elapach24

[elapach24]

Write your book STEP BY STEP

hello hello, it's me again!

today i'm bringing you a step-by-step / checklist to finally get your book done. i know it can be a bit complicated to put everything together to make your idea come to life (you're definitely not alone!)

that's why i compiled some tips and made this post, in hopes to help some author out there :D

let's get started.

PREMISE

assuming you already have a good idea in mind, you should start by writing a premise. to help you with that, try to answer these questions:

who is the main character?

what are their goals?

which troubles will they face / what's stopping them from achieving their goals?

do they have an opponent? if so, who?

now that you know the answers to these questions, it's time to write the premise. the premise consists in a sentence that summarizes your whole idea.

PLOT OUTLINE

there are infinite ways to plot your story. you can do it by writing down ideas and linking them together, following a scheme, or any other method.

the most common plot outlines are these:

synopsis outline: one to two pages, where you hit all the major beats of the story

in-depth outline: outline each chapter/scene

snowflake method: develop the premise into a bigger paragraph, and that paragraph into a page (etc.) until you have the whole outline of your story

booken method: plot the start and end of the story, and the main characters

the novel factory created plot sheets for free, and you can choose from eight different templates. you might want to check it out!

KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS

having your outline defined, you should start developing your characters now. the main character's profile might be more detailed than the others, however, it's up to you. there are many character sheets out there on the internet that will help you create flawless characters.

i have a post with resources that might be helpful when creating a character, check it out!

and here you have some prompts and sheets to create a character:

Quick Character Creator - EA Deverell

Extremely detailed character sheet template - @hawkasss

The Best Character Template Ever - Dabble

Character Twenty Questions Worksheet - The Writers Circle

at this point, you should also define the narrator's voice, tone, etc, as well as the pace of your novel.

LOCATIONS

define the principal locations of your story, the settings, and where the story is taking place. it's important to know how the environment looks, and how your characters feel about it.

for this part, you might find it useful to do some research about some locations, if you're not familiar with them. find inspiration on Pinterest, Tumblr, or even on books, paintings, and art. everything is valid.

if your story takes place in a fantasy environment, you might need to fill out a template to create it or write down the way you imagine it to be. try to get as many details as possible, so there are no holes when developing the novel.

SUBPLOTS

you might want to give more depth to your novel by developing a subplot (or more than one). make sure it doesn't get too confusing or that doesn't take the focus away from the main action.

the subplot can be a romance, another character's relationship, a character's arc, a backstory, etc. this will make your story more real and 3D, more realistic.

develop it as a side story and mix it with the principal plot but don't make it as important as the main story, otherwise, none of the plots will make an impact.

SYNOPSIS

write a synopsis as long as you wish, covering every important part of the story. this will help you to really know your idea, and have a solid structure for it. it can range from 500 to 2,500 words, but you don't have to restrict yourself to a number.

things the synopsis should cover:

the status quo

the complication

initial challenges

midpoint

further challenges

the low point

the climax

the resolution

DRAFT

and we get to the best part which is writing! now that you know everything about your story, characters, locations, and scenes, all you have to do is to put all that together in words. don't feel pressured to make everything look perfect already, just write what comes to your mind. if you have a new idea for the plot, good, write it down! if this character doesn't make sense anymore, okay, get rid of them. just go with the flow, following the structure you've planned, and everything starts to come to life.

i know it's so tempting to go back, read what you wrote, and start editing and polishing, but trust me, don't do that! it's a waste of time, and you will take so much more time to finish your first draft. in fact, i've given up on so many stories because of that...

just when you finish the first draft, you will re-read everything and start editing, fixing plot holes, changing what doesn't fit well, etc. but for now, just write, get the first draft done. enjoy the process, don't rush.

thanks for reading!

i hope this post was helpful!

also, you might be interested in this free workbook with over 90 pages and many exercises! check it out here: THE WRITER'S WORKBOOK

resources for this post:

How to Choose a Plot Outline Method: 4 Techniques for Outlining Novels

How to Write a Novel: A Step-by-Step Guide

[elapach24]

I didn't specify it in here so I do it now: I have never (and never will) give that terf my money, and I can't believe there's a human being with so much hate inside them to spend THAT amount of money to make a whole group of people's life miserable (more than it already is)

Things I’ve got to say about Harry Potter series (Part 1)

So I’ve been rereading the HP Series (again) but this time in English, yet before I had read it in Spanish only.

