me too. It kinda cycles between a few and I'll find myself paying a whole lot more attention to them and I end up not even getting to the main event that I needed to happen in that chapter. I get sidetracked with the romance and stuff in my story that I forget there's a whole plot I need to get to.
Honestly, I'm just worried that my stories and characters are too confusing. I'm the kind of person who likes to put alot of details and information into one thing, and I'm worried that said details and information make the thing too confusing
@Pizzazz11 I get that. A lot of the time, I'll plan out my characters very intricately and end up realizing a lot of the information I thought up might not even be necessary. And I feel like it's a waste of my brain power, you know?
@Pizzazz11 I get that. A lot of the time, I'll plan out my characters very intricately and end up realizing a lot of the information I thought up might not even be necessary. And I feel like it's a waste of my brain power, you know?
Exactly. I have this one oc, for example. He has a ghost possessing him that pops out whenever it wants to, and when it does it wears a mask that changes expressions depending on its emotions. I've poured so many details into this oc, and some of them are probably unnecessary. Like, if you take the mask off, it's face twists into something resembling the mask. It has a bipolar issue as well. It's name is also fricking Duplexidade. Did I really have to pick the most confusing name in history??
@Pizzazz11 lolol yeah, I understand. Some of my characters are from the 4th dimension so it's a whole other, well, dimension, to make rules for and I feel like it gets too heavy sometimes.
@areyoustaplingabanana Oof- yeah its really difficult to come up with rules for a whole new universe
Clocktwist is complicated. There are five different planets, four different dimensions, one alternate universe inside one of those dimensions, time travel and shapeshifting, and four(?) different protagonists who are introduced at different times and don’t even meet until halfway through the book. (Two of them never even meet the other two.)
Not to mention a bunch of side plots, timeline differences, and plot twists. Oh, and also, it’s about quadruped animals rather than humans (the main villain is a chimera, the main hero is an orizore, one of the Clocktwisters is a lateopardus and the other two Clocktwisters are “siblings” but of completely different heritage and also species).
I’m… honestly quite scared that the sheer amount of things packed into it will scare people off. Also, most books are about humans, which people can relate to and know the most about, whereas the only humans in this are foreign and cannot be understood by the main cast (with the exception of the Clocktwisters, who can understand them but choose not to interact). There are no biped characters, it’s all winged mountain cats and time traveling lions and a bilby with a Scottish accent. (Bilbies are real animals, by the way.)
But other than that, everything has a reason for existing in the story. It’s easy to understand if you can take everything in. There are little to no plot holes and all the characters are intriguing and different. The plot is packed to the brim with mystery, good writing, good storytelling, amazing characters and a whole lot of love, if people can get past the clutter.
I don’t want to have to cut anything out, and I don’t really think I can — not without messing everything up. If I did have to change if for continuity, I’d remove the Tinybones plot with the two extra protagonists (since it’s just there for flavor and also incorporating some of my favorite roleplay characters into the story, since theirs was the story that inspired this one to take off). Other than that, I gueeeesss I could remove all of Sound’s protagonist-ness and center the story entirely on Shade, but then I’d DEFINITELY have to make an extra book or two depicting what happened to everyone in Kekeron and expanding the storyline… and THEN I’d have to explain where Acacia and Jasper and Salem went after they escaped, alongside Ice’s connection with Soul, which would already tie into the original storyline depending on which route her owner (this is all based off of a roleplay, the character of Ice doesn’t belong to me) takes when a certain choice is presented.
So… yeah. Very long story, probably more than 3 books in its most compressed form, definitely more than five if I feel the need to write books on Kekeron and the origins of the Clocktwisters. Also a book on Portalmaster’s Conquest. 6, then? Hmm…
EDIT: There’s also a character named Ikxenspump. Nobody’s going to know how to pronounce Ikxenspump. But it’s his name, and it darn fits him, so they’ll have to deal with it.
I recently decided to start over the story I started writing for NaNoWriMo last year. I know it's the right thing, because there's a ton of stuff that can easily be cut out, and by starting over I know I'm making things easier for myself in the long run. At the same time it's really kind of intimidating being back at square one, and I feel like the story will never be finished at this point.
