Gay-egg-fork - Writing Inspiration & Shitposts - Tumblr Blog

Idea!!! Shop town idea from earlier, but this time the guy is really greedy and town even tyually becomes abandoned as flow on effects

I'm inspired to write, but like, I have a metric fuck tonne of uni work to do 🤷‍♂️

how do i decide if i want to write in first or third person 

e g g

Has science gone too far?

I should post more random shit. Zip zip zoom broom, what the fuck is a room

20 Basic Plots

1. QUEST - the plot involves the Protagonist’s search for a person, place or thing, tangible or intangible (but must be quantifiable, so think of this as a noun; i.e., immortality).

2. ADVENTURE - this plot involves the Protagonist going in search of their fortune, and since fortune is never found at home, the Protagonist goes to search for it somewhere over the rainbow.

3. PURSUIT - this plot literally involves hide-and-seek, one person chasing another.

4. RESCUE - this plot involves the Protagonist searching for someone or something, usually consisting of three main characters - the Protagonist, the Victim & the Antagonist.

5. ESCAPE - plot involves a Protagonist confined against their will who wants to escape (does not include some one trying to escape their personal demons).

6. REVENGE - retaliation by Protagonist or Antagonist against the other for real or imagined injury.

7. THE RIDDLE - plot involves the Protagonist’s search for clues to find the hidden meaning of something in question that is deliberately enigmatic or ambiguous.

8. RIVALRY - plot involves Protagonist competing for same object or goal as another person (their rival).

9. UNDERDOG - plot involves a Protagonist competing for an object or goal that is at a great disadvantage and is faced with overwhelming odds.

10. TEMPTATION - plot involves a Protagonist that for one reason or another is induced or persuaded to do something that is unwise, wrong or immoral.

11. METAMORPHOSIS - this plot involves the physical characteristics of the Protagonist actually changing from one form to another (reflecting their inner psychological identity).

12. TRANSFORMATION - plot involves the process of change in the Protagonist as they journey through a stage of life that moves them from one significant character state to another.

13. MATURATION - plot involves the Protagonist facing a problem that is part of growing up, and from dealing with it, emerging into a state of adulthood (going from innocence to experience).

14. LOVE - plot involves the Protagonist overcoming the obstacles to love that keeps them from consummating (engaging in) true love.

15. FORBIDDEN LOVE - plot involves Protagonist(s) overcoming obstacles created by social mores and taboos to consummate their relationship (and sometimes finding it at too high a price to live with).

16. SACRIFICE - plot involves the Protagonist taking action(s) that is motivated by a higher purpose (concept) such as love, honor, charity or for the sake of humanity.

17. DISCOVERY - plot that is the most character-centered of all, involves the Protagonist having to overcome an upheavel(s) in their life, and thereby discovering something important (and buried) within them a better understanding of life (i.e., better appreciation of their life, a clearer purpose in their life, etc.)

18. WRETCHED EXCESS - plot involves a Protagonist who, either by choice or by accident, pushes the limits of acceptable behavior to the extreme and is forced to deal with the consequences (generally deals with the psychological decline of the character).

19. ASCENSION - rags-to-riches plot deals with the rise (success) of Protagonist due to a dominating character trait that helps them to succeed.

20. DECISION - riches-to-rags plot deals with the fall (destruction) of Protagonist due to dominating character trait that eventually destroys their success.

by Pavel Simakov

Basic Elements of Good Plot Twists

Plot twists are something that a lot of writers can struggle with, and sometimes don’t even attempt. Unfortunately, there’s no ‘perfect method’ to setting up a good plot twist (or else they wouldn’t be surprises because we’d all know the warning signs!), but there are some things that could be kept in mind for anyone interesting in writing them.

They should be unique: Watch for clichés or obvious set ups, though “obviousness” is sadly a subjective element. This can be a case of carefully monitoring tropes to make sure they are’t spotlighting your endgame. Almost every kind of twist has arguably been done in the history of writing, but what is cliche in one genre may be new and fresh in another, and what makes it unique is the details of the story it exists in.

They should be foreshadowed: Balance can be tricky. There needs to be enough foreshadowing that the twist isn’t too far-fetched or random, but not enough to be obvious. Someone should be able to re-read the story, pick up on those tiny details, and wonder how they didn’t notice earlier. Remember, you want the reader to say “I should have seen that coming!” not “I never would have seen that coming!”

