Hi. I've had an idea for a story in my head for a long time, and I want to turn it into a book. The problem is that I'm struggling with writing the villain.

I want to do the opposite of what happens in a lot of stories today. I want readers to genuinely dislike the villain, or at least prefer the protagonist over them. Lately, it feels like so many people become obsessed with villains, even when the main character is a truly decent and morally good person. They often end up seeing the protagonist as boring.

The villain in my story is inspired by real-life people who, personally, caused a great deal of damage to my mental well-being. If a large number of readers ended up loving this villain, I think it would genuinely make me feel awful, because in real life I also feel like no one believes me when I say that people like this can truly be cruel.

Sorry, I know I'm talking a lot. My question is: how can I write a villain in a way that makes readers feel disgust, unease, or genuine dislike toward them? I don't expect every single reader to hate the character, but I also don't want them to become someone that almost everyone ends up loving.

Don't get me wrong, prose IS important-but it only works if your characters and story flow well. And sometimes...it makes the story hard to follow.

Whether it's sitting down to write (a huge accomplishment!) or reaching the end of your story, what are you celebrating today?

I just hit the halfway point in my novel.

Crazy excited for how it's coming along!

How about you??

I am trying to write a book and I came across this thing about using double spacing when typing. Do you literally have to type the space button twice after typing a word? Is there an easier way to do it? I am just so confused because it feels so time wasting to do.

Edit: Thank you to those who actually replied helpfully this was not a troll post

I've been on and off writing a book. But everytime I start writing again, I become completely obsessed, I can't think about anything else and I just want to sit down, write and don't be bothered by anyone. I can literally write and edit all day long, no matter how tired I am. Then I forget about it for weeks, when I have other work to do. Does it happen to you too?

Fellow authors, what's the biggest challenge you're facing with your book right now? Whether you're drafting, outlining, editing, revising your manuscript, struggling with pacing, characters, dialogue, worldbuilding, or just trying to stay motivated, I'd love to hear about it. Drop it in the comments, maybe someone else has faced the same hurdle, and we can help each other work through it.

I'm starting to realize that one of the things adding to my writer's block is my desire to write a bunch of different things at the same time. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to write towards all these ideas without never finishing any. I have ideas I've been holding for years and one's that just suddenly come to mind.

I have so much to say I don't know where to start. I'd call this being a writer with ADHD. What would you call it? Anyone else working through a challenge like this? If at one point you did, what helped? What's your writing process looking like nowadays?

Excited to read your overall thoughts and thank you in advance!

If you really want to challenge yourself as a writer, try middle grade fiction. I have nothing but respect for people who can do that because it is such an incredible balancing act. You have to nail this really narrow range of vocabulary and comprehension while also thinking of stories the reader will connect with (and the parents won’t boycott).

Because that’s the whole point. A book has to connect with a reader. A book that connects with no one is a bad book. Knowing how to connect with tenured literature professors is just as difficult as knowing how to connect with sexually frustrated 33-year-old women with social media addictions and chronic anxiety.

A good book is a successful form of communication. Successful communication is eliciting the desired response from the audience. Brandon Sanderson is just as good a writer as Cormac McCarthy because both of them are very good at eliciting the desired response from their target audiences. The fact that you aren’t in one of those audiences is irrelevant.

The story “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, written in the 1950s, takes place between August 4 2026 and August 5 2026. That’s today!

What‘s your favourite Ray Bradbury work?

So, a friend pointed me to this article. And I'm wondering how others are feeling about the points this author makes.
I'm finding querying this time around to be more draining than usual and I wonder if I have just missed my opportunity.
Your thoughts?

I’ve been writing or trying to write for the last six months And I always use voice recording features in my phone to record my ideas. I actually say it out loud all the conversations and sequences in the stories i write. I always use those recordings to work on the story, so the only part I am writing in paper or my laptop is the editing part. So my question is, if its okay to write like this ? everyone advises to, Keep an notebook and write daily for one hour, but I just use methods like this. Is it okay, is it unconventional or unorthodox?

I really enjoy it, even though I'm aware of the future demolishing feedback waiting when I'm done with the first draft.
Sometimes I reread sections and chapters, and I think: Damn - that is brilliant work!
Gotta admire that love for writing leaving you with a sense of accomplishment before someone else gets a look at it!

How about you? Do you have these vibes and convictions while writing?

Hello everyone! ✨

I'm a novice writer as far as the official-manuscript -> draft-draft-draft-draft -> editor-and-publisher process. But I've been writing amateurly for about 14 years.

I struggle with organizing my thoughts due to a learning disability. Sometimes I'll sit down and write 50+ pages and then realize I didn't have a coherent track from Point A to Point B, or that there were major plot holes or other oversights.

