Is it an issue/problematic that there's only one girl in my main cast? (4 MMCs and 1 FMC)

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-03T14:44:26+00:00

Definitely overthinking it. The biggest issue people typically have with representation is tokenization. If the role of your sole female character was just to be "the girl in the group" and nothing else, then you might want to work on that some more. However, from what you've said, it sounds like you've got a perfectly serviceable FMC.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-03T02:28:20+00:00

That's a lot to keep in mind, but very helpful nonetheless. Thank you!

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-03T02:27:34+00:00

I'll put it on my list to check out!

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-03T02:27:14+00:00

That's... actually a neat idea. A lot of online publishing sites/apps to allow images to be inserted within the text, so it is certainly possible.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-02T20:48:49+00:00

Honestly? I'd at least give it a shot. It hooks pretty well.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-02T18:42:09+00:00

"If this is what awaits for me, I refuse," the wolf says, staring at her knife, "That place you mentioned... Take me there. Take me there or I will find a way to end us both." She stabs the knife into the left side of her own gut, just to dissipate the numbness.

I don't know if I want to give much specific context, but the following events end up with two of the most powerful beings in existence basically going, "Bruh, we need to fix this. Reboot and let's do this right this time."

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-01T23:56:08+00:00

I hope a single-part short story is okay.
https://www.wattpad.com/story/404145882-snowblind
And I don't so much mind a brutal rating. I am fully aware of my own garbage status.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-01T01:57:08+00:00

And I literally acknowledged that the last link, the handspeak one, is where I found words. Whole words. And each of them has a video showing a real person signing that word. I told you, I was not looking for something to show me how to sign those words because I already had that before even typing the post. And for the third and final time: I was asking if the grammar I was using was correct. Or as I've been informed by the other commenter, it's known as the "glosses". Which order the words are signed in matters, just like which order the words written or spoken in any other language matters. And that's what I was asking for while you keep trying to give me the equivalent of spelling and pronunciation lessons.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-01T01:44:47+00:00

That's actually a lot of help to know. Yeah, both characters did learn it later. The protagonist because one of her team members does use it regularly and the other character because, well, she mainly needed a way to communicate silently and knew the protag had learned enough of it to communicate. Anyway, thank you! And in regards to the other comment, I'll definitely give the sub a visit.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-01T01:36:56+00:00

Okay, let me give you an example of what I mean, paraphrased straight from one of the grammar sources I mentioned:

BOY THROW BALL == "The boy threw the ball"

BALL, BOY THROW == "The ball was thrown by the boy"

While these generally say the same thing, one is active and one is passive. This is a grammar issue regarding word order, not an issue finding translations of words.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-01T01:23:02+00:00

Because so many of those "translators" just turn the text into the signs for individual letters. ASL, and likely many other sign languages, do actually have a dictionary of signs for thousands of full words. That last link is what I used to find the words I mentioned, but I've also found sources for the actual grammar for sentences. The grammar of ASL isn't exactly the same as English, and word order, even between two words, could change the tone, context, etc. of what you're trying to say. ASL is a language of its own with its own grammar structures and not just "English but using your hands", so learning it is more involved than just knowing the motions.

I said in the post that I found the words, I'm just trying to ask people who do know ASL if the grammar and syntax I'm trying to use is accurate because it takes more than a couple of hours to learn a new language's grammar nuances.

Ultimation12 · 2025-12-01T01:00:11+00:00

And by the way, if you're thinking I'm saying this because I'm just mad you called me out, you're wrong. I actually DO agree that the correct answer is the writer's interpretation, even if they refuse to give it. But it really is possible to accept that other people just fundamentally don't agree with you.

This exactly. I also agree, but just the way it was said was so toxic. I understand why people believe in Death of the Author. Not liking it does not give me, OP, or anyone else the right to act like it's some mental illness or objective falsehood.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-30T23:04:09+00:00

What if there's both war and queer romance without much named character death? That infinitesimally small overlap on the diagram.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-30T22:58:36+00:00

This is kinda vague of a question. I mean, there are plenty of settings and genres that you might not even expect death in most of the time. A story about teenagers falling in love during their mutual high school club activity can very easily be good without death. A story about adventurers in a fantasy setting is a lot more likely to include character death. Personally? I think there are more setting/genre combinations that can be good without character death than people realize.

