A Bouquet Of New Beginnings

A Bouquet of New Beginnings

Inspired by many fanfiction writers and the wonderful Hogwarts Legacy, the writer's motivation and hyperfixation had unearthed itself from the crevices of my brain after years of nothing.

A detailed rewrite of fifth-year with liberal brushes of canon divergence for dear Artemis Loreley, the first two chapters are up on AO3 here.

Below is a snippet of the beginning of the first chapter if you'd like to check it out:

The early summer morning’s soft light gently bathed the world below. A cooling breeze passed through, rustling the leaves of the towering English Oaks as the morning dew glistened their beads as they fell upon the forest floor. Songbirds sang their melodious tune as the blue skies peppered with fluffy white clouds stretched to the far horizon.    

Such was the scene as it was interrupted by a loud crack in the air, and now upon the simple forest path stood a wizened, sixty-year-old man in a traveller’s robe of cloth and leather. His greying hair rustled in the wind as he absentmindedly thumbed his late wife’s blue scarf around his neck, his eyes down on the faithful pocket watch on its leather cord. If this were not strange enough, the man proceeded to pull out a dark brown wand, approximately 12 inches in length, and gave a swish. An ethereal silver arrow appeared out of thin air and fluttered for a moment before floating forward upon the path.

Any passerby that came upon this scene by happenstance may accuse the man of witchcraft, and against the laws that dictate the world, they would be correct. For Eleazar Fig was indeed a wizard, and he was on a mission in this obscure corner of Combwell Wood to (hopefully) welcome another into the proverbial fold.

A murder of eleven crows flew high in the baby blue sky, their black, slick flight formation a stark contrast. As his thick-soled boots met twigs with loud crunches taken as he followed the ethereal silver arrow, Professor Fig reflected upon how it came to be that he was here in Combwell Wood on the first day of summer hols.

It had been the summer solstice, when Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black – a cantankerous, exasperating man that unfortunately was his boss - had sent for him to his office post haste. The school had fallen into a state of commotion as a pulse of unknown magic wracked through the walls, and those fifth years in their O.W.L.s exams especially had been in a sorry state. But did the headmaster pay heed? No, that was an absurd thought. When Professor Fig had begrudgingly trudged up to the Headmaster’s Office, he had been expecting something nonsensical. Instead, he was faced with both Headmaster Black and the Deputy Headmistress, Professor Matilda Weasley – whom everyone knew actually ran the school – with varied degrees of astonishment and puzzlement.

The Quill of Acceptance had written down a new name, a new student’s name, and The Book of Admittance accepted the entry with a firm snap. As a graduate of the Class of ’93, no less. A new fifth-year. Such a thing was so unusual, so unheard of, that it was decided her admittance letter be delivered and entry into the wizarding world be done in person. Headmaster Black had somehow thought – or did not, one could never be certain with that man – that Professor Fig was the man for the job. After promptly shucking Professor Fig into Professor Matilda’s capable hands, the Headmaster returned to his daily task of fixing his moustache.

You ever read fanfic so god tier you have to wait for real life to load back in so you spend half the day doing tasks with that dead look in your eye, replaying all your favorite moments?

Do you have any advice and how to write a long fic?

I'll encourage long fic writers to add on in the notes, but as someone who tends to prefer short and medium-length fic, I'll tell you how I go about it.

Get a premise that you just absolutely love. You're going to be writing this thing for months, if not longer, so you want it to be something you're willing to spend a lot of time thinking about.

Embrace subplots. You'll have your main plotline that you want to see through from beginning to end, but you can also weave in some subplots here or there. The way I do this so that I don't get lost down a rabbit hole is that I always make sure that every chapter has at least 1 thing that moves the main plot forward and then if I want to spend 1-2K with some side characters doing something fun I can do that as well. Subplots can extend for the length of the full narrative, but they can also just last a chapter or three. If you're used to writing short fic, these might give you that familiar feeling of "completion"

A chapter is only as long as it needs to be. Don't get hung up on having a consistent chapter length. Don't get hung up on hitting some arbitrary number every time. Instead, figure out what the next part of your story needs to include and write however many words it takes to get that chunk across. Varying your chapter lengths is a normal thing to do and not something to stress about.