Me and some friends have worked on this large intricate universe, and only recently did we realize the reason we are having so much trouble storywise is that our beloved characters we have had for so long are really one-dimensional, and some on the verge of becoming Mary-Sue's. Now we are in the process of remaking practically every character, which in turn will affect the universe as well. I know in the end it will be much better for everything, but oh gosh, there are so many characters, oof
Well, my story is fanon and is focused on a superhero team, and two characters who I intend to be members are owned by two other people
Some time ago I'd asked one of them if I could use their character and put them in my team, and they said yes. But nowadays they no longer wanna talk to me due to differing stances regarding a political movement and a few arguments between us
And I'm scared of losing the character ;-;
First The last arc, Other that the whole time loop business, I wonder how William is supposed to kill Sophie, to stop the time loop, bc A he was in a time loop himself, B Even he knows Sophie has the amulet, why does has to kill Sophie, who is one of his own students C Wouldn't he know that a time loop was going on and how he did he know this time
Then there's Marionette, who just appears the hell out of nowhere and come for her daughter Ava after straight up abandoning her for about 14 years because she was possessed by a bunch of ghosts and didn't hurt her and after a week everything between her and everyone is all Gucci
Speaking of Ava, I fear not much development outside of her debut arc is some, since I already have to balance Sophie, The main hero of the arc, and the side character during the chapter and she serves somewhat of a sidekick role, especially since in the last route she reunite with her mom and learns that she could have been another vessel of a ghost, and her mother unintentionally committed mass murder during a couple of timelines, and cope with the fact that she was abandoned since she was four
Oh then there, Mason and Tyler who are two ghosts, one part of me wanted them to serve as a greek chorus, Their origin is they died in the fire, ate a couple of other souls to become back human and they're almost complete in being a human and plan to take one more soul, but for most of the story they are still pretty chill, hell they just attend the school like normal students (the explanation for that is that they're reliving their old lives)
Then there's how did Micheal and William wish for a time loop in the first place, they did ask ghost but how can ghost turn time back
Oh then there's the love pentagon, While it was present throughout most of the plot since the main boy was the catalyst of the incident, I think it hit it's peak it Matthew's arc when due to paranoia from witnessing the other incidents and worrying if Sophie will get hurt and their nothing he does to help, not mention he goes full yandere on the other boys, but after the boys seem to just attend school and ponder on their crushes on Sophie, Well at least it's not screwing over the plot but still I don't how to give this an ending
What's the significance of the amulet here? im assuming its important because it seemed to be holding up the plot, but I didn't really understand what it does by the way you explained it. im going to assume it has something to do with the time loop itself, the way it works or who has control over it, so the problem would be that Sophie has control over the time loop making it dangerous for William to kill her, right? it that cause, how does the passing down over that amulet work? is there a way William can obtain the amulet and become in charge f the time loop itself, or is it bounded to Sophie? following that logic, maybe he would have to kill Sophie to obtain the amulet himself, being that it can only be in possession of one living being at a time. The fact that she's his student is a good thing, if he has an attachment to her, it will be more emotional and hit the reader harder than if it was just some random kid. he could find out about the time loop in several ways, he could find out through Sophie herself, or maybe another student who knows more about it than they should. maybe he reads about it in a book or notices things are different from what they were, indicating that something is wrong. I saw an episode of supernatural once where the main characters were stuck in a groundhogs day, and to escape they had to kill the trickster, an angel that had created and controlled the loop. Maybe, to close the loop, William has to kill Sophie, which can easliy be done in the loop if he knows that its a paradox itself.
Abandonment is a hard topic to tackle, especially since everyone's experience with it is so different, but that doesn't necessarily mean its one we shouldn't tackle. There have been many cases of people immediately forgiving people who wronged them out of either guilt or desperation to have that person return to their life, so it's not completely ridiculous to have ava forgive her mother just for the sake of HAVING a mother in her life. As for everyone else, people outside a situation like this react differently depending on the person they are. Someone may forgive Marionette straight away as well, seeing how happy it makes ava to be reunited with her mother, while others may be extremely sceptical and try to convince ava to stay away, which are o=both very real and valid reactions. Situations like this aren't very common, so there is no real way people are expected to react out of individual expectations
does she discover these things in her debut arc or after the fact, because that sounds like a lot of open space for character development. learning you're a vessel is a lot to take in, especially if it means you're in danger, and that opens the door for a good about of emotional vulnerability and maturing, which in itself is character development. Hell, if she grows up despising her mother or abandoning her then ends up forgiving her in the end, THATS also character development! little things are characters do along there story is what shapes them into who they are, and it's better to have it build up across the course of the story instead of dumping all on the character and reader at the end, that way it feels more natural and the reader can pick up on little signs that the development id going to happen.
