The Bean

@That_Writer_Girl_99 If you can keep your stories a manageable size then good for you. You’ll save yourself so much time and effort. 😛

@That_Writer_Girl_99 good work. Really, you’re off to a great start kicking your story into action. That’s something I had to learn the hard way— how to start a story and keep the pace from the very first sentence. You’re doing great.

The few things I do wanna mention are more ways you could improve the prose itself than for the structure of…[Read more]

@That_Writer_Girl_99 I’ll be praying.

@Daeus yeah. Probably.

@Daeus ha! Well, that’s good. Adding stuff is fun. You get to go deeper and discover more, instead of having to painfully cut material you already fell in love with and condemn it to the void of unknown-ness forever… *dramatic sigh* One of these days I’m gonna write a first draft that’s only 50,000 words. You wait and see.

@GracieGirl YES. Same here. Identical. I hadn’t thought it out so clearly or beautifully, but yes. 😉

@Daeus CONGRATULATIONS! *showers you with leaves and flowers and chocolate chips and anything else no one has thought of before* How long is it?

Okay. So…I guess…I need to come up with how I want Kara’s character to progress, and then outline it from there?

@That_Writer_Girl_99 yep. Sounds like a plan. I’m here if you have any questions. I’ll try my best to answer. 😉 And sure, go ahead and post it, or do a link to a google doc or something. 🙂

@That_Writer_Girl_99 yep. Not being duplicitous in the least. That was totally a compliment and should totally be taken at face value. You’re doing great. Your thoughts probably feel jumbled in your head because expressing them on paper (and to someone else) is so much more organized it helps you think straighter. 😉

@That_Writer_Girl_99 nope. Not being duplicitous in the least. That was totally a compliment and should totally be taken at face value. You’re doing great. Your thoughts probably feel jumbled in your head because expressing them on paper (and to someone else) is so much more organized it helps you think straighter. 😉

OH MY GOODNESS @ETHRYNDAL, YOU DON’T JUST PRAISE PEOPLE TO THEIR FACES! XD

*can’t stop grinning* You have so totally got this, Elizabeth. It would be completely fine for her to come to grips with Blake’s truth and then spend the rest of the story deciding what she’s going to do about it. But I would be wary of that happening right away. That’s…[Read more]

@That_Writer_Girl_99 here I am! Thanks for your patience. 😉

Very good thing to start talking about, yes. Blake’s should probably be flat; correct. As for Kara, I’m thinking it’s going to be a bit of a mix between a disillusionment arc and a positive change arc.

What’s a disillusionment arc? Well… it’s a positive change arc. But instead of…[Read more]

@That_Writer_Girl_99 not a problem. 🙂

And… I really couldn’t tell you. It depends entirely on how long you want your story to be and how long it takes for you to properly cover all the different twists and various aspects of the plot. Intuition is my surest guide here, speaking personally— so long as the midpoint generally falls in the…[Read more]

Okay Elizabeth, here I am again. 😀

The next plot point is the Midpoint. This is where Kara transitions from reacting to the events of the story to actively pushing the story herself. Which means she needs to settle on what basic EiL she’s going to side with and start fighting for. She’s not going to think it out in so many words (‘I believe…[Read more]

@Daeus YES! A chance to rant! *rubs hands* Where to begin…?

The forum specifically has been a place of great comfort to me as it’s full of people who think the same way I do and speak the same mental language. Just knowing there are other people like me out there is so meaningful, even setting aside the help we’re able to give each other by…[Read more]

@That_Writer_Girl_99 my pleasure. And really, it’s good for me as well. It helps me solidify and become more skillful with the things I’ve learned if I try to teach them. 😉

Okay… signing out now… have a lovely evening. 😉

@That_Writer_Girl_99 ha! See? You don’t even need me! 😀 You’re doing great by yourself. *grins* Really and truly you are.
I need to sign out now, so we’ll tackle the midpoint tomorrow, okay?
(By the way. I think I’m officially in love with Blake. He sounds like an amazing character).

@That_Writer_Girl_99 that is great and that is awesome and I could not approve more. *hugs you*

The question you wanna ask yourself though is how you’re going to make this tie into the FPP. First, if you’re going to use Blake as Kara’s main foil and impact character (a character whose differences push your MC along in their arc) you need to get…[Read more]

@That_Writer_Girl_99 sure! Fire away. 😀

All right. @That_Writer_Girl_99 one point I need to make here before we approach what a midpoint is. These plot points are in order, yes, but they do not come in quick succession. There is progression between all of them. Progression and growth as the struggles and conflicts bounce off each other in the form of the different characters.
Think…[Read more]