Things Fanfic Is Reputed For Inserting Into The Source Material:

Top Tips for Clues, Red Herrings, and Breadcrumbs

One of the most important parts of writing MYSTERY is figuring out what to do with clues and red herrings - and how to use them effectively. Here’s some advice that’s never steered me wrong: 

Hide the real clue before the false ones! Most people, so by extent your readers and your sleuth, tend to focus on the last piece of information presented to them. A good strategy is to mention/show your real clue and then quickly shift focus. 

Do a clue cluster! Squeeze your real clue in among a whole pile of red herrings or other clues, effectively hiding it in plain sight. This works especially well with multiple suspect mysteries. 

Struggling to think of what a clue could be? Try this list: 

Physical objects: Letters, notes, tickets, emails, keepsakes, text messages, diaries, etc. 

Dialogue: voicemail recordings, overheard conversations, hearsay, gossip, rumours. All of these can hold grains of truth! 

Red herrings distract and confound your protagonist and your reader, so you should be careful not to overuse them. Well balanced, red herrings should lead your characters down false paths to create confusion, tension, and suspense.

Contradictions! Have characters claim they did so-and-so at such-and-such a time, but other characters have evidence that contradicts this.

Balance! Avoid a clue that’s so obvious it’s like a neon sign saying “Look at me, I’m a clue!” but don’t make it so obscure it’ll be missed entirely. A good clue should leave a reader saying “Damn, I should have noticed that” 

Developing something called the "gloves and bathroom model of intimacy", which states that if you are doing something involving another person, gloves, and a bathroom, you have reached a new level of intimacy in your narrative

Repeat after me:

The first draft just needs to exist

The second draft needs to be functional

The third draft needs to be effective

The first draft just needs to exist

The second draft needs to be functional

The third draft needs to be effective

The first draft just needs to exist

The second draft needs to be functional

The third draft needs to be effective

Remember, the second and third can't happen if you don't have something to work with. Your first draft will always be shit compared to your third, but at least it exists. The worst first draft is an unfinished one. The best first draft is a just completed one.

You read books/stories not in their first draft form-- only in their finished form (third, fourth, sometimes fifteenth draft). So stop comparing your first draft with a final one.

So, just write--you can make it better later. Perfectionism is the greatest weight a creator can carry.

Years and years ago, I read a book on cryptography that I picked up because it looked interesting--and it was!

But there was a side anecdote in there that stayed with me for more general purposes.

The author was describing a cryptography class that they had taken back in college where the professor was demonstrating the process of "reversibility", which is a principle that most codes depend on. Specifically, it should be easy to encode, and very hard to decode without the key--it is hard to reverse the process.

So he had an example code that he used for his class to demonstrate this, a variation on the Book Code, where the encoded text would be a series of phone numbers.

The key to the code was that phone books are sorted alphabetically, so you could encode the text easily--picking phone numbers from the appropriate alphabetical sections to use ahead of time would be easy. But since phone books were sorted alphabetically, not numerically, it would be nearly impossible to reverse the code without exhaustively searching the phone book for each string of numbers and seeing what name it was tied to.

Nowadays, defeating this would be child's play, given computerized databases, but back in the 80s and 90s, this would have been a good code... at least, until one of the students raised their hand and asked, "Why not just call the phone numbers and ask who lives there?"

The professor apparently was dumbfounded.

He had never considered that question. As a result, his cipher, which seemed to be nearly unbreakable to him, had such an obvious flaw, because he was the sort of person who could never coldcall someone to ask that sort of thing!

In the crypto book, the author went on to use this story as an example of why security systems should not be tested by the designer (because of course the security system is ready for everything they thought of, by definition), but for me, as a writer, it stuck with me for a different reason.

It's worth talking out your story plot with other people just to see if there's a "Why not just call the phone numbers?" obvious plot hole that you've missed, because of your singular perspective as a person. Especially if you're writing the sort of plot where you have people trying to outsmart each other.

New Fic Announcement!

I finished some family fluff with Logan and Virgil having fun together, set in the Damocle's Universe:

Art by Charlotte Cousquer

Big Bang Announcement!

Here's the promised fantasy hurt/comfort with Virgil and his found family. It's my big bang for the year from @tss-storytime with art from the amazing @pizza-box-raccoon here!

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗 (apologies for sending chain letters but i'll be honest: i DO find myself wanting to know which of an author's works they're most excited about at any given moment.)

Ayeee thank you for the neat ask game! I do wonder too what's someone's favorite works and why! Everyone who sees this feel free o do it too cause imma send this along on anon <3

Summer Wine In Verdant Winters

The last longer fantasy AU I've written about Virgil running a tavern to hide from his traumatic past. Naturally it comes back to haunt him. It has a cottagecore setting with some high fantasy elements on top of the found family and I've salviated writing all the food descriptions

Damocles' Gambit

Admittedly, I'm cheating here a bit by linking the entire series. But this has arranged marriage turned found family with some delicious hurt/comfort where King Thomas gets to be the best dad we all wished we had

Burning Fireflies

It's the best Roceit I've ever written where Roman is the loyal knight going after the runaway thief Janus - I'm just a sucker for tales about loyality and the tragedy that comes with it when it's mistrusted

Noblesse Oblige

Stemming from my Bridgerton obsession I just had to make it gay. So then we have some fake dating turned real feelings Loceit with a little mystery twist for spice. I cried while writing it but it's also the most beautiful imagery I've managed to this day

A Tad(pole) Tied Up At The Moment

The first Baldur's Gate 3 fanfic I've ever written (and am currently writing) where Astarion gets whumped properly before he gets the comfort from Halsin he deserves

Hi, same anon here, wanted to thank you for the reply and also tell you that your writing is amazing, i enjoyed the story a lot it's one of my favorite anxceit stories I've ever read, I'm not sure if you already posted this story on ao3 or not but I'm pretty sure people on ao3 would appreciate it a lot :)

Aw I'm flattered that you like it! It's on ao3 but I still haven't added the last chapter (I should probably get to that oops). There's a link on the masterpost too if you want to show it some love on ao3 (no pressure, just a side note) <3

Reblog if you write fic and people can inbox you random-ass questions about your stories, itemized number lists be damned.