hey do you have any tips on plot development? how to do come up with relevant but dramatic things to keep the plot going? i also don’t want to make it too intense?
I actually have quite a lot of resources that I’ve created over the years surrounding plot development. I’ve linked as many as I could find for you:
Resources For Plot Development
Useful Writing Resources
Useful Writing Resources II
31 Days of Plot Development
Novel Planning 101
How To Write A Good Plot Twist
How To Foreshadow
What To Cut Out Of Your Story
Tackling Subplots
Things A Reader Needs From A Story
A Guide To Tension & Suspense In Your Writing
How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story
Planning A Scene In A Story
21 Plot Shapes and the Pros and Cons Of Each
How To Outline Effectively
Tips On Writing Intense Scenes
Writing The First Chapter
Tips On Starting A Scene
Plot Structures
Finding & Fixing Plot Holes
Wei Wuxian: *after climbing out of the Burial Mounds like an angry goblin* The Wen remnants will no longer hide in the shadows, and you will give into our demands!
Jin Zixuan, now in charge after he and Meng Yao got together and decided dear old daddy was better off dead: Sure. Watcha want, fam?
Every other cultivator in attendance: *worried murmuring, absolutely sure he’ll open his mouth like a cat from hell and eat them all, or something equally stupid*
Wei Wuxian: We demand; equal rights, equal freedoms to roam around and cause as much bullshit as any other cultivator or citizen, and the blood of your firstborn children!
Wen Qing: *shoves him in the side* What? Why blood?
Wei Wuxian: So we have something to give up in the negotiations and make them think they have the upper hand.
2YO Jin Ling: *has been, till now, playing with Wei Yuan on the ground, looks up at his new uncle he’s heard so much about with big eyes* Da-JiuJiu? Da-JiuJiu, I got an owie while playing earlier, is this enough blood? *points to his scraped knee*
Wei Wuxian: *big tears in his eyes* The offer... is accepted...
nananananana Batfam!!
°˖ ✧◝(○ ヮ ○)◜✧˖ °
yue qingyuan, holding up a portrait of shen jiu: have you seen my shidi?
random cang qiong disciple: is peak lord shen missing? do we need to search for him??
yue qingyuan, looking at the portrait and sighing wistfully: no, I just wanted to show you how handsome and elegant he is.
A note taking method that blends the best of paper and digital note taking that I’ve been exploring lately. So far it’s working really well for me :) Hope it helps!
Each note taking system has its pros and cons. Here are some of the problems I found with (fully) paper and (fully) digital note taking systems.
Paper
Can’t use the search function on your notes.
Can’t add images and other types of digital files easily.
Difficult to keep overview between notebooks.
Can’t share these as easily as digital notes.
Digital
Not as ‘romantic’.
Sometimes less engaging.
Lack of physical presence can lead to you forgetting about it.
Can be more difficult to do things like sketching, making schemes, making illustrations etc.
Benefits of Hybrid
I like using hybrid methods because they bring you the best of both worlds.
Easily searchable.
Information in your notes is traceable.
Makes it easier to find and carry out actions e.g. finding extra info.
Doesn’t damage books.
Allows you to embed different types of files.
Source material (e.g. book, academic paper)
Any kind of notebook :)
Digital note-taking app → I like Notion (it’s free).
As you go, use a pencil to lightly put numbers into the margins whenever you deem something worthy of noting down or remembering. This will help you locate the source of specific parts of your notes later.
Write the information down in question-and-answer style. Come up with useful questions that link to the material you want to remember (e.g. Q → What is the main problem with using platform-based planning for new ventures? A → Assumptions underlying the plan are used as fact rather than best-guess estimates to be tested and questioned). Use the numbers you placed in the margin of the pages to specify the source of the information you used for each answer.
Example → Chapter 1 page 27 note 3 becomes 1.p27.3
Supporting notes
Write down your thoughts, anything you’re curious about, things you want to look up, things you’re confused about, actions you’ve been inspired to do, etc. For example → ?m Maybe I can apply this to my visualization assignment? / ! Look up what 'plurality of the future’ is / fex Organizational transformation through design. I find this a great way to support and manage the learning process.
Action key
Keep a small action key in which you have an overview of what your action marks mean (e.g. ?m→ questions to myself, f → find, fex → find example, ?? → I don’t get it, ! → general actions)
Don’t be afraid to customize your actions!