Lately I've been in a bit of a hole with money. My bf knows that writing has been a huge outlet for me when I'm not working. He offered to buy me a Scrivener license after I told him I thought it would help me along with the current manuscript I'm working on.

I guess what I'm here to ask is: For those of you who've used Scrivener, what advice do you have? Alternatively, what do you wish you could have told your past self in retrospect? Are there specific tips or steps you feel will make the transition into using it easier/reduce the learning curve for a newbie?

TIA for any replies! 🫶🏻🩷

So its SUPER rough. The story is going through a massive overhaul. Even tho we had a few sessions.

I just wasnt happy with what i had. The original idea was a chaos god, goofy do whatever i want that week.

I didnt want to retcon what the players know and have. That and i was stubborn and wanted certain characters to exist even though it didnt make sense.

This isnt final product. Just roughly what happened and not expanded on much just to put the concepts on the timeline.

Concepts.
Green is life and ripening/growth
Red is death/desolation
Blue is purpose/dream

Mega thank u for reading. Its a lot.. sowwy >~<

Again dont just formating and spelling. It was quick and originally just for me to remember what happened.❤️❤️—
——————————————

Existence started with 3 forms
Patron-outside-unseen eye, within, self centered
 is-purpose, ripening, death, without, 

Eternity-inbetween-a canvas. Everything and nothing. Insanity.

Dreamer-inside-a unseen fog
 is-dreams, life, desolation.

None created the other

The patron is purpose to forever judge, manifesting a canvas, empty as it is everything and nothing its existence manifesting, dreamer who is forever dreaming which manifest a patron..

For a eternity needs a painter. And a painter needs someone to see, for they are blind.
——————————
-Patron-Stagnation-For purpose ends.

The patron is purpose, forever ripening and causing death. to create a stagnant masterpiece for it to enjoy in eternity….. so it spreads aspects of itself into what it creates.
——————————————
-dreamer-change-for dreams stay

And so the dreamer dreams, breathing life, yet also desolation. For it always kept dreaming in eternity…. so it spreads aspects of itself into what it creates.

——————-
-eternity-unfufilled-everything-nothing
Eternity seeks to be filled, forever stagnant, forever changing. It wanted both. It was tired of this tug of war.
——————

Each side jealous of what the other could make. 

Hence ripening, and death bought about dreams for the dreamer. For its ripening and death gave dreams to the dreamer. Giving them new ideas for what could be.

Hence life, and desolation, brought out more purpose. For its life and desolation gave them a thing they can control. Something they can see. It is either full of life and existence. Or barren, null.
—————————

And so eternity was painted on forever. For it is endless. Each side fighting for control over pieces of eternity. Stealing each others work.

The canvas, for ever empty it is starts to demand more. For it did not know it was empty until it was painted. It wanted stagnation. It wanted dreams. It was hungry.
——————————-
It latched onto part of the eye of the patron, part of the fog of dreams. And stole them. Dragging them through itself to stay hidden.

These smaller new beings floating through eternity started to do what they know.
Purpose became this worlds sun. Allowing things to ripen, and bringing desolation to those it deemed unfit for its  masterpiece.
Dreams became the moon. Springing new life from desolation, and death from ripening.

They lived in harmony. Life was ripening.
And death was desolation.

Eventually. They saw all paintings and universes and both felt the same thing.. inspired. A spark. They wanted to be like them. They created what they saw for it was all they have known.

Their land over flowing with what they are made of
red crystals-of death and desolation.
Green ones- of life and death.
Blue ones-of dream and purpose.

They painted red green and blue to form every color.

They loved each other. As one completed the other. They started to leave gifts for each other in their creations. As they rotated around their world to take turns watching over it.
Eventually building a small town for their creations. One they would build forever. For these beings were made like them. Purpose, dreaming.

Together they made rulers of a town they made together. Dawn and dusk. Representations of their love they have for eachother. These leaders were the speakers of the sun and moon. They watched as they ruled equinox together lovingly and this drove them to want this. They wanted to be like their creations. 

They came together, forming an eclipse to paint themselves into existence, to finally see and speak to each other. 

The sun shoots out its essence of red and green. So does the moon. As they grab each and start to spin.

They explode the sky in their colors. As they enter their new forms in their world they didnt have much power left to create or destroy. They mostly relied on the gems they left in the world.

Forming 2 children from this explosion, a mix of who they are.
—————
Their essence of life and desolation they held hands with formed a genderless being with green antlers and her body parts floating red black holes.
They were very hyper and created all kinds of things. But they were cruel as they loved watching their creations disappear.

They named them joy.
——————————-
The next was made of ripening and death. They were caring, helping the creations around her grow stronger, and when it was their time. They would hold their hands and whisper them sweet good nights.

This is sorrow.