They should be plot-useful: Twists should not exist just to fool but to further the story. They need to have a point, a reason for the deception, and an answer the question of why those who were fooled weren’t expecting it. Typically, you’d seen plot twists at climaxes, but they can actually happen at almost any point in the story, usually designating that moment as a “turning point”. 

They should create interesting situations: Even if a twist can be figured out by a savvy reader, the effect it has on the story should be worth the read. The results must be better that the twist. You can even get away with a cliché twist by making it have an interesting effect on the story or the characters.

Twists should not diminish re-readability: The focus should never be purely on the twist itself. If the story isn’t enjoyable after the twist is revealed then the story needs work. Good plot twists are not the end of a story (they can exist near the end, but are not the “end of whats interesting”), they’re a new way to think about old info. They shine a new light on old events. A reader should be able to re-read the book and still find it worth their time, though perhaps in a different way. 

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idk if anyone will find this useful, but this is how i go about planning my stories. i mostly write fantasy, so that’s what this is most applicable to. but it could work with other genres too.

so there’s three major components to a story: the characters, the plot, and the world. creating them individually is the easy part, but they all connect and affect each other in different ways. (like you can’t have a character who loves peaches and eats them every day if they live a peasant in a region that doesn’t grow peaches, for example.)

so i created a cheat sheet to help connect all three components together.

1) the world creates the characters.

this is related to the peach example above. the characters should be a direct result of the environment they grew up in and the environment they currently live in.

2) the characters are limited by the world.

also related to the peaches. characters can’t do anything outside of what the rules of their surroundings and universe allow, such as eating peaches when they’re not available. this also applies for magic users. they can’t have unlimited magic, so keep in mind what you want out of both the characters and the world when creating magic systems.

3) the characters carry the plot.

we’ve all heard it before: “bad characters can’t carry a good plot. good characters can carry a bad plot.” but we all like a good plot anyway. try to make sure you’re not giving your characters too heavy or too light of a plot to carry.

4) the plot pushes the characters.

if nothing in the plot happens, your characters will remain static forever. if you struggle with plots, try starting with what character development you want to happen, then go from there.

5) the plot depends on the world.

you can’t overthrow the evil government if there isn’t one. think of what your world needs most and what your plot is centered around, and fit those two together.

6) the world is changed by the plot.

even if your plot is centered around something most of your world would call “insignificant”, the world will still experience some change from the plot. either the evil government will be gone, or maybe that one teacher is now way more careful about keeping an eye on the test key. either way, the world will be different from now on.

final note: usually people will be able to write one or two of the components with ease, but don’t know where to go from there. i personally can’t write plots, but thinking this way has really helped me actually make a story out of the world and characters because i looked at what i needed from what i had. i really hope this can help you too! happy writing!

tl;dr this is a cheat sheet to help anyone who struggles with writing one or two of what i consider the three major components to a story.

11 Plot Pitfalls – And How to Rescue Your Story From Them

Source: [X] By: Laura Whitcomb

We’ve all been there: basking in the glow of a finished manuscript, only to read it over and realize something is wrong with the plot. Finding ourselves unable to identify the problem only makes matters worse. But take heart! Here are some common plot gaffes and sensible ways to revise without starting over.

1. THE PLOT ISN’T ORIGINAL ENOUGH. Go through your pages and highlight anything that you’ve read in another book or seen in a movie. In the margin, write where you’ve seen it. Then list these sections and make a note for each one about how it could differ from its lookalike. A mental patient escapes by throwing something heavy through a window. Too much like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Instead, the patient walks out with a visiting grandma after convincing her he’s an old friend. Quick notes like these can help you detach from unintentional imitation.