I actually really like this idea. having them relive their past lives is a really creative way of having them in the main story, but you need to make sure its obvious something about them is a miss. having them look for rooms that are long gone or talk about teachers who died years ago, referring to objects with words that are never used anymore, just to show that they clear arent from this time period and may not be completely human. they could be really good tools for your story as well, if they had attended the campus in the past, they may retain memories of places long forgotten to time. These two would have to be my favourites lol xx
did the ghosts perhaps have the amulet first? if it's the amulet that controls time, it makes sense for the ghosts to have it and then lose it, having it be found and kept by Sophie for the rest of the plot. the wishing could be as simple as a misunderstanding, the ghosts hearing them wish to relive or memory or see something in the past they never got to experience.
So Matthew goes loco on the other boys because he's upset that Sophie may be in danger? what do the other boys have to do with it, were they involved in the other incidents or is he just jealous that they spend time with Sophie. this plot point could be really effective in certain types of stories and if it's written a certain type of way, however, I don't think a love pentagon really fits in this story, maybe have it cut down to Sophie has a crush on a guy that isn't Matthew, and Matthew being the obsessed creep he is, gets pushed to the edge and lashes out on the boy, only to upset and scare away Sophie in the end.
What's the significance of the amulet here? im assuming its important because it seemed to be holding up the plot, but I didn't really understand what it does by the way you explained it. im going to assume it has something to do with the time loop itself, the way it works or who has control over it, so the problem would be that Sophie has control over the time loop making it dangerous for William to kill her, right? it that cause, how does the passing down over that amulet work? is there a way William can obtain the amulet and become in charge f the time loop itself, or is it bounded to Sophie? following that logic, maybe he would have to kill Sophie to obtain the amulet himself, being that it can only be in possession of one living being at a time. The fact that she's his student is a good thing, if he has an attachment to her, it will be more emotional and hit the reader harder than if it was just some random kid. he could find out about the time loop in several ways, he could find out through Sophie herself, or maybe another student who knows more about it than they should. maybe he reads about it in a book or notices things are different from what they were, indicating that something is wrong. I saw an episode of supernatural once where the main characters were stuck in a groundhogs day, and to escape they had to kill the trickster, an angel that had created and controlled the loop. Maybe, to close the loop, William has to kill Sophie, which can easliy be done in the loop if he knows that its a paradox itself.
Abandonment is a hard topic to tackle, especially since everyone's experience with it is so different, but that doesn't necessarily mean its one we shouldn't tackle. There have been many cases of people immediately forgiving people who wronged them out of either guilt or desperation to have that person return to their life, so it's not completely ridiculous to have ava forgive her mother just for the sake of HAVING a mother in her life. As for everyone else, people outside a situation like this react differently depending on the person they are. Someone may forgive Marionette straight away as well, seeing how happy it makes ava to be reunited with her mother, while others may be extremely sceptical and try to convince ava to stay away, which are o=both very real and valid reactions. Situations like this aren't very common, so there is no real way people are expected to react out of individual expectations
does she discover these things in her debut arc or after the fact, because that sounds like a lot of open space for character development. learning you're a vessel is a lot to take in, especially if it means you're in danger, and that opens the door for a good about of emotional vulnerability and maturing, which in itself is character development. Hell, if she grows up despising her mother or abandoning her then ends up forgiving her in the end, THATS also character development! little things are characters do along there story is what shapes them into who they are, and it's better to have it build up across the course of the story instead of dumping all on the character and reader at the end, that way it feels more natural and the reader can pick up on little signs that the development id going to happen.