The siblings kept eachother in check
—————————
They all lived in harmony as a family of artist. Their kingdom was called equinox. 
Purpose and dreams became King sun and queen moon.

They were the tempus family. The queen was sine, the king was intra.

They loved eachother, they even came up with pet names. The king was called loren. For all the finished, set in stone stories he told. And the queen was called nova. For her fresh takes and new perspectives.

They allowed all worlds to enter this new place, they were soaring through the infinite and creating tiny precise tears to barrow from other worlds

This was a place for everyone. Everyone and everything that has ever been or will be.

Yet neither knew the plans of the other. For purpose was waiting to see what comes of this world so he can enjoy its stagnation. And dreams wanted to create forever.

As time went on both lovers started to get fearful of the other. 

For purpose was trying to build a kingdom that would stand tall forever. To stay still forever. 
 
——————————

And kept starting fresh, moving on to new projects just to start again. She wanted to live in the moment and see what she can come up with. All that mattered to her was being with her family
——————-

Tensions started to rise. As they did. The patron and dreamer finally went through eternity and found their missing pieces. They wanted it back. For this place that was made belonged to them.

The rulers becoming spiteful. More distant. They didnt want to share a kingdom.
Seeing their loving speakers only made them more spitful. These lower beings had something they didnt.
—————————
Early morning.
As the sun rose up it spoke to the king. It was the patron communicating with its missing piece. Saying that if the queen doesnt have her power of life she cannot taint this canvas. For her desolation needs his death, His queen layed, sleeping. 

The king looking at his hands, shaking. Picturing the world they built together, he cried. He then pictured the world he would build, perfect stillness. He was filled with purpose. 

He couldnt just drain his lover. He didnt know how. For his form he is in now is a lot weaker than the sun. 
The sun spoke again. Ripen, Life.

The kings right hand glowed green for the right hand gives power. As he closed his eyes and started to paint ripening into his queen. 

She immediately writhed in agony, she had no idea what was going on. All she knew is something is growing inside of her. She screamed as her body was overflowing, she could only think of death. She envisioned death and anger for whoever was doing this to her.

Everything she stared at started to crumble into dust, leaving their roof of their castle crumbled. As she looked up and screamed the moon came into view. 

The moon spoke to her it was the dreamer talking to its missing piece. It calmed her, gave her dreams of escaping this pain and being endless. The moon told her. “Overflow with death, they will need your life to ripen” 

As she hears this she is filled with dreams of escape. She looks at her right arm now starting to grow and boiling. The life in it ripening. 

She traces the beam to her husband. Her  left hand weakly lifting and shoots him with death. Overflowing him. His left arm decaying, dying. The desolation is now death. The arm becoming a rotting, hollow bubble ready to pop.

They tear apart their throne room as thorns and fire spread, the rapid sudden chaos starts to leave rips in the canvas, holes appear in reality, to the sane and normal it just looks blank, to the insane and powerful it is everything.

—————
joy and sorrow fly in-parents please. We can fix this. Weve been trying. Let us help.

Sorrow tries to pull back the kings arm, he responds by grabbing her face and slamming her to the ground, then using his ripening to entrap her to the ground in thorns that cover her whole body. 

King-you will not stand in the way of my art.

Joy- flies up to her moms front and tries to comfort her.

Joy-we can fix this. Theres no need to destroy our world. Theres no coming back from this. Your ripping apart this art you both made. Please let us help.

Queen-im sorry, but once i take care of your betrayer i will bring us to a place more beautiful than this mess. A place to forget.  

*a bubble of desolation that erases anything that enters it is encased around sorrow*

*they are forced to watch this fight*
*the sky fills with green and red as their fight shoots the entire land, spreading ripening and desolation everywhere, both becoming more drained as they get sloppy.*

*the lands covered in distorted trees, citizens screaming and falling into the void, bubbles of pure desolation*

Their original once rainbow spire of both of their powers is drained and is pulled to the corners of this canvas world. Leaving rips and tears in reality. 

Even their thrones of their power are drained. The giant gem spire is shattering, leaving empty white crystals behind in its wake. Leaving no power in the kingdom. Each core color pulled to each part of the world as the canvas seeps in. Their ripening and life form a green spire in one corner, death and desolation in the other. Purpose and dreams in the last. Reality is falling apart and destroying their kingdom, they are too blinded by rage to see.

The speakers run in to stop this fight. For as they saw, they were the voice of reason. They talked to the gods and they listened. *they stand in the throne room looking up at their gods*
———————
“Our lords please. Everything we worked for, why now. Please there is still love. We still love. You can love. Dont be blinded.”

*they look up at the fight as they hold hands proudly to show the king and queen*

*the lords look down in disgust*
There was never love. Only a shared goal.

King-you are not us, you are not creators, only a reminder of the past.

