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the outline for arc one of three of my novel concept is two pages long no formatting 😃😃 I am in danger

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first outsiders fic ever in the fandom in the process 👀

The things I do for y’all lol

So uh. I have a lot of projects going on that I’m actively working on right. Totally normal amount just like 3 big multi chapter fics and a few one shots all at once because my brain likes to play roulette every 5 minutes.

Anyyywaaayyy.

I’m not allowed to start a new one, even though I can’t stop thinking about it. So uh, here is the outline of a Rapunzel au story for Kross, just so I flush it out of my system. It’s definitely loosely based off of Tangled, and maybe some inspo from shrek??? Um. Yeah. It’s meant to be multichaptered and go back and forth between Cross and Killer POV’s.

Cross is hidden away as a kid, told he is not to leave for everybody else’s safety. The kingdom he is from were told mixed things, some believed he’s been killed, others think he was sold off, amoung other rumors. It got so mixed up and attempted to be covered up so many times that nobody even knows if he existed to begin with, sealing him and his fate away.

Yeeears later

Killer is a well known thug and thief, who has been caught by the Royal army and has been sitting in a jail cell for months now. He was caught while the rest made it out, the army has been on the hunt for them for as long as Killer has been in the cell.

Dream is the prince of the kingdom, who is seeking to be wed to become king, due to his mother’s passing and the disappearance of his brother. He has a scrying mirror on him at all times, one that shows him his desires, and when it comes to being wed, it keeps showing an old dusty tower and the distant kingdom where stories and fantasy of a lost princess come from.

As the last remaining ruler, he is not allowed to leave, but anybody he has sent out on his behalf thus far has not been heard from again. Because of this, he decides to summon Killer, offering him a deal he can’t refuse.

Find this princess, and bring them back to Dream so they can be wed. If he completes this, he and his family will be fully pardoned from their crimes. If he tries to run off, and they WILL know, they’ll be arrested and punished for their crimes. If he dies then, well. One less criminal on the streets.

Killer can’t refuse simply because of the family part, and sets off with half assed directions and a hope that he can get the army off his family’s tail.

He gets lost here and there, blah blah adventuring stuff, i imagine he has to like, stumble into the place where Cross is. This takes weeks mind you, he’s on foot the entire time, it’s far as hell and he’s mostly wandering around blindly for a while and just choosing a direction. He’s hurt, hungry and doesn’t immediately go to climb the tower as many before him had, resting off to the side.

Turns out the tower is a decoy of sorts, covered in dust not because just it’s old but because of monsters who’ve died, human remains scattered around the base of the thing. It’s absolutely covered in a well guised foul intent, and Killer only knows because he waited before attempting.

Dream had sent an extra team behind Killer, who’d used the mirror to pinpoint where he was, and they just straight up went for it. They seized and burned from electricity that rapidly ran through their bodies before his eyes. The stones themselves simmered with embedded magic, with an intent to kill.

Realistically, Killer could’ve run away at this point, but this was getting too interesting.

While circling the tower trying to find a way in, he stumbles over something that reveals the real entrance, and he goes down.

Cross is inside, sitting on his bed in a way that says he’s waiting patiently for someone. It’s not the princess that was requested of Killer, instead skeleton with an LV of 19 but it isss the only person here sooooo.

Cross is skeptical, knocks out and ties Killer up, demanding to know who sent him blah blah.

Eventually Killer convinces Cross to not outright kill him, leave with the promise of he will be free, he’s to be wed to a prince even, and will be able to do what he wills.

Cross leaves with him, oblivious to the world and how to socially interact with people that aren’t Chara and his Father.

Cross falls in love with Killer on their trip back, slowly but surely. He doesn’t realize it at first, because he’s never been in love or shown such kindness like this. It takes a while to get back, so the days pass with just each other as company and Killer is showing Cross so much he only kind of knew about. Any arguing between them is mostly playful after the initial start, and Cross’s obliviousness allows Killer to play tricks and tell him whatever with the knowledge that Cross will take it to heart.

At some point, a scene where they look out at the vast expanse of stars that light up the night sky, they talk. They talk about soft topics, they talk of love and how it feels, making Cross slowly realize oh, maybe that’s what this is. But he can’t say anything yet, too nervous, too shy, afraid to ruin the moment.