I actually really like this idea. having them relive their past lives is a really creative way of having them in the main story, but you need to make sure its obvious something about them is a miss. having them look for rooms that are long gone or talk about teachers who died years ago, referring to objects with words that are never used anymore, just to show that they clear arent from this time period and may not be completely human. they could be really good tools for your story as well, if they had attended the campus in the past, they may retain memories of places long forgotten to time. These two would have to be my favourites lol xx
did the ghosts perhaps have the amulet first? if it's the amulet that controls time, it makes sense for the ghosts to have it and then lose it, having it be found and kept by Sophie for the rest of the plot. the wishing could be as simple as a misunderstanding, the ghosts hearing them wish to relive or memory or see something in the past they never got to experience.
So Matthew goes loco on the other boys because he's upset that Sophie may be in danger? what do the other boys have to do with it, were they involved in the other incidents or is he just jealous that they spend time with Sophie. this plot point could be really effective in certain types of stories and if it's written a certain type of way, however, I don't think a love pentagon really fits in this story, maybe have it cut down to Sophie has a crush on a guy that isn't Matthew, and Matthew being the obsessed creep he is, gets pushed to the edge and lashes out on the boy, only to upset and scare away Sophie in the end.
I haven't been in this thread for a while but I sort of scrapped the time travel/ loop thing completely
About the Matthew thing It's a mixture of both, since he got dragged in the first incident and had hazy memories of an alien, plus due to Sophie being his first childhood friend he not only wants her not to die but to keep her to himself. He slowly keeps it in but sooner starts lashing out toward anyone he finds in the way
I also just made it that the ghost lives in the amulet and can perform ghost magic
I'm never satisfied with the world. It's enough for the stories to be written, technically, but for me it needs to feel complete before I'm comfortable with actually writing it because…I've gone down the rabbit hole of writing, changing aspects of the world, then rewriting everything to fit over and over. I'm better at not doing that now but I've been world-building more than actually writing recently
I'm always worried that I am not working fast enough or hard enough. I'm worried that I won't finish the book. Also, I feel like I don't have enough of a plot. And my characters need developing. If anyone has ideas for my characters, please let me know!!!
Imma start replying here again so if you still have the same problems as before pls repost them so i know!
I'm never satisfied with the world. It's enough for the stories to be written, technically, but for me it needs to feel complete before I'm comfortable with actually writing it because…I've gone down the rabbit hole of writing, changing aspects of the world, then rewriting everything to fit over and over. I'm better at not doing that now but I've been world-building more than actually writing recently
I completely understand where you're coming from. I haven't even begun writing anything cause im always so caught up on the world-building aspect of shit. If you don't wanna write because the worlds not done, then don't. this is your story, you don't have anyone standards to live up to but your own. if you take your time, but in the effort it needs, then it'll turn out even better then if you start writing in the middle. Its good to do all the worldbuilding now than having to do it in between writing, that way there are no interruptions when actually writing the ext.
I'm always worried that I am not working fast enough or hard enough. I'm worried that I won't finish the book. Also, I feel like I don't have enough of a plot. And my characters need developing. If anyone has ideas for my characters, please let me know!!!
there's no such thing as not working fast enough, if you want something to be good, you need to take your time with it! don't worry about not finishing the book, because eventually, you will. it may take months or years but soon enough you will have a book and it will be higher quality than one you just shit out in a rush. as for character development, dm me your insta/twt/snap so we can talk about it more!
It has everything, but a soul if you know what I mean.
@Bananapudding I totally get it. There's honestly not much I can tell you on how you can change that, but the one big thing that has helped me out is investing a ton of effort into creating your story. Make elaborate backstories for your character and world and plotlines that will probably never reach the pages and eyes of your reader. Make connections that would totally shock the readers, but aren't necessarily just out there until the opportune time, so that your readers will be more into figuring out and guessing what's going on or what's about to happen. Also, if you have the whole thing planned out ahead of time, and can see the entire thing and how it all fits together, it'll flow more easily until eventually it'll connect and be more interesting to the readers. I don't know whether or not this helps, but it's helped me with my storytelling.
However, note: If you do choose to follow this advice, I highly recommend writing everything down on multiple different things; a writing app, a notebook or two, something you can have if you're offline, and anything else you can find that will make sure you have multiple copies in case you lose one or can't access it when you come up with something. I've lost SO MANY ideas because I either didn't save it/write it down, or I lost my only copy of it.