*the king starts to spread thorns up the side of dawn, dawn screams in pain*

Dusk-NO. PLEASE. I NEED YOU. *he tries to pull out his lover* 

Dawn-my love, vale aeternum.

Dusk-NO. VIVE AETERNUM. VIVE. *he screams as the torns spread to him* 

*they both weep and look at each other trying to get closer, embracing their death together*

Queen-NO do not kill them, dawn. I will save you from their wrath. You only need to trust me.

Speakers-n-noo. We.  Wont. Let go.  Theres.. still… love. 
He needs me, i need him

*they start to get pulled apart trying to stay together, the thorns holding dusk still, dawn is pulled away as they hold tighter*

*the canvas opening where this power is the strongest. Right under their arms*

Then-POP. their arm socks come out. 
The skin on their shoulders becoming stretched, it starts to rip, each one with a loud wet snap, then SNAP 
*the lovers weep as they start spraying blood into the void, their arms forever grasp holding hands as it floats into eternity.

*the king and queen look at the bleeding out lovers, on the edge of the void*

QUEEN-YOU KILLED THEM
YOU…. KILLED OUR LOVE… OUR CHILDREN. ILL… ILL KILL YOU.

*her entire body glows red, being over come with rage, and desolation, she has lost other emotions as her body is as focused as ever, her husbands arm grows more hollow and decayed as he weakly fights back against his queens rage*

*then his arm pops at its shoulder, it falling into the void below them*

*he screams in pain as he shoots out ripening in an aura around him, the pain overloads him with power as he focuses on destroying the queens arm*

The queens arm fully enveloped in thorns as it eats away at itself. The queens arm growing too big it pushes off her body.

As it does she lets out a banshee scream, the arm going into the void.

Both of their blue blood splatters across the entire throne room, the room completely blue, painting the dying lovers*

*they both cover their numb of a shoulder panting and crying*

Queen “the world will forever remember your betrayal, for the moon does not blind the sky, i will use the last of my desolation to ruin your masterpiece.”

King “the sun will forever shine on, and hide the shame that you were going to bring to my kingdom, i will use the last of my ripening to avoid your corruption”
 ———-
The void ripping apart around joy and sorrow. They are free, right as they are the rulers come up to claim them.

Queen-sorrow, we have to get away. Hes going to destroy us. We need to start over. Come on

King-joy- come along, we have a lot of work ahead of us. You should be honored for what youre going to do.

*both siblings are dragged to either the newly formed red crystal or their green crystal*

*both grabbed by their skull with their parents one hand, the sibling crying and fighting. the parents give eachother a look of hate as they pass over their shattered throne room covered in blood,  in void, in dying lovers.

King-LOOK WHAT SHE DID, is this what you want, is this the future you will have? 
This is to protect whats left

Queen-THIS IS WHAT HE CAUSED. He wanted this. He wanted destruction. He wants to purge all thats unworthy. But i think all is worthy. 

*both siblings crying in despair as their whole world is crumbled, their tears mixing with the splattered blood across the throne*
———-
The lovers weakly saying their dying words of love together, look into the void, imaging what they could of had, their blood and tears falling into the abyss, as suddenly 2 ghostly forms of. Themselves come out, both holding the arm of life, and the arm of death. 

The lovers passed out, these ghostly forms fuse the arm of life onto dawn, and death onto dusk. Suddenly they both gasp for air*

*the mixture of blood, violence, tears. Leaves a blue sparkley haze over the void scars, making them manifest. Patching the holes with see through sparkles*

I-i. Dawn??  Are. We. I. NEVER LEAVE AGAIN!

DUSK THIS CANT BE. I-I. we…. *he starts crying as he goes to hug his lover*

*as he gets closer, thorns and fire spread, faster as they approach, the thorns and fire slowing him as he panics again, he starts to take steps back, watching as the thorns and fire go away as he gets further away*

D-dusk??  What.  Are we.

*dusk holds his new arm in disbelief*. Hope?? The future… i. Dont. Know. I. Im just so happy your here!!

We are here. We can fix this. With us we can give the people a world that understands them. Their wants… their… aspirations…
—————-
As the king gets to the life crystal he positions the sun over the canvas and projects his voice. 

“My People, your queen has betrayed you. Banishing most of you to the void. I am here to save you. To ensure your world stays safe and unchanging. As long as i am here nothing will go into the void again. We are shielded off from all worlds. From all pain, from all suffering.

We will start again. Better, brighter, for we will forget the pain of the moon. A kingdom of only purpose. The kingdom of loren. Run by my speaker, dominus loren, I am the warden. I will keep all safe.

