At some point old pains stop affecting you as much as they used to.

It would be nice if they stopped existing altogether, though.

I'd say the plotters and the improvisers each just have different strengths and different weaknesses. I think most people are more in the middle than not, though. Rarely is anyone purely one way or the other.

An analogy I used for my own plotting-style is this: I'm directing a boat on an unpredictable sea, charting the stars to guide me to my destination. Those 'guiding lights' are things like character motivations, existing character dynamics, site plots, etc. I keep those things in mind, and I try to use them to direct where I go. Sometimes the sky is clear and the sea is calm, so directing is easy. Other times, the sky is so full of clouds I can't determine where I'm going, so I just trust the current to guide me safely. Either way, the story should take me where I want to go.

Plotting too rigidly can make you inflexible, but understanding the inherent nature of plotting makes you better at creating satisfying character beats and capitalizing on opportunities when they arise. Improvising too blindly can lead to outcomes you don't necessarily want, but understanding how and when to improvise allows you to riff when you hit unexpected storylines, and lets you discover unexpected synergies that change your overall story in rewarding ways.

But all this requires follow-through. If you don't write posts at all, nothing happens. Whether it's plotted out or improvised. I've seen both 'types' of writers struggle to finish writing a story for different reasons.

Idk, tbh? Sometimes a name just sticks with me and then I use it.

My current character happened because I remembered thinking the spelling of Elizabeth with an 's' was surprisingly pretty, and I wanted to make an 'Elisabeth' character. I also liked that it meant you could have the nickname 'Elisa' which makes me think of one of my favorite fairy tales (The Wild Swans).

Then I wanted a last name that evoked Catherine d'Medici vibes, and I looked up Italian last names, reading their meanings until I stumbled on Fiorelli: "Little flower." I thought it read really nicely and tied to the sort of character I was writing.

Tragic beautiful women is the archetype I always seem to fall into. I avoid the more 'anime' styles of FC where they look too girlish, because I prefer writing characters that read a bit 'older.'

I sometimes stumble into a strong sense of a character's appearance/vibes and try to stick to it: "This character is blonde and has green eyes, and a specific kind of personality." And then I'm doomed to search within that limited pool.

Luckily I have friends who are better at finding FCs than me!

I need a vacation from people. I’m so drained lmao.

Far too many people interpret neutral, matter-of-fact responses as attitude. Just because I don’t have the energy to cushion everything in soft language today doesn’t mean I’m being aggressive!

I often think if I spoke to these people the way they talk to me, they’d cry about how awful and self-centered a person I was. All things considered, I’m being very gracious with people who don’t deserve it. Aaagh.

I used to spit out instant replies like lightning. These days it varies.

I try to check posts but not reply until after work. If I have free time, I do my best to respond to a few of them at least each day. When I can tell I have more threads than I'm wrapping at the end of the day, I stop taking on new threads or try and wrap up my existing ones ASAP. This stops my hoard from ballooning too much.

I'm not great about following a set posting order -- I have a tendency to prioritize dramatic threads -- but I know muse for one thread will make it easier to write another. So I forgive myself that indulgence.

If I get pulled into rapidfiring a thread that I have a lot of muse for, sure, I'll ping-pong for awhile and chase that high. I used to feel guilty about this, but I have realized this is a hobby and I'm allowed to enjoy what I enjoy, so long as I intend to write for and finish the threads I take on.

lmao update it was for bad

we live and learn 🙃

It is comical how so many people in power have the same exact stress response, no matter where I work or the gender of the person involved.

My job suddenly becomes pretzeling myself to spare feelings lest I trigger a defensive landmine that hits me with endless bullets of criticism. And sometimes the landmine goes off anyway, because it alleviates their stress to take it out on someone. But they act as if I invited it, for daring to ask for the things I need to do my job.

At least I know it’s not personal. It’s just annoying.

I am the absolute worst at living in the moment. I am always trying to out-think my feelings and plan ahead so that nothing surprises me. Which of course doesn't... work.

It's very weird realizing I need to stop trying to control everything and just let things happen. For good or bad. I'm very bad at it, but I'm getting better.

I mask so well until I don’t.