Actionable notes
Your paper notes will contain a structured and easy to read overview of actionable items that came up during the reading. This can be questions you need answered, reminders to find specific information, etc. This will make them a lot harder to forget to do!
Easily traceable sources
With the codes you’ll be able to tell easily and quickly where the information you’ve written in your notes came from.
Searchable & review-ready notes
Notes will be (mostly) made in question-and-answer style. This will allow you to easily review using active recall. All you need to do is cover/hide the answer and you can check how well you truly know the material.
Thanks for reading!
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thoracic aorta (chest & heart)
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common carotid artery (neck)
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Guide to Story Researching
A Writer’s Thesaurus
Words To Describe Body Types and How They Move
Words To Describe…
Writing Intense Scenes
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i will not apologize to my sibiling whos done the same thing to me and never apologized you hypocrite
Here’s something nuanced that people might miss if they’re not familiar with formal bows in Chinese period drama. The juxtaposition of the former and present Chief Cultivators alongside their better halves isn’t a coincidence.
Why did NHS take three steps back before giving that bow? He was including WWX as a recipient, thereby gauging where WWX stood with His (newly-minted) Excellency.
Whether it’s Xiao Zhan’s acting choice or the director’s frame composition, there’s no mistake that his half-turn was a deliberate invitation for the audience to read between the lines. WWX didn’t need to look at LWJ; his sidestep actually conveyed something.
Making a formal bow might look like an art form to those unfamiliar with the practice, but not everyone knows that accepting a bow is just as tricky. Bows can mean more than a simple greeting or a wave goodbye.
Withstanding or enduring a formal bow takes several prerequisites: seniority, meritorious deed, virtue – those lacking in the proper category might lose a few years off their lifespan; such is Heaven’s way of punishing one for their hubris.
A line from Confucius’ commentary on the I-Ching points out that those unworthy of their title (or the tribute paid to them) will draw disaster unto themselves. So, not just anyone can stand there and take it when someone of import presents a formal bow.
You bow to someone (1) in recognition of their rank, (2) in gratitude for something they’ve done, or (3) when making a formal request.
If they accept or return the bow without fuss, then it’s as good as saying (1) “Yes, I am s/he who rightfully holds the title.” (2) “You’re welcome.” (3) “Leave it to me; you can trust me with it.”
To avoid the inherent obligations in receiving a particular bow from someone, you can: -dodge sideways or turn away from the “front and center” position. -brace them up with your palms under their elbows so they can’t complete the bow or get down on their knees. -if all else fails and dignity is no object, kneel as quickly as they do so you’re not the last wo/man standing.
Coming back to the very interesting cinematic direction:
Although Qin Su is adjacent to JGY, she is not her own – she’s barely an auxiliary. Those who bow to her do it because of whom she’s with, not who she is.
You probably won’t find a well-matched power couple in a similar state. Take for example, Jiang Fengmian of the Yunmeng Jiang clan and Yu Ziyuan of the Meishan Yu clan.
On the other hand, WWX isn’t shoulder-to-shoulder with LWJ. One could even say, in this particular scene, WWX was safeguarding him. Not someone under the Chief Cultivator’s aegis, but rather, someone who precedes him.
In turning aside the reverence accorded to the new Chief Cultivator, WWX likely also signaled that he would not be bound by the limitations of what His Excellency should and shouldn’t do.
“WWX, a Strong & Independent Woman” jokes aside, this cold shoulder is extra delicious considering the other two layers – an ironic reminder that by all rights he should be receiving NHS’s belated gratitude for avenging NMJ’s murder (albeit under duress via MXY’s curse), and that a proper request for his aid (while he was still compos mentis) was never made in the first place.
Judging by how this scene was kept in the last 10 minutes of the finale according to the original editor’s intent, the textured play highlights the undertow among the three friends, and is a preview of the future of the cultivation world.
It perfectly captured their emotional dynamics: LWJ’s reserved gratitude toward the mastermind who schemed for his lover’s comeback and WWX’s refreshed circumspection and optimism dovetailed with MXTX’s barebones outline at the novel’s end – a foreshadow of things to come. In other words, the rise of the House of Nie under the stewardship of NHS.
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Footnotes - an example of bows used in different ways:
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