aoceanofstars

[aoceanofstars]

"Maybe it’s because our political discourse swings between deranged and abhorrent on a daily basis and we would like to combat our feelings of powerlessness by insisting on moral simplicity in the stories we tell and receive. Or maybe it’s because many of the transgressions that flew under the radar in previous generations — acts of misogyny, racism and homophobia; abuses of power both macro and micro — are now being called out directly. We’re so intoxicated by openly naming these ills that we have begun operating under the misconception that to acknowledge each other’s complexity, in our communities as well as in our art, is to condone each other’s cruelties."

[aoceanofstars]

Fuck that post going around saying "you can have coffee in your story without justifying it :) you don't need to explain everything :)" I want, no, I DEMAND a fully researched ethnobotanical paper on every single food item in your work, if you don't explain to me where did potatoes come from in your fantasy setting or don't explain how the industry of coffee works over interstellar distances with full detail you are doing things wrong and I personally hate you and I hate your stupid story, fuck you

#from santa claus

[aoceanofstars]

This is interesting. I've never heard of it and I majored in English. Apparently, it's a literary criticism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_plot

#excellent addition

[aoceanofstars]

This is interesting. I've never heard of it and I majored in English. Apparently, it's a literary criticism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_plot

[aoceanofstars]

The devastating difference between how much time it takes to write something vs how fast people read it lol

[aoceanofstars]

My cartoon for this weekend’s @guardian books

[aoceanofstars]

I once read a book where an Evil Fog was covering a country and every year it Got Bigger. By the point the story takes place, the city (the only city in the entire country as far as I could tell) was surrounded on all sides by Evil Fog. And I had to ask myself, along with 'why is there only one city but this is referred to as a country' and 'why do there only seem to be two houses that aren't in the city but this is called a country' and 'why is the only other castle in the 'country' only have like - seven people in it?' was 'where are they getting their food?' Not from outside the 'country' because the story made a big deal about how they were cut off from the rest of the world. But not from their own 'country' either because the fog drove people mad as well as blocked sunlight and the fog was Everywhere! so there's no way there was farmland that could grow enough crops for the HUGE feasts the castle in the Only City seemed to throw regularly. Don't get me wrong, it was a really interesting story but between that and the author constantly forgetting their main character had a Really Serious Body Damage issue at random I kept getting pulled out of the story to snarl at it for forgetting world building basics. No shade at the author. it's their editor that needed to be shaken until they were paying attention to their job.

hi I'm from your pseudo-medieval fantasy city. yeah. you forgot to put farms around us. we have very impressive walls and stuff but everyone here is starving. the hero showed up here as part of his quest and we killed and ate him

[aoceanofstars]

[aoceanofstars]

For example, you might work from the beginning of the scene and from a point somewhere in the middle of the scene, switching back and forth between those points until they connect

like if the scene was "Character A is going to sneak into character B's house, and then character B is going to come home and find them, and then they are going to have an argument" you might start at the part where character B comes home, then skip back and write character A's initial sneaking in, and go back and forth a little bit, and then skip to the meat of the argument, and then connect the beginning

#I have to start at the beginning #the story writes itself so I have to see where it goes

[aoceanofstars]

I hope every writer who sees this writes LOADS the next few months. Like freetime opens up, no writers block, the ability to focus, etc etc you're able to write loads & make lots of progress <3

[aoceanofstars]

hello

can you please tell me to continue writing whatever the hell i am writing, because currently it seems like i'm writing nonsense

thank you

You too? Absolutely. You keep going and I'll keep going too.

[aoceanofstars]

One day I'm gonna have to talk about how I don't care about characters' traumas outside of their purpose in the story.

Like, no, I don't actually feel bad for the character and their sob story. I'm interested in where the story is going with the themes and stuff.

[aoceanofstars]

How to write a morally gray character:

Have their ideals be right but their methods be wrong

Make it seem like their dastardly methods are really the only way to achieve the goal for the “greater good.”

Have them develop from a flat antagonist to a well-rounded protagonist

How to not write a morally gray character

wah my childhood was hard

[aoceanofstars]

"This fic was ai generated—" Cool, so lemme block you real quick

#ai

[aoceanofstars]

forgot the best part of death note, the american names written by someone who was just kind of guessing what american names sounded like. anyways rip to raye penber, arire weekwood, and lian zapack, average american men

[aoceanofstars]

[aoceanofstars]