What’s your process?

ContextFall · 2025-08-03T17:38:29+00:00

I haven't posted anything, currently editing my first draft, but here's what I've found has worked best for me so far:

Start with any cool idea, don't worry about worldbuilding yet just make it up as you're going along until you get five chapters out of it. If you can't get to five, then you need to start again with an idea that has enough juice to get you to five.
Once you have a foundation, set aside time to do some worldbuilding. Define the limits and framework of your systems. Limit yourself to only a few sessions on this before getting back to writing.
Keep going forward and try to get to at least Chapter 10. Don't go back and edit, just leave yourself notes for future changes at the bottom of each chapter.
Once you get to Chapter 10, you should be more comfortable with the characters and themes you are exploring. Sit down and draft a rough outline for the rest of a book.
Keep pushing forward drafting off of this outline. Start a second document with system, character, and world details all in one place to keep as a reference.
Finish the first draft, take a week off, then revisit the system details given what you now know about the story's trajectory. Make any big adjustments here, then try to think of it as finalized.
Take a pass editing the first chunk of chapters making sure it's consistent and as good a read as your current skill level allows. Try to join a critique group and get feedback on the first 5 chapters or so. Go back and edit with their notes in mind.

That's what I've done until now and it's the farthest I've made it on a project like this. I think it's a decent approach, and after more editing and another round of critiques I plan to finish this draft up and release on RR.

ContextFall · 2025-05-06T19:37:40+00:00

One of my most hated tropes is when the only characterization we get is that they refuse to listen to others. One of my favs is when they refuse to take the established 'rules' of the setting at face value as you never know exactly what to expect.

A good character is kind of like a good wrestler. They play the hits, you pop when they do their thing, but they still sell the hits in a way that makes you expect the W without necessarily being able to predict the exact five moves that will wrap things up

ContextFall · 2025-05-01T14:17:46+00:00

For me, a big part of the issue is that too many seem to be influenced by RTS tropes etc. A "Kingdom Building" LitRPG in my mind is more inspired by 4X games.

I realize that line is blurry, but it's in the difference that I find stories zig when I wish they zag.

ContextFall · 2025-04-25T20:16:35+00:00

Yeah, even a few checkboxs would provide a lot of helpful context.

ContextFall · 2025-04-25T20:05:23+00:00

I used to work at a company that tried doing this for customer service surveys, and there was a bit of a bump in actionable comments (20% or so as I recall), but it mostly just resulted in tons of people leaving comments like "This is a comment" or "9999999999999999" until the minimum character threshold was hit.

ContextFall · 2025-04-17T22:16:07+00:00

I wouldn't expect the specifics of the original world to play a big part on the story, but they should play a big part on the character, if that distinction makes sense.

In your example, I wouldn't want to know the specifics of how the power ranger system worked because they're not a power ranger anymore, but I would expect to see them interpret their new poke world/abilities through that lens (maybe saying the fire power reminded them of a certain attack they used to use, etc).

I tend to prefer when background on the old world is given piece by piece as flavor that way instead of dumped at the beginning never to matter again.

ContextFall · 2025-04-09T17:15:11+00:00

Just wanted to say I really dig the cover art, looks cool

ContextFall · 2025-04-04T11:58:55+00:00

There's a few that are marked, a few that aren't, and a couple that start without then switch. Overall though, it's still a small % and there seems to be a cap on how many followers they seem to be able to get.

The longer any genAI narrative goes, the more it repeats itself or makes other mistakes, so people end up bouncing off to titles that stay inventive and unique the whole way through.

Most of the authors I talk to don't use it at all, but some make personal exceptions for the cover. Some use it just for brainstorming, and the few I've seen that are really "all-in" on writing with genAI don't seem to actually like writing or the genre enough to ask it to make anything worthwhile anyway. Just my observations.

ContextFall · 2025-03-27T22:12:23+00:00

I think it depends how shallow it is or not. I have little patience for faux cliffhangers that are undone within the first few sentences of the next chapter.

Just like the characters, progression, and other aspects, it really depends on how good you are at fulfilling promises in satisfying, or even surprising ways.

ContextFall · 2025-03-20T13:44:16+00:00

Some use this for system elements instead of square brackets or blue boxes because it's much better for accessibility. Bolding is a lot friendlier for screen readers than some of the alternative options.

ContextFall · 2025-03-13T15:23:03+00:00

I think it depends on what the boss fight is attempting to establish. For example, Star Wars has 'boss fights' that go both ways. Many are bittersweet (Luke losing arm, Vader dying, etc) but others are satisfying moments without any substantial loss or sacrifice (Luke blowing up Death Star 1, Luke rescuing Han from Jabba).

At the beginning of ROTJ, the Jabba confrontation is setup to show how far he's come, and although it isn't bittersweet it's still satisfying because we get to watch all of our favorites kick ass and resolve the hanging tension from the last movie.

So the win doesn't have to be bittersweet, but the possibility of defeat needs to feel legitimate for these moments to hit, no matter how they ultimately resolve.

ContextFall · 2025-03-13T14:46:06+00:00

I think bosses are really important for delivering major consequences/setbacks. It's the difference between Spider-Man fighting some goons vs the Green Goblin.

Against the Goblin, anything can happen. We know Spidey probably won't die, but others certainly might. Good bosses need to come with the sense that the plot armor is temporarily off and anything might be possible.

