omg, I just finished catching up on Mixed Signals and I have to ask if you have any suggestions/tips on how to write as well as you do? I swear your writing is so fluid, feels really natural, and I love the way you describe things (like environments, the character's voices, etc.).
I'm not even a writer and yet you're still an inspiration to me. I'm also impressed with the way you're writing this story and I'm super curious where this will all lead to. you honestly deserve way more hype for this story it's so unique.
sorry the message is so long, and I'm pretty sure you've heard these things before, but I just had to write you!
im working right now but this ask genuinely made smile so wide. i really believe this is one of the biggest compliments you could give a writer, and itâs an honor that youve chosen to bestow it upon me đ
im not exactly sure how to answer your ask so im just going to tell you my writing process :]
quicheinâs guide to writing a chapter:
STEP 1: OUTLINE THAT SUCKER
i tend to outline what i want a chapter by making a list that looks something like this:
CHAPTER XX â (insert main purpose of chapter - e.g. sans reader bonding + undernet word building)
OPENING SCENE: Reader wakes up disoriented after falling asleep the night before
SCENE ONE: Undernet shenanigans
SCENE TWO: Reader makes a post
END SCENE: Reader and Sans have a late night call
STEP 2: FLESH OUT YOUR OUTLINE
put in pieces of dialogue and detail you want to include
CHAPTER XX â sans and reader + undernet worldbuilding
Reader is jolted awake by a notification from Sans
Text reads "mornin' snooper. (insert chapter related pun)"
Morning banter: "please spare me today" "no promises."
SCENE ONE (UNDERNET CHAOS):
Scrolling through posts + comments
âANNOYING DOG IS AS OLD AS THE QUEEN???â
caption: âDO THE GUARD DOGS USE DOG YEARS OR MONSTER YEARS OR BOTH???â
âIS ANNOYING DOG IMMORTAL?â
SCENE TWO (READER'S POST):
Alphys pops in the group chat to check on the reader
They nerd out a bit about Alphys' latest projects
Insert Sans' jokes/puns/remarks here and there
Alphys eggs on the reader to make a post and reader reluctantly gives in
Reader's post is some half-baked pun
The messages eventually stop coming through and it's getting quiet (MAKE IT REFLECTIVE, ALMOST LONELY)
Sans keeps the reader company throughout it all
Sans offers to call the reader after a bit
END SCENE (LATE-NIGHT CALL):
Starts light, allow the moment to build (talk about daily life, grievances, etc.)
Their conversation leans towards more personal anecdotes and reader gets more of a feel for Sans under all the jokes
"So you basically raised Pap all on your own?"
"yup." Sans says casually, the shift in his tone almost imperceptible. "used to be us against the world."
End the chapter with them talking until late into the night
essentially just flesh out your fleshed out outline (ik, it's a lot)
STEP 4: REVISE REVISE REVISE
(please note that this is the step im the most picky on and it takes me like a week or more b/c im rereading line by line to fix COMMAS if the sentence flow is off)
some things i personally do during revising:
ask "does this chapter meet the goal i set?" if not, add more scenes that work towards the goal OR delete redundant scenes to make room for more impactful ones
reread to see if scenes and dialogue transition smoothly into one another. fix flow and timeline as needed
FINAL STRETCHHâfix any punctuation or grammatical errors
STEP 6: BASK IN YOUR CREATION
YAYYY YOU MADE ITT!! now you can read and reply to all of your wonderful readers' nice comments. makes it all worth it, huh?
all jokes aside, please never apologize for writing long asks. interacting with all you guys brings me a special kind of joy and it brightens up my whole week. thank you so much for writing to me, and im sorry updates are taking so long