2. READERS ALWAYS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. This may be because you’ve chosen a plot point that’s overused, or because you keep giving away the answer in advance. Readers know the villain is going to whip out a picture of the hero’s son and blackmail her by pretending to have kidnapped the little boy because you showed the villain taking pictures of the child and driving away from the schoolyard. You could be less obvious by only showing the antagonist sitting in the car watching the boy on the playground, and no more. 3. THE PLOT IS BORING. Take each page and imagine what different writers might do with the same plot. Choose extreme examples. Would a comedy writer have the cab driver and the villain coincidentally be childhood friends with unfinished business? Would the mystery writer have the taxi pass a clue on a street corner that makes a new connection for the hero? Would the horror writer have the cab driver channel a ghost? Or, imagine the most surprising thing that could happen in a given scene. It doesn’t matter if these ideas don’t fit your story. You’re not going to use them. But often, after thinking of wild ideas to make the story more interesting, you begin to come up with workable ones that are just as stimulating, but better suited to your book. 4. THE PLOT IS ALL ACTION AND THE FRENZIED PACE NUMBS READERS. Let them breathe. Give the readers a little downtime now and then in your action story. Look back at your favorite action novels. Notice the conversations, summarized passages, meals, introspection and releases of emotions that are set in between the car chases, shootouts and confrontations. List them. Then give the readers a chance to breathe in your own manuscript. Find the dramatic respites that come from your characters’ needs, flaws and strengths.

5. THE PLOT IS TOO COMPLEX. Often, a complex plot can be trimmed into a sleek one by cutting out some steps. Does your protagonist have to visit her father in the hospital twice—once to bring him flowers and talk about Mom, and then again to find he has taken a turn for the worse? Couldn’t he take a turn for the worse while she’s still there the first time? Does your villain need to have three motives for revenge? Would one or two be interesting enough? To find the messiness in your overly complex story, summarize it out loud to yourself. When a section takes too long to explain, make a note. When you find yourself saying, “Oh, wait, I forgot to mention that …” you’re probably in need of a plot trim. When deciding whether or not to simplify the plot, ask yourself over and over again,

“Why does she do that? Why didn’t she just do this?” Making a plot less complicated doesn’t have to make it less clever. 6. THE PLOT IS TOO SHALLOW. Sometimes as writers we get caught up in the action. The symbolism. The metaphors. The witty dialogue. The great character names. The slick descriptions. Sometimes we ride these skills over the surface of the story and forget what’s really important. If you or your first readers (friends, family, agent) complain that the novel feels insubstantial, step back and ask yourself these questions: Why am I bothering to write this story? Why does the outcome matter to the characters? How do the characters change? How did my favorite book affect me the first time I read it?

7. SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF IS DESTROYED. Readers need to buy into the reality put forward by what they’re reading. You may go too far with a plot point or not far enough with preparing your audience for that plot point. If something that sounded right when you outlined it is coming off as farfetched even to you, look back at the stepping-stones that led to the event. If your murderer turns over a new leaf at the end of act two, make sure you’ve given her reason to.

8. TOO MANY SUBPLOTS MAKE THE PLOT OVERLY COMPLEX. If you start to feel weighed down by your numerous storylines, start cutting them. List the subplots (shopkeeper with a crush, neighbor’s dog that tears up the garden, accountant who threatens to quit every day), and then list under each title all the ways it’s necessary.

Only subplots that are so vital that you could not remove them without destroying your novel get to stick around. Be bold. 9. THE SEQUENCE IS ILLOGICAL. Sometimes the sequence set down in an outline starts to show its true colors when you’re writing the chapters. If you feel the order of scenes or events in your story is off, list each scene on a separate index card and, in red ink, write a question mark on every card that doesn’t feel right where it is in the story. Shuffle the cards. I’m not kidding. Mix them up completely. Lay them out again in the order you think they might work best, giving special attention to those with red question marks.

Something about these scenes tricked you the first time. This time, really look closely at the proper place for those tricky bits.

10. THE PREMISE ISN’T COMPELLING. If you fear that a mediocre premise is your holdup, take out a sheet of paper. Make a list on the left-hand side of everything that’s dodgy in your present premise. Then write a list down the right-hand side about all the things that work great in the premise of a similar favorite book, play or movie.

See where you might make the stakes higher, the characters more emotional, the setting more a part of the overall plot. Remember: The premise should make your readers curious.

11. THE CONCLUSION IS UNSATISFYING. Once again, write a list of what bothers you about your conclusion, and next to it, a list of what worked great about the end of your favorite novel. Do you have to create more suspense before you give the readers what they’ve been craving? Do you need to make the answer to the mystery clearer? Does the villain need to be angrier, or perhaps show remorse? Unsatisfying conclusions are usually lacking something. Whatever that is, make your story’s ending have more of it.

