#the characters... the plot...... the writing....... the settings..........

[nicohischier]

YOU LIKE SIX OF CROWS TOO??

YES! IT’S GENUINELY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SERIES

[taraxippos]

I think people tend to assume that any criticism of worldbuilding is ultimately a demand for a story to grind itself to a halt and give the reader 20 paragraphs of exposition, and like. Most of the time good-faith criticism of this nature is coming from a core aspect of the story not being grounded in the setting in a way that outright detracts from the story's quality. You fix it not by Explaining but by Showing it passively in the makeup of the world.

Like the last instance I saw this critique in was like 'you can't expect an author to stop and exposit the nuances of gender roles/Queerness in a fictional society' and it's like yeah I don't, and in fact this is actually one of the easiest things to show in the text without exposition. If a society has gender norms to begin with you'll see aspects of these norms baked into EVERYTHING. You'll see it in its stories, its religion, its taboos, its etiquette, its clothing, its family structures, its language, its insults, its labor, its leadership, etc. It will have massive impacts on how characters interact with one another and how they perceive themselves. It will help Shape your characters.

If you do this legwork to begin with for the core facets of your story, you will find very natural places for these concepts to be demonstrated without derailing the plot and with little to no exposition. THAT sort of thing is what's being asked of you.

[genericpuff]

finally sat down to try and read The Greatest Estate Developer after many recommendations to do so and-

automatic F-- for being another basic ahh isekai that thinks it's above being a basic ahh isekai, i'm fucking out

[quirkle2]

another scene from my mothloop fic. im putting this kid in situations

part 2 // that other mothloop comic i made

[syrusinthedust]

Okay so this is an idea I’ve had for a while, and it’s a little hard to explain, but bear with me:

Medieval Fantasy Mira, Modern Slice of Life Zoey, and Dystopian Sci-Fi Rumi.

One day, Zoey decided that she should read some normal paperback books instead of AO3, walks into a random store, and buys two cliche sounding YA books: A Medieval Fantasy and a Dystopian Sci-Fi.

Despite the fact that the guy running the store has never seen those books before, he sells them, and Zoey goes home and realizes they both only actually have the first chapter printed out. Sad, those were actually pretty good books too. She liked the main characters.

Anyways, she goes to sleep.

Every time the trio goes to sleep, two of them appear as “ghosts” haunting the third one in a sort of rotation.

It starts with Zoey and Rumi haunting Mira in her medieval fantasy for a day, until they fall asleep and Mira and Zoey haunt Rumi in her Dystopian Sci-Fi, and then Rumi and Mira haunt Zoey in her modern slice of life.

The two books update by chapter as they follow Mira and Rumi’s lives, however the books stay accurate to the original plot, so they aren’t the most accurate guide.

No one can see the “ghosts” except for Huntrix.

And they all end up working together to try and survive and/or have joy in their lives, as they guide one another through struggles and hardship.

They also end up being exactly what the other two needed. There is no political play in their relationships, no angle, just genuine connection.

They also also somehow rotate being the devil on the shoulder, angel on the shoulder, and the guy who’s shoulders are burdened with two weirdos.

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

"Only watch fma 03 until ep.whatever, and then continue with fmab because 03 goes off the rails-"

[writerpolls]

Writers: do you have a separate document in addition to your draft document to keep track of names, setting details, plot outline, or other things?

Yes, I always have another document to keep track of those things

Yes, I often have another document to keep track of those things

Sometimes, but sometimes I keep track in my head

Sometimes, but sometimes I keep track on the draft document

No, I always keep track in my head

No, I always keep track in the draft document

Other answer

See results / I don’t write

Voting ended onApr 20

[melolarity]

I think "shipping agendas" are antithetical to engaging with a story seriously in the same way powerscaling agendas are, you go in with a precedent, a set outcome, and affirm it while ignoring everything that goes against it. It completely removes any integrity with engaging with the text and makes it so out of character manifestations of the fandom poison discussions about the plot. a lot of you need to replay deltarune without any biases or agendas and just see what you pick up. I promise it's good for you and your interactions with the game to stop throwing characterization out the window. Not to say you can't ship things that are out of character or zero context, just dont let it seep into serious discussions of the plot.

Joining the ship wars on the side of reading the game.