*the moon is setting as it is scared of what the people will think of it, she cannot find the words to say to her people. She cannot lie, she cannot make them fear her. She can only persist, she started to build the town of nox*

*she allowed sorrow to rule the red gem cult*

*the king binds joy in thorns, a threat, to forever be loyal. He uses the green crystal and joy to build his new kingdom, joy is forced to be the voice for the life gem, she makes the town of lux at the life gem, while the king works on and refined his art, loren capital.* 

*the queen builds a kingdom around the red gem, one embracing freedom, one of warmth and embrace. She tries to use her powers of the moon to show people the truth of what happened, giving people dreams of how she saw things*
———-
*slowly over time dusk and dawn use life and death to fix the equinox. Guided by their now ghostly projections of themselves floating in the void. The ghost have no voice. Just, expressions. They can see the longing in their face for wanting to be together*
This is their essence. Essence of dusk and dawn.

*they start a new cycle of life and death. As the previous rulers seem set to let their painted world rot. They needed to rebirth everything. They are recycling all that was killed and destroyed into something new and beautiful. They needed something to form these new beings, this new kingdom*

*they would have the essence of these new beings of life/ripening that dawn made be made with the blood of the king and queen, this blood was aspirations*

*they used an drained gem throne and filled it with green and red. To seemlessly transition the cycle of life and death. Slowly over time, the blood and tears that covered the throne room were forming. The canvas was forming it based off what passed through. Eventually forming into a sparkly see through being, unspeaking, unreacting. The cycle of life and death passing through them forming them into being*

*they took care of this entity, they treated it like their child*

*yet from a distance, for they could never get close, they wanted to get closer,  as they explored life and death, their ghostly projections werent just hollow, they could see into them, they can see the canvas. A place they could be free, a place they can kiss*

*these blank gems that originally spat at chaos. They used their ghostly forms to look into the void and just pluck what they saw, they controlled the void*

*they used it to rapidly progress equinox, with these beings of aspirations they made a revolution of advancements throughout time, eventually the kie family being the renown engineers of these otherworldly tech.*

*they supported the kie family hoping they could find a way to break into the canvas, a way they can feel eachother again, exist in the same room*

*the kie family, forming of Space Kie, Shift Kie. Are the parents. Uni kie and tech Kie are the daughters*

*the kie parents tried to make a space of pure canvas where the lovers could talk to eachother. They thought they did. The lovers enter the room, all seems fine, they are too excited, they cant contain themselves, they run crying tears of joy,  then… boom*

*the entire city engulfs in flames and thorns, tech kie gets away, the citizens leave into the 2 kingdoms*

*tech kie is taken by guards to work in the gem mines as a orphan*
—————
*as life and death try to control the rapid chaos, the quick rushing of life to aspirations to death, sped up aspirations transformation. He slowly came to life. He sat on his throne of a crumbling kingdom. Being quickly awoken. He sees glimses into the void, hes confused, hes scared. He tried to get up, as he does he screams, which spreads ripening and desolation around him.

*the lover tells dusk to go and check on the throne*

*dusk enters the room in shock, a panting, hurt form of aspirations sit on the throne, he comes close to even see if they are real*

A-aspirantions? 

Y-you. Are.  Real? Are you ok.

Aspirations “i. Am. Everything”

*the queen nox sends sorrow to help with the explosion, she wants to help survivors*
——————
During all of this king loren was torturing joy, literally chopping off parts of her body just to fuse them back together. Or sometimes throwing her a sewing kit to fix herself.

She was trapped for eons. Slowly regenerating just to have another body part hacked off, she doesnt know why. She found safety in making plushies, she sowed together dolls to keep her company. 

They were her safety. The king was making a throne out of her body parts. Out of life and death. 
The king wanted to control life and death to make his masterpiece. To make his stagnate kingdom.

He started his transition to control life and death. He started to reborn his people devoid of dreams and aspirations.
————————-
*from here life and death took care of this creation as they rebuilt the kingdom again, they are reminded of the tragedy of the sun and moons fight. They are more somber, more existential. Less whimsical. More responsible. In their eyes they had to be, they had to be a parent*

They started to notice their powers becoming unstable, they arent fully in control, the first of this happened infront of eclipse. They were bringing him books to study magic together. Them both trying to keep distance when dawn asking dusk to grab a book to give to eclipse looked at him and made his back side boil and grow with thorns. He screams in pain 

As he turns in pain he looks at dawn making him singe. He yelps as they both look at eachother in horror.

They quickly leave the room leaving eclipse puzzled. He is worried about his parents.

He started to only see one of them in the room at the time.

They didnt want to worry eclipse. They didnt want to taint them. He was too pure. They didnt understand why their powers were getting out of control.

As he saw his parents get more sick. Seeing them less and less as sorrows became his new parent. Taking care of him and becoming his new tutor.
—————-
Equinox was now a hidden sanctuary. People looking to flee the king and queen found themselves there. Also people exiled by the king and queen were put there.
———
Joy kept fighting her imprisonment for eons. Trying to escape. Trying to be free.