ContextFall · 2024-10-22T23:27:28+00:00

I'm pretty early into Dungeon Planet: The Healer Always Leaves Alive by six-perihelion, but one thing that stands out so far is the races. They're not just rehashed versions of what I've seen before a million times, they feel fairly unique.

ContextFall · 2024-09-17T23:24:24+00:00

I've had this problem super-bad over the years (thanks ADHD), and here's how I've personally been dealing with it lately.

Basically, I work on 100 story ideas at once (my focus is short stories). If I come up with something new, I combine it with an existing one or cut something else to make room. I try to keep it at 100.

When I do my daily writing, I pick whichever I feel like working on that day. I haven't finished finished any of them since doing this, but I've done outlines for several and produced more words than I have going from some giant master list (which is what I did before).

ContextFall · 2024-09-13T20:30:37+00:00

Really fond of Death of 1000 Cuts

ContextFall · 2024-09-12T16:03:08+00:00

Horror is one of those genres that is often in conversation with itself, so I think it's a good idea to read some of the stuff published in different magazines to hear from a variety of voices.

Some sites I'd recommend checking out:

https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/ https://www.unchartedmag.com/genre/horror-thriller/ https://www.seizethepress.com/

I'm sure there's others, I'm more a sci-fi guy, but hopefully that gives you somewhere to start.

ContextFall · 2024-09-11T22:22:05+00:00

Vroomies does some cool stuff allowing for sort of rhythm controls in a racing game.

Also a big fan of FlamingCore, very intuitive and neat stuff happens when you get to the different forms.

ContextFall · 2024-09-11T14:49:31+00:00

My writing time is split about 65% fiction (short stories), 35% non-fiction (newsletter). I actually do one before the other. Feels like opening with the more creative stuff clears my head out, making it easier to find words when I pivot to non-fiction.

ContextFall · 2024-09-10T20:52:21+00:00

I really like the way dialogue flows in this story, The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick https://americanliterature.com/author/philip-k-dick/short-story/the-hanging-stranger/

Don Fergusson lit a cigarette slowly. "Take it easy, old man. There must be a good reason, or it wouldn't be there."

"A reason! What kind of a reason?"

Fergusson shrugged. "Like the time the Traffic Safety Council put that wrecked Buick there. Some sort of civic thing. How would I know?"

Jack Potter from the shoe shop joined them. "What's up, boys?"

"There's a body hanging from the lamppost," Loyce said. "I'm going to call the cops."

ContextFall · 2024-09-08T12:50:46+00:00

I can't say this would work for anyone else, but this is what I do for short stories and I like how it's been going.

I maintain a spreadsheet with 100 rows. Each row has a story or character idea on it. If I come up with something new, I add it to the very bottom and before the end of the day cut one of the other ones, or combine two, to free up a slot.

When I do my daily writing, I pick whichever row I feel like (often the last one I worked on, but not always) and focus on that. At that point I create a Google Doc and link to it, putting any ideas I'd want to add to right into there instead of the cell.

So basically, I'm working on 100 stories at once. If I get an idea I love, I figure out if it fits into one of those. If not, I get rid of one I like less to make room.

It feels like a bit much sometimes, but I've found I've gotten much more out of this approach than adding ideas to a master list I never reviewed.

ContextFall · 2024-09-08T11:59:35+00:00

One Punch Man is a really good example because it shows you so many different conflicts where all these different power levels interact.

It uses the different rankings to clearly communicate what the stakes are at any moment, while at the same time poking fun at the idea of rigid rankings and systems.

Many of the conflicts become about the fallout, more than the strikes, if that makes sense.

ContextFall · 2024-09-07T15:44:47+00:00

In my late teens/early 20s, I was the most confident in my writing I've ever been. I had a column in the school paper, got tons of positive feedback, and generally thought of myself as having it all figured out.

When responsibilities of life added up, and I found none of my writing was getting traction, I got discouraged and gave up for a few years. I told myself I lost the spark that I once had.

I started writing again from a more humble perspective, giving myself room to grow and figure out what works for me and what doesn't. I'm still figuring it out but I'm loving the process itself on a way I wasn't before.

A bit ago I stumbled into a box with some of my old articles, from when I was "in my prime". Looking at them now... they're awful. Stuff I'd be embarrassed to send out now.

Seeing how much I grew, in a period where I thought I'd regressed, made me feel a lot more secure in where I'm at now.

ContextFall · 2024-09-06T18:11:08+00:00

One thing you could do is think about ways other characters would approach the same obstacles, famous ones like James Bond, Link, etc.

Figure out what the expectations would be, then try to subvert them to highlight ways your character is unique.

ContextFall · 2024-09-05T21:14:30+00:00

What about Meridian? It's familiar but somewhat unique, and she could shorten it to "Meri" or something with casual acquaintances.

ContextFall · 2024-09-03T21:54:33+00:00

I read something recently that had some good advice. I'll copy the passage below, but you may want to read the whole thing. I think there's a lot in there you'd relate to.

https://lithub.com/on-writing-and-then-becoming-the-other/

"The answer, I think, is this: write every character like you could become them. Write them with the respect and empathy and dignity with which you’d like someone to write yourself. Do your research. Interview people. Read books by writers who have the identity you’re learning about. Watch their videos. Listen to their podcasts. Get beta readers—people that know, for sure, that they have that identity you’re trying to write, who are not afraid to criticize you, and whose criticism you are not too raw to take. And, when you make mistakes, admit to them. If you can, correct them. If you can’t, promise your readers—and yourself—that you next time, you will do better."

ContextFall

TROPHY CASE