The next thing that I find important personally may or may not be relevant to you, but I find that I can't plot anything in much detail. If I get too into the nitty gritty with my plotting, it just feels like I've already written it. I need to keep it at the level of "And then A and B meet C and hijinks ensue." I can figure out the particular hijinks later. It's the characters meeting up that's the next important thing for me to figure out. Getting too far ahead of myself is a death knell for me in writing long fics, but there are other writers who swear by it. Test out different ways of approaching it and see what works for you.

As someone who tends to write more briefly, another feature that's common to longer fics is more extensive descriptions. People spend time painting visual pictures of the setting or the characters or the actions that are happening. Write the more bare-bones style that focuses more on dialogue (if you're like me) and then go back and read through what you've just written and see if there are opportunities to add in more detail. This can lead to some really interesting characterization choices and also help you out with worldbuilding.

When it comes to worldbuilding, you don't have to get it all on the page. You just need to share what's relevant for the reader in that moment and what is useful to lay out now so that it's already there in a future chapter. You can have an encyclopedic knowledge of how your world works in your head, but it's not actually necessary. No one is going to be quizzing you later - and if they do, you can always figure it out at that point.

Most important for me when I'm trying to get myself to the end of a longer fic, have a friend or a group of friends who are also into what you're writing - or at least willing to hear you get excited about it. Being able to get excited about your work is so important. It's like a bottle of water being handed to you on mile 10 of a marathon.

Those romances where the person feels like a dead land and then the blessed rain storm comes in and breathes in life?

Take my money and heart.

"i would die for you" this, "i'd walk through fire for you that"

what about "i'd live for you" romances? what about "i never thought i'd be worth the work it would take to piece myself together"?

what about "i don't believe i'm worth it, but for you i'll try"

Exploring Character Backstory

1. Start with the essentials: Begin by outlining the basic information about your character's past, such as their family background, upbringing, education, and early experiences. Consider their cultural, social, and economic background, as these factors can shape their worldview and values.

2. Identify key events and milestones: Determine significant events or milestones in your character's life that have had a profound impact on them. These could include positive or negative experiences, such as the loss of a loved one, a major achievement, a traumatic incident, or a life-changing decision. These events help shape your character's personality, fears, and aspirations.

3. Examine formative relationships: Explore the relationships your character has had with their family, friends, mentors, or romantic partners. How have these relationships influenced them? What role models or influences have shaped their values, beliefs, and behavior? Relationships can provide insight into your character's vulnerabilities, strengths, and emotional attachments.

4. Dig into their beliefs and values: Understand what your character believes in and values. Examine their moral compass, political views, religious beliefs, or philosophical outlook. Consider how their beliefs might clash or align with the conflicts they encounter in the story. This will create depth and authenticity in their character development.

5. Uncover secrets and hidden aspects: Delve into your character's secrets, hidden desires, or aspects of their past that they prefer to keep hidden. Secrets can create internal conflicts, fuel character growth, and add intrigue to the story. They can also reveal vulnerabilities or flaws that make your character more relatable and complex.

6. Consider the impact of societal factors: Explore how societal factors such as gender, race, class, or historical context have influenced your character's experiences and identity. These factors can shape their struggles, opportunities, and perspectives. Understanding the societal context in which your character exists adds layers of depth to their backstory.

7. Connect the backstory to the main story: Once you have explored the character's backstory, identify how it relates to the main story. Determine how their past experiences, relationships, or traumas influence their present motivations, conflicts, and goals. This connection will ensure that the backstory serves a purpose in the narrative and contributes to the character's growth.

8. Use backstory selectively: While backstory is essential for understanding your character, avoid excessive exposition or information dumping. Introduce elements of the backstory gradually, through dialogue, memories, or subtle hints. This helps maintain reader interest and allows the character's past to unfold organically throughout the story.

Remember, not all aspects of the character's backstory need to be explicitly mentioned in the narrative. It's important to choose and reveal elements that have the most significant impact on the character's present circumstances and development.