I just finished The Prisoner of Azkaban, and I felt like blogging a bit about it. And I hope to post something else when I finish the Half-Blood Prince or so.

First time I read this book I didn’t get too emotional, though it’s one of my favorites from this series; I’m not sure about the other times, but this, this hit me hard. Especially about what Lupin had to get through all after James and Lily’s dead.

So here are the things (without any order):

I almost cried when Lupin saw the Marauders’ Map for first time in 16 years or so. I can’t explain how much nostalgia and sadness I felt he was feeling.

I screamed when Lupin got to the Shrieking Shack and found Sirius for first time in 12 years. I don’t ship Wolfstar, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t get how much they value each other; and, at that exact moment, I felt that Lupin focused all the marauders friendship in Sirius and Sirius only.

I can’t believe I didn’t cry properly. But I haven’t cried over a book in my entire life, so…

Almost every Romione shipper use to talk about Ron noticing all about the Time-Turner along the school year, but we don’t talk enough about Ron giving Pigwidgeon to Crookshanks to make sure he was truthful.

Yeah but Ginny made a card for Harry after he fell from his broomstick because of the dementors. Tell me she’s not the most romantic character of the series (in a healthy way). I love her.

All Weaslys are so cute, I need one.

About the three books I’ve reread, I’m amazed how all the clues for everything to get resolved are connected and hidden through the pages, and how you don’t see them until the third time you read the books or so.

I know it’s on trend to hay Dumbledore, but he’s fascinating, as person and as a character, even when he doesn’t do the best, the right, the kindest thing he could do, he’s got his reasons and is convinced of them.

Hermione it’s more annoying in the English version. That doesn’t mean I don’t love her, I do, she’s probably my second favorite HP character, but dude, calm down.

JK had a lot of internalized misogyny to show in her writing, hadn’t she?

I don’t like the eBook covers, no reason, just don’t give the right vibes Ig.

Sirius Black is romsexfavorable aroace in my mind, and you can’t change it. My mind, my aroace headcanon.

Now, I can’t detach myself from the Harry Potter Series. Yes, I feel sort of betrayed by Joanne, she’s taken a position against my community after years of defending minorities and oppressed groups. But these books saved my life in a no figurative way. I’m sorry if I’m offending someone by keep consuming her content, but this literally means so much for me, too much more than what she has said and tweet; even when all this matter has affect me deeply (I kinda had her in a pedestal), I can’t.

[elapach24]

Hello, I Made An Updated Version Of The Polysexual Flag!

the pink stripes represent:

queer love

arospec and acespec and polyamorous polysexuals

attraction to many, but not all genders

the white stripe represents:

transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, and otherwise cisn't polysexuals

and the dusty lavender stripes represent:

defiance against heteronormativity, allonormativity, cisnormativity

defiance against monosexism

solidarity with other multisexuals

lavender and pink were chosen as the primary colors because of their significant history in the queer community and how it represents love respectively; I specifically chose that shade of pink as it was the first stripe of the OG polysexual flag

my reasoning for making a replacement was to make a polysexual flag that is more accessible and has more meaning for our community, as I felt the OG polysexual lacked both of these things as the flags meaning isn't all to different than the pansexual flag + it's design causes many people including myself eyestrain

I hope you all like it!

