Steps To Write Compelling Plot Twists

if it's good enough for you, then it deserves to be made. don't let anyone else decide if your story is worth it or not.

Cannot stress how amazing Our Wives Under The Sea is!

Never Let Me Go has also been on my list for a while. Maybe this year...

JOMP Book Photo Challenge - December - 31/12/24 - Favourite Books of the Year

My favourite books of this year are:

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

Medusa by Jessie Burton

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee

Darcy Reads: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Back with another review! This little number was recommended by a friend. Anytime a person tells me to read something, I decide to go forward with the vaguest expectations, but the cover gives this one away pretty quickly.

"Lesbian necromancers"... say less. (Spoilers ahead)

Story Telling (3/5): To be honest, I took a while to get into this book. Like with many other hard scifi and fantasy novels where authors built their own worlds from the ground up, there's this initial disorientation while you try to figure out what the hell is going on. They have swords so that means this is a medieval setting, right? Oh, but she mentions porn magazines. How the hell do you pronounce "Nonagesimus" (I did not discover the pronunciation guide until about halfway through)?

And then just as I think I figured out the Ninth House, we are literally transported to a whole other world with a startlingly large number of new characters that I have to memorize. Fortunately, the plot starts to pick up and we get to see Gideon interacting with people who do not immediately despise her for being a ginger haired orphan.

There are still many instances of guesswork involved in the setting and motivations, but much less than before. You could say that I was as equally clueless as Gideon. I suspect the second book, Harrowhark The Ninth, will not be as forgiving.

Plot (4/5): My own cluelessness aside, I genuinely enjoyed the plot. It was unique and engaging, hinting at a rich lore oozing with potential. There were a lot of loose strands at the end of the novel that are clearly meant to extend into a much larger story. I'm interested to see how the rest of the Houses are explored in the rest of the series.

With that being said, I also felt as if the book was being excessive, throwing out plot devices willy-nilly. I am still wondering what exactly the purpose of Coronabeth's character was or if she was just supposed to be eye candy the whole time. In addition, were the Second Houses' deaths necessary? I get the sense that Muir just wanted to create a post-apocalyptic world based on our own solar system and the characters that came from the less important planets were just an afterthought.

With that being said, I genuinely did enjoy the plot. While it started out slow, the tension kept building. Each gruesome death further proved how much danger Gideon and Harrowhark were really in. I appreciate Gideon's sacrifice being an actual sacrifice. She's not going to be resurrected or returned to her body. She will stay in Harrowhark's head, annoying her with bad puns and reminding her to drink more protein shakes. The more I think back on it, the more credit I have to give it.

Characters (4/5): While this book has a lot more characters than I care for, some significantly less necessary than others (looking at you Crux and Coronabeth), I appreciate the effort to give each one a unique personality and motivation. There are still some tropes, such as the fatherly figure that makes bad puns, the embarrassed teens, the meek nerd, etc., but at least they are developed in the short time before their brutal deaths.

I especially like Gideon. Immature. Stubborn. Strong Morals. Biceps that you can sink your teeth into. Gideon's frustration with Harrowhark and the Ninth Planet is justified, but I respect that she tries her best to meet their demands. Similarly, while I can't say that I like Harrowhark, her backstory as an engineered monster makes her at least somewhat sympathetic.

Characters I didn't enjoy: Cytherea and Dulcinea. I am intentionally counting those as separate entities. I understand that Cytherea is meant to bring Gideon and Harrowhark closer to the Emperor and drive the plot as a whole, but I wish her lore was more explicit earlier in the story. The Emperor and his Lyctors are only vaguely mentioned and frankly, I'm still unsure what Lyctorhood is all about. While I love a big baddy, Cytherea's introduction and motives were introduced too late for me.

As for Dulcinea, I suspected she had darker motives right from the beginning. It was too ideal to have a sweet, sickly, girl fainting lavishly around a derelict castle (laboratory?). She was Chekov's missile tank. While I appreciated watching Gideon get flustered with gay panic, I kept waiting for the other shoe to eventually drop. It was only two dimensional, which I suppose makes sense once the twist is revealed.

Final Thoughts: I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Locked Tomb books. While confusing, the setting and plot were refreshing. I'm almost disappointed that we won't see most of the same characters in book #2, but I'm sure Muir already has a massive lineup of replacements waiting for us.