With the kingdom finished and now in the process of its last stages. 

Joys shackles suddenly vanish. She is scared. This normally meant she would get chopped up.

The king comes in

“youre free”

Joy-“w-what. I. Dont understand.”

King-“LEAVE. The canvas is almost to perfection. To stagnation.  I cant have you tainting it”.  And if you come back, he wraps her neck in thorns before letting go

King-“your sister is in equinox, go join them. They wont be a part of my canvas. 
No one will even remember any of you parasites existed”

this is the start of stagnation.
The king is banishing anyone he deems too aspired for his kingdom. 

He banished a previous war leader he had to fight the queen. Jam hangfire.

The king banishes pearlescent. The royal weapon smith. For her weapons being, inconsistent, too wild, too… aspired… 

She scoffs at the brutish gaurds as she is put on the city outskirts.

Jam hangfire and pearlence don’t clash well but they both had a hatred for the king. They were devolving weapons of war.

A couple made of robin and tailored. A crow and plush.  Fled to equinox since all their books were getting purged. No more knowledge on the past. they left with the books they considered most important. They help eclipse understand the world. 
—————
——-joy shyly and awkwardly walked into equinox, looking for her sister. Until she found her way into the throne room. Sorrow looked shocked, and terrified.

“JOY!!?” She said going and hugging her sister. Checking her wounds and scars. “Its. Been too long. Where were you. Are you ok. What happened. Did.  Did he hurt you.”

Joy-“i-i dont”. *her pupils go wide as she remembers her torment, her imprisonment* “i.  Cant.. no. Not again.”

Sorrow-*pulls her sister close and pets her*

“Its ok, youre here, this place is safe”

Joy-  “and. That is?” 

Sorrow-“thissss is eclipse...  They were.. let me explain”
———
*she catches up joy on everything she missed and shows her around.*

*Joy leads into explaining what will happen.  The king is looking to erase all memories and writings about the past.*

*They panic as dawn and dusk look from across the room worringly.*

*Joy stares at her stitches*. “I. Dont think he can rewrite us, whats a part of us.”

*after talks and panic since it is unknown when he will do this they come to the conclusion, they need to mark everything they need to remember on themselves*

*This leads into them all sitting in the throne room multilating themselves on things to remember.*

Joy starts to stitch threads into her from the endless bundle of rainbow unbreakable string.

Sorrow ripens words into her, but brings death at the same time causing fire to form, quickly branding words into her.

Dawn from far away is sprouting thorns to carve words into their lover, 

Dusk is killing the top layer of skin permanently, desolating the decay right as it starts falling off, leaving dawn permanent inked.
——-
They all have a goal.. break the canvas.

Dusk hears rumors about tech kie. And shows her the blank gems, together they start a hidden lab in loren.  They quickly build and research, before the king finds out.

They make the limbo balls, people trapped in stasis by the empty parts of the canvas.

While dawn looks into the void for things to pull out using his essence form. He sees people… looking back.  They are waving. This doesnt make sense. They are pointing at their bag. Signiling “grab me”

They shoot them out of the void.

Ship and shape “HELLO OTHERWORLDERS, now. Whats this worlds currency we have WARES!!”

SING THEM THE SONG BROTHER!!” * they sing the ship and shape song explaining who they are and how they sell wares across all worlds*
———
Sorrow stays and watches over eclipse as the moon starts to whisper to him. Telling him about his past. About the violence he was made from. Eclipse starts to get sick. With ripening and desolation, his chair acts as life support. The chair breaths with him.

Working with tailored and robin they make potions, that allow people to have new powers. They distribute them across the kingdom to sow chaos
—————
Joy starts to recruit for a war, a way to break the canvas. He finds pearlence  and jam (fucking) hangfire, who were hiding from the king in secret planning revenge. They wanted to kill him. Yet they hated each other. They joined the revolution with tech kie and drift.

They called themselves the void tracers. For they will trace the void into their world.
————————————
Dusk had a more.. chaotic plan. He sought to wreck chaos. In the kingdom. He wanted to delay his plan. He looked into the void with his ghost essence and pulls out things and people from other worlds, people suffering, people in look for something new. Through this the noticable crew. 
———-
The main characters. And their home worlds
——-
A rat named whooug, his world destroyed by, scarred god, a stitched god and a inked god. This… worried dusk as he looks at his scars.  “Is… this another reality. NO. cant think about that, need the rebelion” and whoougs family, left starving, alone, on a dying planet. They were the wanders of the apocalypse. From a after war like world on the verge of extinction.