#reblogging 'cause I wish everyone used this instead of OG

[elapach24]

CÓMO QUE EN CUBA LE DICEN ABSORBENTE AL PITILLO WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK

y sorbeto JAJSKAJAKAJA QUEJESO

Are you trying to kill your mother? Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

#I love languages

[elapach24]

Quick question about the last post: Is there like a specific amount of words for fics to be considered a long fic? Like how drabbles have 100 words, or is it just like ... a longer fic? If that makes sense

There's no specific definition for longfic that I'm aware of. My own personal approximate guide is:

shortfic = under 10K words. This includes things like drabbles and ficlets.

mediumfic or midfic = 10K-50K

longfic = 50K to 100K

epicfic = 100K+

I drew my own definitions from the publishing world where shortfic is like a short story, midfic would be a novella, longfic would be a novel, and epicfic would be... well, an epic.

A lot of people use the term longfic to indicate both long and epic length stories. It's rare that I hear the terms mediumfic or midfic at all, and it's usually a kind of tongue-in-cheek tone when I do. All of these definitions will vary from person to person and really drabble is the only one I hear consistent arguments about.

Feel free to share your own thoughts on longfic (and other types of fic) lengths in the notes!

#me: doesn't read any fic longer than 10k #also me: never writes fics shorter than 100k #it's a curse

[elapach24]

My aromanticism is not a lack of something. Nothing has been withheld, nothing is missing.

All that it is is something that has allowed me to better understand myself. Why I want what I want, why I don't what I don't, and what exactly will make me happiest moving forward.

In a way, it's like my near-sightedness. Like how the world gradually got blurrier as I got older. Like how I noticed that I wasn't quite seeing things in the same way as other people, and how that made it difficult to navigate certain topics.

But here's the thing: in this metaphor the label of aromantic is not the blurry vision. It is the glasses I tried on that suddenly made clear why romance didn't quite click for me. Then the contacts that I now wear like a second skin.

The blurry vision was not my aromanticism, it was my lack of understanding of my aromanticism. And now that I have contacts, now that I have a label that fits, I can plan my future more clearly, do more things that make me happy, be myself.

[elapach24]

fuck i can’t believe i wasted my entire life being moved by art and beauty and the indomitable human spirit ugh i should’ve been making money through internet scams

[elapach24]

do any of you ever reach a point in your hyperfixation where you like it so much that you start feeling like you actually can't interact with it because of how much you like it. does that make any sense at all. like the idea of watching the show becomes unappealing not because your love for it is flagging but because you feel like you don't have the strength that day to contain your own excitement about it so you have to wait for a day where you don't feel so wholly consumed it makes you sick

#when I can't read VV because I'm so tired #if I start I will read and entire chapter even if my eyes are shutting themselves and then I couldn't sleep because of my eyes aching #VV

[elapach24]

Please stop giving your leg amputees weird robot toes. I don't know why this is as much if a pet peeve to me as it is, but there's a reason why even the most advanced prosthetics irl don't have them and its not because the tech isnt there yet (kind of).

Making that many joints so close together is very difficult and will make the foot increadibly heavy for function that can mostly be replicated by a sheet of bendy carbon fibre (what irl prosthetic feet are usually made of). That many articulated joints are hard to control (even on hands, it's a challenge, and your hands dont have to weight bare), they will add a lot of weight, and will mean more power will be needed. Not to mention the joints would be points of weakness in an area that will be, at some stages in the walk cycle, bearing the majority of user's weight. Unless your character is going to be using their prosthetic feet as hands to grab things like that villain from Kim Possible, they are more trouble than they're worth, and your character doesn't need them.

And look, if the reason you want to give them robot toes is because you have a thing for feet... why did you make them a foot amputee, of all disabilities lol? Odd choices aside, if that's the reason, just be honest about it, because why else is it always "sexy cyborg" type characters that have them?

Joking aside, the goal of a prosthetic is not (usually) to look as similar to "the real thing" as possible, it's to improve mobility. As such, sometimes the best solution will not be what looks the most "normal with a robot aesthetic twist". In the event looking like the real thing is the main goal, we already have the tech for that. Many prosthetics have silicone covers that look so realistic you wouldn't be able to tell unless you can see the top of the socket (where the artificial limb meets the real thing) and you don't have to give up much mobility or functionality to use them, since that carbon fibre sheet I mention just gets hidden inside the cover.