Furthermore, It's great reading a story that hits the queer aesthetic dead on. Save the rainbows and club mixes for June. The rest of the year, we like our lazy goth aesthetic, our gritty cyberpunk core, and our lovecraftian lore, etc.

While I am a sucker for romance and shipping wars, it can get quite repetitive. I'm also glad that the novel does not veer in that direction. Harrowhark and Gideon's relationship evolved more naturally. Even though I partially expected a more romantic payoff, I am not at all disappointed with the ending. It's a unique dynamic to have your potential love interest mesh their soul with yours and share the same body to become a powerhouse of magic and sword fighting. I don't think I've ever encountered anything quite like

oh.

My FIRST erotic short story is now available on Amazon!

"Caats is a sensual telepathic alien desperate to leave planet Freyr-03. Sterling is a handsome human who claims to have a spaceship. Can they come to an agreement in just one night?"

This is my FIRST of many self-published story, which is now available on Amazon. I originally wrote about Caats as the main character in a much bigger story. However, I decided to break up her adventures into smaller side quests and also ramp up the sexiness to 100000. I'm essentially writing fanfiction for my own original work.

If you decide to read this story, please make sure to leave a review or you can DM me your thoughts. I would love any feedback while I write more about Caats's upcoming adventures in deep space.

genuinely there is nothing like the first 48 hours of being insane about a character when you’re washing your eyeballs out with fan art and ripping ao3 apart with your teeth like a hound

Alternatives for "She Smiled"

If you can't seem to find an alternative for this common phrase "she smiled". here's a list of different sentence variations.

She beamed brightly.

Her lips curled into a smile.

She flashed a radiant grin.

A smile lit up her face.

She offered a sheepish grin.

Her smile twinkled mischievously.

She gave a soft, serene smile.

A wry smile played on her lips.

She smirked subtly.

Her smile spread slowly across her face.

She smiled wistfully.

A gentle smile graced her features.

She smiled with her eyes.

Her smile was tinged with sadness.

She bestowed a gracious smile.

Her smile glimmered in the dim light.

She smiled coyly.

A giddy smile bubbled up.

She smiled, lips parting lightly.

Her smile was infectious.

She gave a knowing smile.

A tentative smile flickered across her face.

She smiled, eyes sparkling with delight.

Her smile warmed the room.

She smiled ruefully.

A conspiratorial smile crossed her face.

She smiled, a trace of irony evident.

Her smile was wide and welcoming.

She flashed a quick, evasive smile.

She smiled as if recalling a sweet memory.

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1035 members, 598 posts about #creative writing #creative writers #helping writers • Guiding Writers to New Heights

Essential Beat Sheet for Writers

ACT ONE: SETUP

1. Opening Image: A snapshot of your story’s world and tone. Who are we following? What’s at stake?

2. Theme Stated: A subtle hint about the story’s deeper meaning or lesson, often posed as a question or challenge.

3. Setup: Introduce your protagonist, their ordinary world, supporting characters, and the status quo. Show us what needs to change.

4. Catalyst: The inciting incident that flips the protagonist’s world upside down. This is the point of no return.

5. Debate: Your protagonist hesitates. Should they step forward into the unknown or retreat? This beat builds anticipation.

ACT TWO: CONFRONTATION

6. Break Into Two: The protagonist makes a decision and steps into a new world (literal or figurative). The adventure begins.

7. B Story: The subplot kicks in—often a relationship or secondary goal that supports the main story’s theme.

8. Fun and Games: The “heart” of the story. Deliver on the premise and explore the stakes through action, conflict, and character growth.

9. Midpoint: A major turning point where everything changes. Stakes are raised. Success feels closer—or failure looms larger.

10. Bad Guys Close In: External and internal pressures mount. Allies falter. Enemies strike. Doubts creep in.

11. All Is Lost: The darkest moment. The protagonist experiences a significant loss or setback.

12. Dark Night of the Soul: A pause for reflection. Your protagonist processes their failure and digs deep to find the courage to move forward.

ACT THREE: RESOLUTION

13. Break Into Three: Armed with new insight or strength, the protagonist takes decisive action to face the story’s central conflict.

14. Finale: The climax. Everything comes to a head in a final showdown or resolution. Your protagonist proves they’ve changed—or failed to.

15. Closing Image: A mirror of the opening image, showing how the world—and your protagonist—has transformed.

You want to learn to write better dialogue? Become a bitch who has whole conversations and debates in her mind all the time and you'll become a natural.