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you motherfuckers better be lifting with your legs and not your back
As someone who only draw single pieces, your ability to write is fascinating to me…I’m curious, how do you start building the storyline for longer fics?
Do you just think of a scenario (e.g., A punched B in the face) first and expand around it (What happened that leads to A punching B, what happens after, do they resolve their conflict)? Or do you start with the potential story arc of your central character (how A goes from a cocky person to a responsible one), or through some other ways entirely?
(TLDR: How do you plan out the storyline of your fics?)
Oh my gosh anon you just got awarded question of the night I love talking about writing (even if im answering these bc im currently blocked from writing ASDFGHJK).
And really my answer is both in a way!! Sometimes I'll think of a scenario first and expand around it, or the potential of character arcs. Long fics can spin from any idea big or small.
The fic I'm working on now? The Four Knights actually came from a joke with a friend. We were speculating about our own separated aus for fun and I really got stuck on Megamind-stylized villain!leo that was just a silly goofy guy because yeah. Canon!leo is dramatic af. And then I started asking myself questions.
Here's the important part in figuring out a long fic, or even just writing in general, is to keep asking yourself questions.
Okay so Leo is a villain, why is he like that what led him down that path? That's a broad question that will lead down to a lot of little questions, which is where the plot starts rolling.
Okay so he's a villain because his motivation is to take over the Hidden City, but how is going to attempt to do that? Okay now he has his own version of a Hidden City gang just like the Masters of Barbarianism or Makers of Brutality, but how will this make him interact with important figures like Draxum and Big Mama?
Knowing your characters is also important. Characters are your anchor, your guideline. All this question-asking relies on knowing your character well enough to have an answer to what they would do in that situation.
The things I focus on in character writing, especially when thinking with planning a plot in mind, is their strengths and their flaws.
Now as for the Planning planning part, different writers have different techniques. Sometimes someone just needs to sit down and write what they have in their head. As for me? I'm a very dedicated out-liner.
I'll write down all the main ideas or sick imagery I had in mind. Like why does villain!leo have a bird mask, we totally gotta flesh that out. And then I begin with a rough outline of the story breaking it into different parts or acts.
I tend to do this when I'm more focused on character arcs, with a character's traits and motivations progressing throughout a story.
For me this is super brief, just a line of bullet points to keep the ideas running. And then I'll get into chapter by chapter outline.
I make chapter by chapter outlines with a broad sense of what I want to happen in one chapter and then move onto the next. Once I'm done with that I return back to the start to refine the details into bullet points.
And this is a lot (if I'm passionate abt one thing it's writing) so,
tldr: Start with a broad idea or goal, and keep breaking it down into chunks. First by questioning why the main goal would happen, and then fleshing out the details little by little.
I wish you the best of luck with writing and art!!!! The act of creation is a time-consuming, but is ultimately wonderful and full of passion. Hope my word vomit was helpful haha.