Signed an amputee who finds your pudgy little foot fingers unsettling and wishes people would stop giving robot ones to characters unnecessarily for the sake of making something that looks "normal".

[ID: an animated gif of a character from Kim Possible in a red dressing gown, using his hand-like feet to pour himself some tea. he places the tea pot down and it focuses on his hands, in a close up. the caption reads "and risk damaging these hands?" /end ID]

[elapach24]

another rare AF promotional pamphlet

I posted a few months ago about how I'd acquired an uncommon Artemis Fowl promotional booklet containing some exclusive content. Well, here's another one!

This one is smaller (14 pages), and is really just a few activities for kids, but it's wrapped up in a really fun presentation: It's a Human Intelligence Agent passport! That's right, if you're carrying one of these bad boys, you are officially part of the LEP.

Here's the front and back covers. It was evidently produced in 2003 to promote Eternity Code. It's about 4.5x6 inches, and the cover really sort of feels like an official passport. It's thick cardstock, I believe. The pages inside are standard paper. Basically, the point of it is that kids can complete the activities inside to receive stamps, and when they've done them all, they are officially an agent. Idk if the event staff were stamping these things at whatever event in 2003 was passing them out or not, but that seems likely to me. I was a small child in 2003 and there wasn't much info alongside the item when I got it so who knows.

I might as well post all of the pages. I am especially amused by the wrong answers included on some of the multiple choice questions.

Something I find notable is that the gnommish letter Q is included here. It never appeared in an AF book until Time Paradox in 2008, so I had assumed that they hadn't bothered to make up a symbol for it until that time. But I guess not! They'd settled on what Q looked like at least as far back as 2003.

#ADOOOOOOORE IT

[elapach24]

“Make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you. Know your worth, even if they don’t.”

— Thema Davis

[elapach24]

"unfortunately I like men" What do you mean unfortunately?? Have you seen men?! I'm lucky to like men!! I love that I love men!! There's so much fortune to be had in being attracted to men!!

[elapach24]

Spoopy Season Safety

[elapach24]

it kills me each time

ten years

[elapach24]

[elapach24]

sometimes i’m normal but then sometimes i think about the endless religious symbolism and parallels in the raven cycle and i want to chew on glass. like something something cabeswater and eden. adam’s name, his being made ‘from dust’, his pursuit of knowledge beyond the circumstances of his birth. ronan being referred to as ‘the snake’: the one who always tempts adam into recklessness. ronan and declan and cain and abel (i wash my hands of him) (i am not my brother’s keeper). gansey’s resurrection, his third birth. ‘important things come in threes?’ ‘or sevens’. ronan and joseph kavinsky and joseph the prophet with their strange dreams that overlap into the real world. dreaming as a form of blasphemous creation. the three fox way women and the holy trinity. aurora lynch and the virgin mary and matthew lynch and the infant jesus - immaculate conception, pure souls without sin. absent yet overly mythologized fathers. i am going to throw up

[elapach24]

YES like ambiamorous demipolysexual fraytoricromantic lesbian-alterous polygender (nebularian, maverique, agender, androgyne and some in-between —and maybe catgender too?) it's a little bit too long so maybe polyamorous demisexual aroflux nb is what *queer people* get. And non-queers only get "I'm queer" or maybe "I'm the queerest person you'll ever met" if I feel inspired

does anyone else just say the "simpler" version of their identity? like saying i'm a trans aroace gay sounds more simply then saying i'm gendersatyret, genderfaunet, polysexual, oriented aroace, aegoromantic and cupioromantic.

#ambiamorous #demisexual #polysexual #frayromantic #toric #lesbian #alterous attraction #polygender #nebularian #maverique #agender #androgyne #polyamorous #queer #ace #aro