#yes i realize I probably got something that doesn't jive

[ach-sss-no]

Things I do if i'm stuck on a WIP

I keep seeing memes about people fighting with their WIPs so maybe you could use some handy weapons?

Some of these are passed around pretty often, but they're in here again because I personally found them useful, as opposed to the common advice I see passed around that has never helped me whatsoever, also, you never know when it's someone's first time seeing something or when it might be worded in a way that makes it more understandable.

Some of these are more useful when you have some options for how to proceed with your story but can't decide on one, and won't be as helpful if you can see no way to proceed.

These are intended primarily for writing and many don't really have other applications I can think of, but some of these strategies should also work for any creative thing you're trying to do that is not progressing in the way you want it to.

Disclaimer: Sometimes none of these work. Good luck!

CRIPES, I'm Stuck

Complain

Tell someone (or pretend to tell someone) who does not know the inner workings of your story all about your story problem in as much detail as you can articulate. The more detail the better, including what events led up to this point and what you want to achieve going forward. Go all the way back to what the main premise is, even. When I do this I often end up figuring out the problem while I am describing it and never even send the message, which is why this can be an imaginary conversation if input from another human is not desired and/or available for whatever reason. You can also tell your problems to your cat, dog, tarantula, or Pokémon team! BONUS: Those things are all cheaper than a therapist!

Randomize

If you have multiple ideas for how to go forward and are paralyzed because you can see no greater or lesser value in any of them, great news! The machine can be trusted! (Disclaimer: The machine cannot be trusted) Go to random.org and use the list randomizer to scramble your potential plot options. Pick the one on top. If you realize you're unhappy with it, examine why. Whatever reason why you've decided you don't like that option after all will help guide you towards what you should be doing instead.

Got any kind of two option yes/no, pass/fail, success/disaster question? Flip a coin! This can be done digitally if you don't have coins lying around (I usually don't myself).

There is also the tried and true method of dice-rolling, which can also be done via app if you don't have dice of the desired type or you've lost yours.

Really stuck? Showrunner's challenge.

Iterate

This is both the least efficient one and the thing I do the most often. Writing a scene? Not sure how it should go? Just write different versions of it until something sticks.

Every time you feel unhappy with the scene, back up to the point that led to whatever you're not jiving with, cut it, and start over from there. I recommend saving all of your different versions so you can reconsider or do some horrific Frankenstein cut-and-paste later.

Like I said: horrendously inefficient. it doesn't have to be pretty... it just has to exist.

Play

Go do something else totally unrelated to writing. Just go do something else you enjoy. Just take a break. Your brain may actually fix your story problem when you ignore it and let it run in the background, and if it doesn't, you get a break. No downside! Chances are, you've heard that before. I'm telling you again because I so often fall prey to the 'but my break will be more satisfying if I fix the problem first' well, it's not getting fixed and I am not equipped to fix it right now or it would be fixed already, so it's break time now.

Work on another project that seems more fun to you at the moment. Battering your head against your current WIP because you think you "should" work on it instead of whatever shinier idea is in your head is probably not helping you progress on that project. Working on something else as a treat may jog your brain to unstuck you from your main idea, and if not, it will lead to a new creative product existing, and even if it never gets finished, you've tricked yourself into thinking art is fun again. No downside!

There's nothing wrong with adding [placeholderlmao] and going on to a part of the story you like better. In fact, knowing what happens later may help you fix the problem point (assuming you don't already know because you either don't work from an outline, or your story has diverged so wildly from the outline that it's not helpful anymore)

Edit

Depending on the length of your project and whether you have already declared parts of it off-limits this may not apply; but if you don't want to go forward right now, it may be a good time to go back and edit what you already have written. Sometimes when I do this I will see a stray idea I mentioned earlier that I can follow up on now, and that gives me a new path forward. I'll also sometimes discover that, while my current story problem is manifesting at my sticking point, the cause of it happened much earlier and needs to be addressed farther back in the story (and once that's done I'm not stuck anymore!) Just like pulling crabgrass out by the roots.

Did you have an outline that has stopped tracking with your story? Maybe you should go look at that outline and revise it to the new version, or at least remind yourself of what you thought was important to put in it. If nothing else, doing this should help you think differently about your story.

Steal

That's right! There are millions on billions of stories out there. Just like infinitely variable humans are built upon skeletons that look very similar, your story is uniquely yours, but its underlying structure probably follows a pattern that other stories with similar goals have used since human communication began. So go look up a story you enjoy that includes a similar scene to the one you're struggling with, and look at what it did to fix the problem you're having. Chances are, there's a way to map that onto your story while keeping your version unique, or at least you can get some helpful hints. Do expand beyond the medium you're working in. There's a lot that novels/movies/games/etc do differently, but basic story beats and interactions between characters are pretty consistent things across anything that's telling a story. If I'm looking for a model for a scene, I always look for something with a similar plot, theme or character dynamic that I thought was done well.