The next day, which serves as the halfway point Killer seems to recognize where they are. He leads them off to the side from the direct path back, slipping them through a slinky town and into a seedy bar, where people seem to recognize him.

It’s his family, his lovers. Yes this is a background BSP brought to life here because I just. I love them you can’t expect me not to include them.

Cross watches as Dust storms up, grabs Killer by the front of his shirt and brings him in for a deep kiss.

His soul sinks, realizing that Oh…. Killer already has someone for him. He swallows his feelings and lets someone lead him to the bar, where he’s given his first drinks and kinda being forced to interact with people. He’s kinda uncomfortable at first but a few drinks loosen him up, letting him make a few friends. It’s a dangerous bar with criminals, he came in with Killer though, so he’s safe here, so safe he doesn’t even realize that it’s chock full of people who could kill him in seconds.

Killer proceeds to get slapped after his kiss and then absolutely chewed out for what he did. Then they talk, the whole gang minus Cross, who is again, on the other side of the bar drinking. Killer brings up his mission, and talks very fondly of Cross and their time, but when it’s suggested that they wouldn’t mind if Killer took another, he gets cold about it. It dawns on him he may of gotten a little crush himself but… He can’t risk it, Dream has a way of tracking him, and he has to bring Cross back for their safety, to be pardoned.

Killer finds Cross a little more drunk than he probably should be and they go crash for the night with the BSP, Cross on a spare cot they had and Killer with his looovers.

They leave before sun up, Killer leaves them a note to move to another spot now that they’ve been there with a meeting place that he’ll meet them at.

There is this odd tension between them now, where Cross is unsure of what to say and Killer is oddly quiet, both of them hurt for different reasons that if they talked about it it would probably be cleared up but they’re stubbornstupidhimbos— anyway!!

This tension remains until something happens, not sure if they get robbed or the guard is there to intercept, or even something natural like a bear?? This is where things get fuzzy but SOMETHING happens and Cross has an excuse to show off why he has LV. They end up right back to talking after, seemingly forgetting why there was tension in the first place. They talk about their pasts, just enough to quietly share between them, it’s a good night, and they fall asleep.

Cross gets probably gets sick in the coming morning, an LV spike from killing something the day before. Killer knows how to help but it’s a long day, out in the woods while Cross writhes in pain and can’t hold anything down.

He gets better by the next day and they travel for a few more days until they manage to get back to the kingdom.

There is a festival going on in the kingdom when they get back, giving them an excuse to enjoy each other for one last night before Cross is given off. They have a grand time, drinking and dancing together, ending up kissing and making out.

Killer is like a breath away from saying fuck it, fueled by his drunken state and tempted by the way Cross looks at him to ask Cross to come back with him. But right before he can, a guard on duty recognizes him, and takes them both straight to Dream.

Dream is excited to hear the news, gets all gussied up just to come face to face with them and he’s.

Not pleased.

Killer was supposed to bring back a princess, not an extremely high LV ridden man taller than him. But when the mirror shows the tower and the neighboring Kingdom once more, and Cross confirms yes that’s his home, spills about the insides, it must be. Killer gets escorted out after confirming his pardoning, gets it in writing, catching the conversation they have as he’s hastily pushed out.

(Cross doesn’t really understand the whole gender thing, he can make both and doesn’t care for either? What’s the importance? Ajsiwigwbsk I’m sorry I love he/they gender apathetic Cross so much.)

Fine, fine, that’s fine. Dream will just have to marry Cross, and once they have the wedding tomorrow and announce to the Kingdom Cross was originally from they’ll have to accept the joining of their families.

But he’s dangerous, so once the wedding and formalities are over Cross is to be locked away. Hidden from sight and-

The door shuts, and Killer is kicked out the castle.

This is where it gets a little fuzzy again, but I think he steals a horse or something to make it to the meeting place he gave to his loooovers, has to make it there by the night, the wedding is the next day after all.

Somehow he manages to convince his looovers to help him go rescue Cross, and they manage to take out some knights and waiters to disguise themselves to get in.

