ugh yeah, long dreams and flashbacks in italics are yucky.
i don’t hate flashbacks either but there’s a big difference between tolerating something and liking it and I think it’s better in the long run to push for something you like rather than settle for something you don’t mind.
I know, but you can do a much more emotional/interesting flash-back than a quick retell. Overall, yes, I prefer to focus on the story that unfolds on the page. This is why I want to rewrite my ONC into a novel without touching the main’s first love story. Instead, I want to add extra stories with the characters in the present, making bigger roles for current side cast. If i can hit 50K with it, yay me!
That actually sounds like a great plan! Just too bad I wrote a useless piece of meta-fiction for ONC 
(yes it got shortlisted, but no, it’s not grabbing tons of reads)
It is definitely a good plan for not missing out on the ONC fun though, while still working on stuff that feels worthwhile for your writing progression.
You shortlisted though! I had never shortlisted with ONC, so I have to invent my ways to justify participation. This year is super-brutal, because of my commitment to post weekly for Creators. Doing ONC overshoots their required counts BUT you have to post it in much tighter timeframe. And you can’t take a break afterwards to recover. 
Sure, but what does a shortlisting really give you? (I am very grateful for it though, as it’s the only accolade I’ve gotten for my writing so far)
The Creators commitments do sound kinda brutal in that way. Like I can usually post 2-3 chapters a week if I get into a story, but I also need breaks in between (so I guess the key is being patient and save the chapters instead of posting right away).
I got started with my app. This is kinda exciting.
Wanna see me stumble around trying to learn it while doing?
I think that a lot of people here are doing too much.
Your advice is more about time skips, which I have no problem with. I know when to cut out mundane details and get to the action and how to do it smoothly. My problem is, I want something to happen in the story but I don’t have a reason for it to happen yet. Or more a cause for the effect. I have an event that I don’t know how to lead up to. I need a journey that makes sense as to why it leads to the end.
I know I want there to be a ritual spell performed that will expose supernatural beings to the human world. I know I want it to be a last resort used by the antagonist to try and kill the protagonist, or at the very least get him killed. But I don’t know how to go from the antagonist doing their normal lie, cheat, and stab routine to try and kill the protagonist, to her being desperate enough to out herself as a witch, as well as all other supernaatural beings, in order to expose the protagonist too.
I can’t speak for others, but when it comes to me, I’m embracing my inner geek. And yes, you can be a writer and be a geek about it.
Oh, it doesn’t really give anything, but I thought I had a shot at the short list last year, because of how water-tight my novella was. I really loved it too.
But in hindsight, I also could see that lore was a bit complicated at the start, the genre didn’t fit any specific category and, like, there was no happy ending.
ONC overall should just be for fun and I am totally behind this notion.
That’s relatable.
One of the tricks that worked for me in the past is to work backwards. What has to happen for your character to get to point B? What has to happen for that to happen? Keep going back one step at a time to arrive at a logical conclusion.
Yeah, true, but I’m just focusing on writing something at the moment and making some manuscripts and seeing if those get anywhere. I can geek out later when I get clout or something lol. But your idea is interesting, and I never knew that there was a way to make your Google Sheets into an app. Never heard of AppSheet before.
Me neither.
It could be new.
It’s interesting. Not the easiest to use though.
It definitely was a great novella! And who knows why stories get chosen to be on the shortlist or win (it would be so much easier if we at least got to read some kind of motivation for the winner).
I agree about ONC mainly being about joy (although I may have forgotten that when I decided to write 2 ONC stories last year… because that kind of burned me out. My concern was actually that Faceclaim was too weird to ever do well, so I had to write a backup with a better shot ). But it’s still a lot of time to put into something that you can’t really use to promote yourself.
Well, there is always a hope that it blows up because the clubs helps it a little and the prompt was really cool? I guess? Maybe? I dunno. Last year one story went big like that (and deservedly, I loved it!) I got attached to Maximus and his drama, so I am looking forward to working with my poor misunderstood and rejected darling. 
But, yeah, thinking in terms of either making a shortlist for ONC or remaking it as a novel… I guess that would make it easier for me this year.
The first part certainly did, later parts had less to do with it, but it was directly generic, anyway.
My first reaction is spite house, as far as motive is concerned.
Not that it is this specific thing, but that this drive is one that is willing to lose all that you are to be cruel to someone else.
Easiest way is for the antagonist to be losing everythjng by losing this fight. If their life, livelihood, reputation, prestige is at risk by this annoying MC, then “I’m willing to ruin them and me in the process”. But if you want it to really be believable, you set up the steps to stripping away multiple things they want to keep.
Like if they have a boss or King, have that boss do the whole “you’re fired if you don’t fix this!”
A lover, in an argument could sympathized with the MC, playing on the “Am I in the wrong vs. you’re leaving me for him” hyperreaction.
Then there’s:
My finances are tied up in this thing you’re taking down. You bankrupt me and I’m taking us all down.
Possibly thinking about your antagonist as if they were the MC and trying to figure out what their life is like makes it a lot easier to strip who they are from themselves, have everything they value crumbling before their eyes. You’re trying to get this person to snap and believe that there is no coming back from this fight.
This is helpful advice, thank you. It makes sense with the character too, because she lost everything once because of the MC and if I have her lose everything she’s managed to gain since then because of him again, then that would definitely give her motivation to do what I need her to do. She would feel like she’s got nothing left to lose so the risk would be worth it for her. Thanks again. This definitely helped me generate some ideas.
So I’ve been wanting to get back into drawing again (I used to), but I didn’t really have motivation to start. Then I realized despite all of my intensive Pinterest searches, I could never find exactly the reference I needed for the characters in my stories. Then I was like ah hah! I can use drawing my OCs as motivation to draw - two birds with one stone! It’s been years so I decided to trace first until I get my mojo back. Then I can get closer to what I have in mind.
Anyway, so I decided to start with one of the mobster villains based somewhat on this guy. Writing some scenes of when the MC meets him in my prequel, and I’m like… oh no… he’s hot. Piece of sh*t guy, but def one of those “toxic bad boys” some gals are crazy for. 
Maybe I’m villain-ing right? It’d be too easy to make someone you hate right off the bat.
Anyway, here are my rough concept for today! Practice! (Also tattoos?! Hard! I just grabbed random stuff)
OMG, this is awesome. Love the model too!
Everyone can draw so well for “rough concepts” even if it’s traced a bit 