One of my favorite phrases my Creative Writing professor had for when you’re writing fantasy is ‘giving your story a Flux Capacitor’.

Because it’s not real, it doesn’t exist. But the way it’s thrown into Back to the Future, at no point does it throw the audience off or suspend any more disbelief than time travel would. You believe Doc when he says he created the Flux Capacitor - the thing that makes time travel possible, because the universe never questions him. 

So it essentially means like, there are going to be elements to your universe that are just not gonna make any sense, even if you set up a whole system based on it. And the only way to make it work is completely own it. You cannot second-guess your system or else the reader will too. You can give it the strangest explanation, but write it like you own it.  

Me: *is the writer*

Me, after I write a twist: oh shit! I did not see that coming!

I am a(n):

⚪ Male

⚪ Female

🔘 Writer

Looking for

⚪ Boyfriend

⚪ Girlfriend

🔘 An incredibly specific word that I can't remember

You guys probably already know this, but in case you forgot, it’s fine to just, like, put cool stuff in your novel. Names don’t always have to have special meanings, the way the sword swishes doesn’t have to be of extreme plot significance, there doesn’t need to be “another angle” to a particular character…It’s certainly good to use metaphors, items, themes, motifs, and suggestions to loftier ends, but you liking something can be enough.

Write, draw, sing.

Create something that's fun. Sketch terribly, write something that doesn't make sense. Sing about something random.

Have fun creating something. Do it for yourself. We get so caught up with doing things to get better, to be the best or to make money.

Yeah them things are good. But they become a chore you're not having fun doing them. Plus when your having fun and experimenting you're learning.

You might experiment with a new art media and discover you really enjoy working with it so you do more pieces.

You might write a random sentence or paragraph that sparks another idea that you'll write later.

You might come up with a song idea or hit that note you couldn't before. You might come up with a really fun song to share with others.

Experiment. Create. Enjoy.

Thank u for your reply I will start the drama right now 🤗

Hey no worries! Hope you enjoy

Mood

Half of my life is comprised of maniacal cackling as I conjure up another plot twist that devastates the once-peaceful lives of my characters. The other half is comprised of existential regretting the inevitable trauma I’m about to inflict on all of my unsuspecting readers and asking forgiveness for my apparent sadism.

Broke: I hate my first draft, it’s sooo baaaad

Woke: While my writing is not perfect, I love every inch of it and I cannot wait until it’s completion!

Ramblings #3

A story inspired by the familial drama of Norse mythology, But with a different setting and characterisation

Ramblings #2

The mother dies and her son and wife turn her house into a cafe, but as hard times his and they are their 3 kids are forced to more drastic means. Non-linear, lots of drama, magic realism, the daughter gets stabbed under their fruit tree??

Give your characters traits that the reader has to pick up on, don’t announce them

Let me realize that Person A is a hugger after three chapters of them hugging folks they haven’t seen in a hot second, and casually putting their arm around their friends. Don’t introduce that fact to me by Person A saying “just so you know, I’m a hugger!”

Let me realize that Person B gets excited easily when they clap and bounce on the balls of their feet at really good news, then also for just good news, then just average news.

Make a character’s traits completely unlabeled to the character themselves. “You’re an old soul, aren’t you?” Shouldn’t be answered with “you know it.” It should be answered with “huh, I guess you could put it that way. Havent heard that phrase since X.”

Ramblings #1

Dramatic airport scene, building to rapid climax, then dramatic backstory ensues. Did I mention the drama? Also, lots of The Gay (tm)

Weird family circumstances people I  know are actually in

divorced parents still live in the same house with their new spouses 

six half-siblings from five other mothers

inherited a fuck ton of money from their father they never even met

half-siblings with the same dad that were born three weeks apart

didn’t know their stepdad wasn’t their biological father until they were like seven

her big sister is one year older than her but two grades below her

sister 1 slept with sister 2’s boyfriend which is the reason sister 3 stopped talking to sister 1 meanwhile sister 1 and 2 stayed really close

parents had the same last name even before they got married