Just realised that almost none of my text refers to the player’s gender. All the dialogue is directly to the player, all the description is in second person. There is near zero “discussion about the player character between other characters” which is where pronouns would come up. Adding gender choice might be easier than I thought!
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After a long break from working on it I’ve began the first itchings of working on Shengzhang again… My plans around it have definitely significantly shifted from what I had originally imagined, but honestly if I can do any work on it and have a new functional demo before fall classes start again in August I will be quite pleased. I think part of my folly last time I worked on the project was spending so much time in scripting/menus/pushing what I could do technically, so I might default to simplifying a lot of the process and saving a lot of the higher tier refinement stuff for later down the road.
Honestly though, I think this semester at uni [boy does it feel strange after such a long break from formalized classes, I feel like a fawn with unstable footing but nonetheless] has been productive, if for nothing else than for giving me the space to do some serious thinking about the writing process. I am hoping to do an internship next year with a professor here who specializes in fantasy writing, but I will have to see how that goes since it’ll rely on me ending up on good terms with him. I always enjoy scrolling through here though and seeing what people are talking about, I hope everyone is having great luck with their projects and enjoying writing!
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I had a crunch of a week or two where I tripled my usual writing output trying to make a deadline. It worked but now I’m exhausted and need a few days to recuperate.
I’m going to be starting an ending soon. What style of interactions do people like in endings? Like, if you have close friends, and you write a ‘here’s what happened to them scene’, to do you like it more when you give them advice (which, presumably, they will make), make a choice of how you interact with them (like staying friends or cutting them off), or having reactions (like finding out they went to grad school and you can be happy or jealous?) Of course in a long ending you can have all three, but I’m just interested in how people feel or in good endings that people enjoyed.
I tend not to remember endings of IF very much; my memories are usually of the challenges in the middle. That’s why I’m asking people here!
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I just want the ending to be something that fits the dynamic of that particular relationship, something that reflects and rings true with that particular character’s arc and my role in it.
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I agree with this!
I think some of my favorite/satisfying endings are the ones that do call-backs from your choices in that character’s growth arc and how MC affected the trajectory of their life. So sometimes I just like seeing an ending that’s a culmination of your choices rather than final choices to cater to the ending you want. (Though sometimes adding in more choices for MC to decide how they feel about the consequences of previous choices are always fun, too!)
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Was there a lot of build-up about there being ghosts leading up to this scene? Is this generally a supernatural setting? If not to either of them, then I’m sure you’ll be fine. If so, does this scene accomplish anything for the characters or the reader other than being a ghost hunt? So long as there is a point to this scene, I think it belongs, even if there is some disappointment.
I’ve felt a lot of disappointment when reading stories, but often that disappointment sets up for a better payoff later.
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It’s a sci-fi setting where supernatural is a thing, but they are on that particular ship to do a mundane investigation, not a supernatural one (the ghost talk is just something they prepare for as a potential danger, because there’s so much happening already so I didn’t want to put in a ghost encounter on top of everything else but it would be reckless to not prepare for it since it’s the kind of place that draws in ghosts in the worldbuilding and I don’t like the thought of erasing it for the sake of one story).
The scene does kick one plot arc to a higher gear though (and is very significant in correcting historical accounts in-world too), it practically houses the first act’s turning point or so.
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Thanks, both of your answers are helpful! I like the idea of focusing on the overall story and making your past choices matter
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there’s a dnd module where that exact thing happens. Not sure how much help a fantasy ttrpg can be but maybe it could give you some pointers?
Spoilers for module name:
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, it’s also been updated to 5e in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
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I had a cute little niece born a couple days ago. 
You can tell how seriously this family takes my very reasonable suggestions, however.
I’m hoping that I can kick my writing into a higher gear this week now that I’m finally out of the action scene branches. I want to catch up on some of the goals I set for myself, just because it’d be nice to actually accomplish them for once. 
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Aww, congratulations on your baby niece!
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Thank you! I love babies, but doubly so when I can hand them back to their parents when they get fussy. Sadly could never do that with my own.
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Gotta say I love the conceptualization of mana as threads and cobwebs. Cool stuff.
May I also offer the additional alternatives of bachelorian, bacheloaf, or bachelorax (for the more environmentally conscious of them).
I have none 
I have an estimated final word count based on how long the first chapter is, but no goal I’m trying to reach whatsoever. Maybe I’ll find a word count goal useful some day, but for now, I leave them behind in the days of university assignments.
There’s some characters where I’m wondering if I should be overhauling/scrapping 'em. And then there’s my uncertainty on how I’m doing the variables. I think I’ll need to upload the WIP and get other opinions to figure out the latter issue.
Today I went into my Wedding Crashers document, reviewed some stuff, and wrote in the game files. Not a lot, but it’s something, and I’m glad I could take a moment to do that. It feels like time is going really fast; we’re already past halfway through April, and the weekend is almost over. Back to work tomorrow. I hope I get to write a little more through the rest of the week.
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Thank you! I like the idea that mages see mana as motes and points of power and that healers see it as threads and connections to differentiate how they observe the world.
The way this made me laugh. Great way to start the day.
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That is a cool image. I feel like systems of magic are one of the easiest elements to disrupt suspension of disbelief, so finding one that works well is always a huge plus.
I may just have to remember that one for the future.
Yay for baby nieces (and nephews). Ah, sort of miss the days when my niece and nephew were that age. Dear gods does the time go by fast! Blink your eyes and they are off to college. Enjoy and treasure the time to come.
In my version of exciting news today, I am finally, after losing most of the month to it, done with the volleyball mini game. And now onto writing the rest of what I was trying to reach. Yay! Though I may need to add in a case where the volleyball mini-game ends prematurely if it carries on for too long. With spoiler three supernatural beings playing in the volleyball game, I wonder if I could get away with the volleyball suddenly rupturing or tearing or something? Wonder if those ever just randomly deflate?
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…is there any chance that someone could explain that bachelor joke?
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Ello. A bit peeved I am not managing to make a lot of progress. But I am not in a race I suppose. Still. Feels a bit like shit. But in that feeling I do wonder what you all think of the following.
You should consider actively putting your characters in tough situations where there is often no real easy answer within their reach and through which they have to make a touch decision that will define them and what they have been like up to that moment. Not simply for being decent writing and tension rising. But also as a way to force yourself as a writer to think deeply about what they would do and why.
I know some may consider it a cheap tactic to heighten tension or a bit railroady. So I am wondering what you all think of attempting something like that.
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Oh, there’s a children’s book about environmentalism that features a character called the Lorax. (As far as I’m aware, the character is unmarried, so the Lorax himself is, in fact, a bachelorax.)
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Hi fellow strugglers- been down with a cold over the holiday weekend, which on the bright side meant I got a lotta writing done!! I’m tying up the end of my chapter now and am looking to update/catch up the demo.. but first I have to blow the dust off my poor WIP forum thread, which has closed due to my business.
It says I’m supposed to reach out to the moderators to re-open it, does anyone know how I’d go about that? Thx!!
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It’s done.
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