Cross walks down the aisle, a tear rolling down his face as he has accepted his fate, disguised magic dampeners on his wrists and throat. Meant to look apart of the dress and everything. This is also my excuse to put Cross presenting masculine in a wedding dress I’ve been thinking about it so hard.

He looks around the crowd, to people he’s never going to see again, it’s beautiful, it’s daunting. Then, briefly, he swears he sees it, a flash of Killer’s soul.

The gang crashes the wedding, Killer litterally sweeping Cross off his feet to make an escape with him. I imagine it’s a long chase and shenanigans to get him out fully, but once they’re out Cross is so relived and confused to see Killer.

Killer makes a shitty joke about needing to kiss the runaway bride and they definitely kiss for sure. It’s perfect, and now they’re all bigger criminals for sure, but they’ll be alright on the run.

That’s it. That’s the outline. That would be the end umm could probably lead into a sequel if I really really reeeallly thought about it but good god this shit took up so much of my brain. Let me know what u thiiink.

Thankfully it’s out and it did kinda help me run it through the course. If anyone else wants to write this PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 🙏. I can’t afford another project rn but I might write it myself one day, but I’d love to see other people’s take on this outline if they did decide to. Just like, credit the idea if you wouldn’t mind. :)

Outline Snapshot Tag

Thank you @pluppsauthor and @willtheweaver for the intriguing tag game!

Rules: Share a tiny glimpse of your WIP outline. It could be a scene, a beat, or just a moment. Keep it vague or get specific. No spoilers needed!

Invitational tags to participate: @lexiklecksi @ominous-faechild @illarian-rambling @failingghost @wyked-original-writing

Going to post the details below the cut because there will be some spoilers, but I'll be doing the best I can to obscure anything major.

Hi! So, I’ve struggled A LOT with this in the past, and I was just wondering what a good way to outline a book was? I understand that there are many different ways to do it, and that it’s different for each person, but it’s hard to find good examples online on the different methods.

When we talk about outlining, we're often talking about structure, even though I think the best outlining also offers some connective tissue between the events of the story and the motivations and consequences of those events. My personal favorite outlining method is what I call a narrative outline, which is kind of like a reverse synopsis. In a narrative outline, you pretend you're explaining your story to someone very invested in it, who wants to know all about it. It's in paragraph form and written in your voice. It can be casual and incomplete. You can fill in the gaps with things like [FIGURE THIS OUT LATER]. Then you can take each paragraph you've written and make it into a chapter.

Sometimes, though, I don't even know enough about what I'm working on to do a narrative outline, and that's when I break out the tried and true four-part structure. This structure has served me well for many years, and even if it doesn't work for you, it's at least a place to start. Long-form stories generally have four major parts: exposition, rising action, climax, and denouement. I like to think of them as buckets in which I toss various scene ideas. The scene where characters A and B meet probably goes in exposition, which is the part concerned with establishing context and leading to an inciting incident. My characters getting to know one another would fall into the rising action bucket. Rising action involves raising stakes and escalating the tension. Then, the climax. This is when the rising action culminates into a major breaking point. Maybe my characters have a fight and break up. And lastly, my denouement, the action that falls in the aftermath of the climax. Here's where my characters, after some time apart, reunite.

Generally speaking, the halfway point of a story parallels the ending. If your halfway point is a major success of some kind, you likely will also have a happy ending. If your halfway point is a failure or a loss, you're probably writing a tragedy. Deciding off the bat, "Will this have a happy ending or a sad one?" will help you start putting events in order. Of course, there are also complicated or bittersweet endings, and those will also be reflected at the halfway point. For a complicated ending, your halfway point may be the most complex part of the book, the point with the least clarity. And a bittersweet ending will have a bittersweet middle.

Other writers have other structures they employ. There's Freytag's pyramid, which is two parts only: rising and falling action. There's the three-act play and the five-act play. There are the six stages and the eight key turning points. I've used all of these just to test them out, but I always end up back at my four parts. The trick to choosing an outlining method or an existing structure is to use it only as a jumping off point. It's a lot easier for me to start writing something knowing my job is just to fill four buckets. Often I end up with five parts instead of four. Don't box yourself in too much; as you begin writing, your story will let you know how it wants to be written. Trust your process and your intuition.

