Man, sometimes the first 2000 words just go straight from brain to page, and then completely slam into a concrete wall for the next 150-word paragraph, what is THAT about

Here's the thing I keep trying to articulate and possibly failing: I don't actually mind characters who are terrible people. I have enjoyed many. What I mind is characters who are terrible people while the narrative keeps trying to say that they are wonderful, often contradicting what the narrative shows us, with no self awareness

The problem is not the goodness or badness of the character, the problem is the extreme disconnect between telling (by the narrative, not other characters) and showing

File this under “super obvious yet I always seem to forget it.”

I don’t write romance (I totally respect people who do, though!) but this is also great writing advice in general! What is preventing the protagonist from achieving their goal?

Why can’t these two people be together now?

Why can’t the mystery be solved now?

Why can’t they overthrow the evil overlord now?

If you don’t have a solid answer for these questions, that’s a good indicator that the plot could use some more work.

Also test your answer a little bit. If it’s as thin as they’re just refusing to sit down and have a simple conversation, you might want to re-think how things are going.

As a beta reader/editor, I tend to ask this question a lot: “Why are they doing it this way when there’s a much easier path available?” That’s not to say that they should take the easier path, because that would usually be boring. Instead, the point is that the question needs an answer–either eliminate the easier path or give them a very clear reason for not taking it. (And if I’m asking the question, that reason isn’t as clear as you think it might be.)

I find it very difficult to root for characters who have a sensible option available and just don’t take it. If the only reason is “Because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise,” you haven’t actually found the story yet.

And this is why the Big Misunderstanding as a primary plot device is almost universally disliked.

And the reason can be illogical! It can be purely subjective to the characters with a way out that’s obvious to the audience! It just has to fit the story.

I’ve seen incredible authors pull off “this could be solved right now if the characters would just have a conversation” because the characters were blatantly not ready to have that conversation. They had too many misconceptions and too much history to overcome before resolving anything; real problems based in lifetimes of experience are not solved overnight.

It’s the difference between “they won’t take the easier path” and “they can’t take the easier path even though they want to.”

Do you ever write a sentence and then realize “Nah, that’s too self aware for you” and backspace a bunch of times.

"you're the writer, you control how the story goes" no not really. i wrote the first sentence and then my characters said "WE WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE" and promptly swerved into an electrical fence.

And then when we can't think of how to start it, we create memes

When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful. 

Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends. 

Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them. 

Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger. 

Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made. 

The flipside is also true!

Your protagonist is honest? That’s good… until their survival depends on them being able to lie convincingly.

Your protagonist is brave? That’s good… until they foolishly run headlong into danger without a thought for the consequences.

Your protagonist is forgiving and able to see good in everyone? That’s good… until they continually forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it, and get taken advantage of because they can’t fathom that some people just suck.

Your protagonist is funny? That’s good… until they piss off everyone around them because they don’t seem to be taking the situation seriously, and they keep avoiding dealing with their problems by hiding behind humor.

Most personality traits aren’t inherently good or bad. It’s all about context, and how far they go.

This was absolutely how I wrote Padmé, btw. Her tragedy is that every single one of her strengths is made to work against her.

this suuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. fuck nanowrimo. if you're doing NaNoWriMo this year, let them know how much this sucks and don't give them any of your money.

generative AI is not a classism issue it is not an ableism issue tHE WHOLE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS THAT YOU ARE WRITING AND NOT AN ALGORITHM.

in a move that surprises no-one, one of their primary sponsors is a generative AI company.

So it looks like NaNoWriMo are happy to have AI as part of their community. Miss me with that bullshit. Generative artificial intelligence is an active threat to creativity and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people in creative fields.

Please signal boost this so writers can make an informed choice about whether to continue to take part in such a community.

Here's the link to the article for those who wish to see it on their own browser https://nanowrimo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/29933455931412-What-is-NaNoWriMo-s-position-on-Artificial-Intelligence-AI

As a former ML, it's worth noting that in the last few months, many regions have broken off and gone independent due to the amount of bullshit going on behind the scenes.

We've been fighting against the current management for a long time, and we've been ignored, shut down, and shut out. Even those who chose to stay on in the hope they could affect some kind of positive influence have been ghosted.

The latest effects of that was NaNo HQ deleting all the community messages which many of us had left our regions, in which we explained what was going on and left trails for people to follow to new communities.

So, if you still want to participate in a November Novelling challenge, please do look up your local region and see if they still exist under a new name! I know so many MLs who are going it alone, but there's a reason it all happened during the off-season, and it was so that HQ could intentionally ensure that they had time to get rid of us while no one was watching. Even if your local region really has closed for good, there are many others who have opened their doors to the wider world. The name of NaNo might be over, but its spirit very much lives on, and we'd love to keep supporting you with your novelling adventures!

the whump fan’s dilemma

the notes on this post really do paint a picture of the psychology of fans, don’t they

YES. YOU GET IT.

when the objectively bad person has traumatic and honestly reasonable reasons for why theyre like that but it doesnt excuse their actions and only serves to make them more tragic as a character

“omg you’re so creative. how do you get your ideas” i hallucinate a single scene in the taco bell drive thru and then spend 13 months trying to write it

You will not use AI to get ideas for your story. You will lie on the floor and have wretched visions like god intended