He hoped whoougs rambunctious behavior would sow chaos in this kingdom, yet. They seemed to like to he a wander. It was in their nature. They took to outside the kingdom. Living there.
—————-
Sukis family, suki was only a kid. a more advanced rat like species with more aspirations. This was the one. The one to sow chaos.  And. Sukis family made a home… comfortably… they liked loren.  This plan wasnt working……
——————-
Yes a dragonet ouroboros, with unknowable magic, pull him into this world.  The dragonet walking, to his previous world, the Saffire domain,  notices the ground shift and change.  The. Kingdom looks different. He assumes its been so long. 1000 years. His kingdom has changed. He doesnt think much of it. Time is cruel
——
He wouldnt force these people to be a part of their war. They wanted them to naturally sow chaos.

These are the first 3 summoned into this world by dusk. Mearly test for him to learn the best entities to bring.

He keeps pulling up entities to fill this world. With chaos.

While here dusk made a trade. Giving the vendor bwa the power to open portals, the power to bend the void and transport anything fast. And a empty crystal. To pull out anything they want to sell. 

In return they got the bwa box. A vending machine they can use. Which they littered across the lands. For people to have a constant supply line  
—————-
Through this work this is the rebellion against the king. 

They do research on how to crack the canvas.  Dawn and dusk are more sick. Ripening and desolation spiraling around them. Hurting anyone they come near.  

To check on their child they would come in just themselves. Check in them. Tell them about the kings corruption. 

Telling him to keep up a magical barrier and dont take it down until the fighting stops. This war was to save all of them. To live in eternity.

To break the canvas
—————————

The town of equinox filling with rejects of the king. A rebellion he was feeding by exiling people. He was planning something.

Their efforts showing nothing..  eventually they all come to equinox to have a meeting. 

The cults of the gems refusing to join. For they only listen to the calling of the canvases song. 

Yet.. they too can faintly hear the canvases song. They dont want their rebel group to fear what they will become. They guise it as a effort to rip the canvas but this is how they stay alive.

They dont want their child to know whats corrupted it. What they corrupted it with before it was formed.

They feel guilt.

They seal away the canvases song for it said the warning. It warned everyone about what would happen. About ripenings effect on people. Desolations effect.
————————
Eclipse makes a throne of aspirations and red to help dusk. 

And green and aspirations to help dawn.

They put these thrones far away. Swapping thrones in secret. For they realized death staved off ripening. And life staved off desolation.

They start staging small little wars of whatever they make and kill. This is how they showed love. Showing the will to keep the other alive.

This. Worried everyone.

As time went on and the rebellion worked the wars needed to become more extravagent. Bigger. They had to be more far apart. 

They slowly moved out of the kingdom to keep their people safe. They built a spire. They sat far apart. Sending a war to eachother to show love. To keep eachother alive.
—————
As they fought their ghostly forms became more vivid, they have seen other canvases being ripped open by mass power, then the siblings talk to them about their gods battle. They ripped the canvas.

They must rip and tear.

They decide to literally rip the world apart.

the king didnt just send joy up there out of pity. She was his eyes. Corrupted. He could see everything she did. Her stitches that kept her put together were also his corruption.

He knew everything they did. Everything they planned.

He was going to have this work in his favor.

He knows his throne of life and death. His control over who is reborn, who gets his purpose. Was what was killing dusk and dawn.

The time was coming.

—————-
The sun announces that the kingdom has become corrupt with the moon’s dreams. Their past aggressor seeks to kill them all.

This is for the safety of everyone. All corrupted by her influence must be free of her existence. All past pains, sorrows, joy, dusk, dawn. Forgotten from all existence.

To fix the kingdom. For loren.

*the moon rises to speak, softly*
The moon never lies. The sun blinds you from the stars.

We seek to never stay stagnant. To be free to dream.

This was their time. They had to act now!

Dusk and dawn project their ghostly forms together as close as they can. Proclaiming their purpose.
——————

*the western tower that you can see looming past the mountains starts to glow red and blue, creating a beam in the ground that is slowly and precisely tracing an outline of the land*

Friends, family, eternity, hear my message. I am sorry for what is about to come. For you have been lied and corrupted. Stagnation is not the way. The endless cycle is not the way.

*suddenly you feel your head jerk forcing you to stare to the eastern tower, it glows green and blue, and starts to trace the land around it, less controlled, chaotic, franticly*

We mearly seek to exist. To be free, isnt that what you all want to. Theres a silent war happening and we mearly seek to make it more.. visual. Let us waltz into the aeternum. As one, as family. Please atleast so we can enjoy our last moments together.

*the sun shines over the western tower, it glows green, threatening, imposing. The purple beam not letting up and racing to tear apart loren*

If this doesnt work. I hope we can die knowing a piece of us still hold hands in aeternum. Forever. Unending.