For those just joining us, @bettsfic is running a writing workshop on @books this month. Want to know more? Start here.

#tumblr writing workshop with betts #q&a with betts #writing advice #book outline #narrative strategy #writeblr

The Secret To Writing Shippable Romances, Part 2!

The secret to writing a shippable romance that we actually care about is through character flaws. We talked about why that’s so important and the easiest way to execute this in part one, but my favorite way to use flaws in a romance is by making a character’s flaw a reaction to an insecurity they have.

Types of insecurities:

Physical/ body image

Intellectual

Looking cringey / like a “try hard”

Lack of competency/ the ability to accomplish one’s goals

No one likes them

Financial

Lack of success/ recognition/ awards

Lack of experience

Lack of strong relationships/ healthy support system

Now let’s put the above into practice by using intellect as an insecurity.

Example A: A character is insecure about their intellect and they react to this by playing dumb. Their flaws could manifest as them not having high expectations for themselves, telling self-deprecating jokes about how stupid they are, staying silent even if they know the correct answer, or doubting that they know the correct answer. They may also think their ideas sound dumb and fear they will be ridiculed for their ideas, so they never share them. This character is always playing small and accepting crumbs in all areas of life, including romance.

People like this typically don’t emphasize their intellect in relationships. Some may downplay their intelligence (or even mock it) to appeal to the other person and emphasize other qualities—beauty, sensuality, dependability, spontaneity, a favorable power dynamic, social status, humor, compassion, etc. They don’t allow people to get that close to them, because that would inevitably reveal their self-perceived lack of intelligence.

Writing prompt: With this insecurity, reaction, and flaw, what type of partners has your character attracted in the past? How did your character feel and operate in these relationships?

How I would do it: If I were writing a romance with a lead character who was insecure about their intelligence, I would give them a history of purposefully picking partners that won’t intellectually challenge them even though that is something they crave. They want to be intellectually stimulated by their partner. They want to have nuanced conversations about complex topics, but they are afraid that if they initiate or engage in these conversations, the other person will see them as less intelligent, thus making them easier to manipulate, which is a fear of theirs.

Due to not being intellectually stimulated by their partner, our character gets bored in relationships and reacts by creating drama in other areas of the relationship to keep it exciting, but this ultimately pushes their partners away. This is the cycle that our character has been stuck in, but what happens when they meet someone new that they really like, but will challenge them intellectually? Are they going to react differently this time? Are they going to stumble towards change in a messy, yet entraining way, and relapse? Sounds like an interesting plot to me!

Remember, we’re choosing collective components that are conducive to the unfolding plot and desired character arcs, so if you’re fascinated by intellect as an insecurity, but “playing dumb” isn’t in alignment with your character’s personality, then you would choose a different reaction.

Example B: A character is insecure about their intellect, but their reaction is to overcompensate by tearing others down. They’re an obnoxious know-it-all and they have to be right about everything. Their flaws manifest as them purposefully making others look dumb and publicly discrediting their intelligence. If you are an expert in a topic, this character will argue that you aren’t and try to explain the basic principles of this topic to you even though they know very little about the subject. They must prove that they’re smarter than you, so they quiz you on things that any adult human would know and always speak in a condescending tone.

A person like this typically has a deep shame around being wrong/ vulnerable and doesn’t let people get close to them because they fear others will be able to see through their arrogant façade and use their vulnerabilities to hurt them.

Writing prompts: What kind of partners do you think this character would attract? How have their relationships worked out for them in the past? What typically ends their relationship? What happened to them in the past that made them put up these walls? Where does this insecurity stem from? What is a core belief about themselves that made them act this way? How does this play out in love?

A character’s insecurities will cause them to run into the same toxic relationships and patterns until they decide to change. However, they can only change once they shift their core beliefs about themselves and love.

If you don’t know what a character’s core beliefs are, their insecurities, where they stem from and how to weave them into your plot, then check out the digital Character Backstory Workbook with over 100 questions and exercises so that you can write your juiciest romance yet!

If you want to read the most exciting way that you can incorporate flaws into your romance then like and comment for part 3. Happy writing!

Read my wlw novella, Truth Weekend!

Character Backstory Workbook