There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with lowering the bar.
It doesn’t mean you’re bad and it doesn’t mean you think you’re bad. It means that you’re being realistic to what it takes to enable you to start The Thing.
Lower the bar. Later drafts can enable you to get to the level you wish to be at, but if you never start, you’ll never get there.
One under-appreciated breed of fic writer are the ones who hyperfocus on logistics to the exclusion of all canon shortcuts, and thus usually strike upon an awesome way to flesh out the worldbuilding or characters.
Like, I’m not necessarily talking realism here since often it’s still pretty far from realistic, but more like, “someone has to be running spies in this fantasy kingdom, and we’ve seen the whole royal court, so which background character is it? How does that change these three major interactions?” Or “real life historical nobility did in fact have some things to do that were like jobs, how does this human disaster cope with running an estate?” Or “there’s no reason for a sci-fi robot detective to know how to whitewater kayak, where’d she learn?” Or “if this guy is serving the emperor directly he has to be way high up in the space empire servant hierarchy, why is he doing this menial task for someone else? What’s his motive? Does he perhaps have the secret space telepathy?”
Anyway I’m always DELIGHTED to find a fic or writer who asks these questions because the fics themselves are universally bangers.
person who knows how logistical things works has picked up the cannon, hefted it thoughtfully, and put a single chalk mark precisely on the problem.
One of the great background principles of fiction writing: “Ask the next question.” Never stop looking for the Next Question.
And when you seem to run out of questions, ask the one that’s always applicable, a gateway to both action and (more info on) motivation:
Opening an old wip and finding it with more words than you were expecting is the writer equivalent of putting on an old pair of pants and finding 5 dollars in the pocket.
You know. Reading is important. Because I’m like always trying to make every line I write this groundbreaking mindfucking art but like. A book is 90% just saying what happened. “I hugged him around the waist.” “The chair was brown and overstuffed.” “I woke up alone.” Etc etc. Like normal ass lines. I just keep comparing my boring, necessary to set a scene lines, with famous authors’ absolute best lines and like…. every line doesn’t have to shatter the earth. Sometimes someone just sits in a chair and the lines that wreck you come later, one at a time, here and there. It’s alright.
Daryl and Marlin, our ship cats! It’s Marlin’s second season sailing (though he’s been with us three years- got locked at the seaport last season for crimes) and Daryl’s first! What sweet babies 💖
The people have spoken: What Crimes Has Locked This Poor Soul Away
You are Marlin, ship’s cat and mascot of the tallship Lady Washington. It is the summer of 2021, you are about a year old, and full of Mischief.
Lady is docked in the Port of Everett, and no one is paying attention to you- never mind the fact that they’re doing their jobs and getting money so they can keep pampering you. No, they’re not paying attention to you Right This Instant, so you decide you want to take a little jaunt off the ship and explore on your own.
In addition to the marina, the waterfront, and all manner of other delights, the Port of Everett also has a Naval base, so you decide to check it out! See what all the fuss is about.
Of course, wandering kitties without the proper credentials aren’t allowed on high security Naval bases, so when the Marines inevitably capture you and ask you where your people are and what you’re doing here and how you got here, you just curl up cutely and bat your eyes and meow the most pitiful meow because these new people are paying attention to you but not the Right attention, no one’s even petting you!
They call the number on your collar, which goes to the captain of Lady at the time, who… is on leave. In Florida.
“Ma'am? Is this your cat?”
“Oh god yeah where was he?”
“A high security government facility. Can you come pick him up?”
“Considering I’m on the other side of the country, no. Let me get in contact with the crew to send someone.”
“Thank you. Also he’s very cute.”
“I know.”
So the captain does just that, playing telephone while trying to find someone to go pick you up. Except by the time a viable crewmember is chosen and calls back to confirm, you’ve gotten bored and decided you want to leave.
So you clawed the Marine holding you and escaped.
You get a smidgen more exploring time before you’re captured again and taken to your crew and back to the boat, but at this point no one is happy including you, because no one pet you the Whole Time you were off adventuring and that’s a damn travesty.
And not only that, when you get back to the ship, you’re locked up tight in the aft cabin because no one trusts you anymore not to wander off and break into government facilities when they’re not looking, and then when the boat gets back to her homeport in Aberdeen, they do you just the WORST injustice and lock you inside there! For the whole winter! And then the following summer, because you are now a Criminal and Criminals don’t sail.
Except this season, you made Big Pouty Eyes at everyone, and they caved and let you back on, so you are a very happy kitty now.
With a tracker in your collar so this doesn’t happen again.