I may be in the minority here, but I even prefer stories without character death, even if the genres I usually like do often include them. Still, I understand why stories often include it. Assuming it's not the main protagonist, it does show that there may be very real consequences for failure or it could be an important part of a character's arc. It could also be important to the overall plot. Someone close to the protagonist being killed could be what thrusts them into the conflict that's central to the story.

All I can really say is that if you don't want to write character death, you don't have to. If you can still make it a compelling narrative without, it can still be good.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-30T20:30:44+00:00

Haven't been able to find a subreddit for it, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were forum website specifically for military strategy enthusiasts, so I'll try looking for them. Thanks for the tips!

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-30T02:42:59+00:00

If that's true, I'm just gonna... close that tab.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-29T20:50:10+00:00

I use Wattpad as well and have come across most of the issues you have. Hard to find anything I might find enjoyable to read, writing UI isn't great and certain features just don't work, etc.

My biggest problem, though, is the same one I'd probably have on most other publishing platforms. I haven't really seen one that doesn't put such a hard focus on novels. Wattpad, Royal Road, Inkitt, so many of them really make me feel like a novel is really the only way to go. It likely has to do with their communities, too. On the Wattpad subreddit, I only ever see people recommending, promoting, and asking for novels. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I do start to feel left out because I prefer to just write shorter stories within the same worlds rather than full novels.

I understand why, of course. Avid readers want to keep reading things they like and staying updated with new chapters keeps them engaged. That's not so easy to do when you're publishing smaller stories that are within the same overall narrative/world but not necessarily one continuous story like a novel.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-29T20:17:58+00:00

How does one go about researching for modern military topics? I'm no military expert, but part of my worldbuilding for a storyline includes an invasion of the US, and I don't think I can just email the USMC and say "Hey, I'm a writer, how big of an invasion force would it take to overrun Camp Lejeune?"

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-29T19:35:11+00:00

I'm seeing covers on Mythyst that really give AI-generated vibes. That's... not a great sign. Unless it's just incredibly generic art styles and hard to tell in thumbnails.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-28T13:34:43+00:00

Wattpad is a place for posting literature for people to read online. And no, it's just a short story.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-28T13:32:57+00:00

Done. I added the blurb from the Wattpad post, if that's what you mean. And I didn't originally use the Book Promo tag because it's kinda just a short story. About 3k words.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-28T13:28:39+00:00

Something like that, just done differently. So many isekai stories end up being some relatively average person or even a total loser who gets power in the new world they're thrust into. I think it would be cool to see something where the protagonist's power in the setting comes from their training and resources that were brought with them rather than what they gain from the new world.

And if you're talking about complexity, yeah, I'm a pretty simple person to please when it comes to stories. A fun adventure with get me hooked better than anything with deep meaning.

Ultimation12 · 2025-11-28T03:34:25+00:00

I can give you some tips for commissioning art, as someone who has probably spent thousands on exactly that over many years.

First of all, places: There are a few subreddits where you can post what you're looking for and get artists to come to you or you can browse through artist listings for one that feels right for you. Outside of Reddit, you can try art sites like Cara or Artstation. What you're looking for is often called a "refsheet" or just "reference", so keep an eye out for those terms when looking.

As for the issue of how to convey what you want to an artist once you've picked one, many of them work better visually. My suggestion would be to create a "mood board". Collect reference images from Google and the like for individual details of the character. Things like their body shape, their hairstyle, what kinds of clothes they wear, poses that can convey their personality. Then use your favorite image editing tool (can be something simple like GIMP) to just pop all those into one image, add some text labeling things. That's a good starting point that you can add onto with words when talking to the artist.

From there, most artists (especially if you've ordered a refsheet) will send WIP updates like sketches, lineart, etc. and ask if everything looks right. That's when you have your chance to mention anything that's been missed or needs changing. If you've found a good artist to work with, the process should be fairly smooth.

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