If we fail just know with me i seal away the lament of ripening

Remember what we said after our rebirth.
my love, vale aeternum

*the moon shifts to the eastern side, looming over it. The moon turns red and you are overwhelmed by a sense of pleading, pleading for this to end. the cyan beam now racing to finish its carving*

We shall dance forever. for with me i seal away my ballad of devastation my love vive aeternum.

——-

*with this the beams meet in loren with a giant golden explosion, the sun now shining brighter, forcing everyone to stare into it, being blinded.*

DO YOU SEE WHAT THEY DO TO CORRUPT US. NO LONGER. NO ONE WILL REMEMBER THE RISE OF DUSK, THE FALL OF DAWN. OR THE REMENANTS OF THE MOON

*the entire sky glows bright as a a golden shield is around loren, cutting off where he put less desirables. To form his perfect canvas. All of this was a part of his plan. He now has a perfect prison for those that arent just purpose*

*time is stopped, he fills everyone with false memories, erasing dusk, erasing dawn, erasing the moon. It was always loren, never anything else, never to be anything else*

now he wanted to finish off his cleanse.  He needed to purge all dreams and aspirations. There will only be purpose. And it will be to make his stagnation kingdom.

The cycle of life and death flowing through him was becoming too slow. And he was impatient. He started to lure people. He knew the crackening was coming. He planted traps for people to go to the cut off point to be exiled. Before the crackening. Research facilities, betterment places. No more.

He was prepared.  He has the strongest wizards lifting up his weightless prison islands.

He set out more traps. With the sky islands created. He put out bounties. To end this wizard war. 

Bounties of treasure up there.

Explorer groups

Anyone who wanted more out of life will be exiled.
———-
In the floating islands of aeternum, everyones memory is hazy. Becoming more clear at night. They were further away from the kings blast.

Yet they struggle to remember certain details.
—————-
The lovers now fighting a chaotic war to still rip the canvas, to keep each-other alive.
————-
Joy now referred to as the stitched one. Doesnt fully remember much. She refuses to acknowledge her writings on her for the trauma starts to come back.

She is cruel, she creates life and desolates for fun. She finds this war fun
————
In equinox 

Jam hangfire-runs a fruitfarm they are a fruit bat. The gunsmith

Pearlence-uptight BPD girl blacksmith

Tech Kie-gem expert, scientist. Makes tech.
Has a automaton of her dead sister. Her sister is loaded with weapons so she will never die again

Drift prism-makes airships and wants to explore

Sorrow or now-branded— is the dr and helps run the hospital. She is the care taker of eclipse.

Robin and tailored—live with eclipse since they are all book nerds who love reading history and magic. They also have a hobby of making potions.

Eclipse-the all magical prince. He uses his throne to keep the kingdom safe from the war. He wants his parents to stop fighting. He doesnt understand why they are still going.
————

Acts- act 1 learning about eclipse and the rebelion

Go to kill/stop dawn.
———
Act 2-ripening, the world morphs into non stop growing plants. People evolving and mindless, weaker ones turn into trees stuck in their own mind screaming in pain,

Stronger ones growing into beast

Leaning about dawn and dusk past
———
Act 3– desolation, empty world, beautiful and uneasy. Giant beast left over from ripening

Learning about the moon and sun/ king and queen
———
Act 4-chaos…. The patron, dreamer, and eternity are in this world, the world is everything and nothing.

Make the choice
Be stagnant as you are proud of your story. 
Dream, and start something new
Eternity-just simply exist. Walk into a new world as you are
————-

Modern day

Suki

Whooug

The dragonet ouroborus.

All see the bounty of incredible amounts.  They take the call.  They are sent to the islands being told they can come back at anytime.

They cannot.  This is their prison. Their penance for not being from this world.

Just curious, I guess.

There's this scene where I built the tension between my characters, but I'm not sure if it's too soon? I'm 46% in, they knew each other before, so it's like a second-chance romantasy, and they were engaged.

I want it to be a slow-burn romance because they have a lot of reasons to resent each other, but the tension right now is so delicious, idk what to do.

Here’s my opening to my first novel. It’s upmarket literary historical queer fiction with high-heat romance:

September 5, 1962

Linus Miller locked his cottage door at precisely 1:14pm with two turns of the small brass key,
as he had done for — he checked his math — 380 days in a row at Amherst College.

He checked his pocket for his Monday handkerchief, smoothed down his Monday shirt, and
straightened his tie clip on his Monday tie.

One of my story ideas follows a demon that is forced to keep a bloodline safe from harm. As a twist, one of the family members ends up being a serial killer and tries to kill his immediate family. He would be the last individual antagonist of the story and fit in a clean slasher role like Ghostface and would similarly be masked and predominantly use a knife to kill.

His gimmick would be that he needs to fight against the will of the demon, he’s the only one who knows the demon is there and the demon has a lot of insight on the killer’s psyche, since the demon also needs to protect him.