Alternately, do you know of a story that tried to do what you're doing and failed spectacularly? Go look closely at that and see why it's not working. Then ask yourself how those problems could have been avoided. The solution you arrive at may apply to your story as well, or at least lead in the right direction. Alternately-alternately: Do it wrong on purpose for the fun of it and fix it later (or don't fix it later)

Just have no ideas? Hang out with stories with the vibes you want until something clicks. When I was doing this fancomic, I watched The Emperor's New Groove a lot.

Well, there you go. If you think I missed something- which I absolutely did, because the creative process is very individual and there are some highly successful things I never, ever do and can't speak on because I am restricting myself to things I have personally done and found helpful-

-please add it on to this post, and make it longer and longer until no one is ever stuck on a WIP ever again (✿◡‿◡) because they are all too busy reading this infinitely long post to start any projects!

#long post #writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #Now don't ask me what I write #Doesn't matter what I write or even whether I write well #The important thing is I've finished a decent amount of the projects I've started and feel I know enough to talk about that part of it

[karkashan]

Family Names and Assorted Headcanons

Breanne Celinda Ylisse, 28th Exalt of the Halidom. Only child. Marries a baker by the name of Rutherford. After her eldest comes of age she passes the title of Exalt to him and lives the remainder of her life with her husband at a bakery they open up together. 

Darius Maxfeld Ylisse, 29th Exalt of the Halidom. Oldest of five siblings. Marries a foreign diplomat by the name of Elsabeth Wildaur. After the grimleal overthrow the rightful monarch of Plegia and destroy the western trade city, he embroils himself in a bitter war of revenge. He and his wife are killed by assassins.

Emmeryn Celinda Ylisse, 30th Exalt of the Halidom. Oldest of three siblings. Seemingly dies after sacrificing her life in an attempt to stop the bloodshed, however a cruel miracle saw her survive and go through many hardships. Upon her return to the Halidom she formally renounced any claim to the throne and moved to Ferox, where she spent many a happy day with her husband Priam.

Chrom Rutherford Ylisse, 31st Exalt of the Halidom. Second of three siblings. Unknowingly marries the true heir to the throne of Plegia, Robin Morgana Plegia. Has four children with his wife; two daughters and two sons. Unites the Fire Emblem with its disparate parts for the first time in a thousand years.

Morgana Ceridwen Plegia, Sable Queen of Plegia. Only child. Meets the ostracized son of the Hierophant, Validar Zacharias, who having been found “unworthy” to host Grima, was discarded by his family at a young age and devoted himself to the study of magic. Morgana’s familiar, a robin, knocks Validar unconscious while toying with its mistress. This somehow leads to the two of them falling in love with one another and getting married. They have one daughter, whose birth rouses the slumbering grimleal and forces them to flee the country. Validar is captured and his mind altered by the Darksphere, while Morgana lives in southern Ylisse with her daughter.

Robin Morgana Plegia, Queen-Consort of the Halidom and the Final Queen of Plegia. Only child. Loses her memories after an encounter with the fell dragon, Grima. Marries Chrom Rutherford Ylisse, having fallen in love with him during her time as the Shepherd’s chief tactician. Before the war with Valm broke out she gave birth to an adorable little girl named Lucina. Ends the threat of Grima once and for all, seemingly at the cost of her life. However, Naga managed to grab hold of Robin’s energy at the last possible moment and spirit her to the one person who had any training in regards to healing the damage Grima’s death could create, her own mother Morgana. Spending a year in convalescence, Robin regained her memories and gave birth to a healthy son, who she named Morgan, before returning to her husband.

Lucina Emmeryn Ylisse, Crown Princess of the Halidom. First of four siblings. 7 years old. Very serious. Incredibly sassy. Absolutely adorable.

Morgan Chrom Ylisse, Prince of the Halidom. Second of four siblings. 4 years old. The opposite of serious. Has trouble understanding sarcasm. Also adorable.

Morgana Lissa Ylisse, Princess of the Halidom. Third of four siblings. 3 years old. Does not believe in the word “no”. Likes bugs. Definitely adorable.

Itsuki Maxfeld Ylisse, Prince of the Halidom. Youngest of four siblings. Is very tiny. Because still a literal baby. Adorable, but that could’ve gone without saying.

#Chrobin #Chrom #Robin #Fire Emblem #Lucina #Validar #Morgan #Morgana #Headcanons #yes i realize I probably got something that doesn't jive #completely with canon #but it's fanfic stuff #so I'm just gonna go only this far instead of #combing through my headcanons with a fine tooth comb #making sure it's canon compliant #don't get me wrong I don't despise being canon compliant #I love that in fanfic #But there are limits to that kind of thing #and I'm rambling again