Happy Valentine’s! 💖💖💖

And done! :D I really like the idea of Damian experimenting more artistic skills, like body painting- But first he gotta start with something small, so- Makeup!

And I wanted to put Tim in this because of the Caroline Hills thing, he must be more comfortable with makeup 👉🏻👈🏻

“I don’t know gang…”

“C’mon, you can’t leave us hanging!”

“Yeah, you’ll love camping!”

“I love plumbing. And a mattress.”

“The cabin overlooking the clearing has showers and everything, and plus, if it gets really bad we can just hole up in there for a while. It’s got three floors!”

“Really? That’s quite a lot for a camping cabin.”

“Yeah! The basement, the main floor and the attic!”

“…Excuse me?”

“What?”

“You booked a cabin in the middle of the woods with a basement and an attic?”

“Technically we can’t go into the basement, it’s like super locked.”

“Which means?”

“In the pictures there are three locked chains on the door, see?”

“THERE’S ALSO A FUCKING HAND REACHING THROUGH THE GAP UNDERNEATH?!”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s just a trick of the light. Or the decor. It’s really gothic.”

“Gothic?! Yeah no pass your phone, I want to- gargoyles. Hunting trophies. Why not. Did you even- IS THAT A CLOWN STATUE?”

“Relax, it does a side gig as a venue for haunted houses. That’s probably where the hand came from: Halloween decorations.”

“…And nothing about this is giving you a red flag?”

“Ok, seriously, relax, you are so dramatic, it’s probably wine not an actual bloodstain-“

“I didn’t see a bloodstain?!”

“Oh see it’s right there next to the fireplace with the axes above the mantle.”

“Just no.”

“Hey folks, I did check the weather and it will be heavy storms so we’ll just have to tough it- what’s up with Red?”

“They are weirded out by the log cabin.”

“CLOWN STATUE. BLOODSTAIN. LOCKED BASEMENT. What does the attic also have to be a meat locker for you to give this idea any thought?”

“It says the owners only kept the meat cleavers after they refurbished it.”

“Ooo, that’s why it’s so spacious, old farmhouse.”

“Right? It’s so rustic!”

“We’re going to die.”

“Look Red, we don’t want to go on this without you. It’s only last freedom before uni, right?”

“If you say we’re out, we’re out.”

“I’m sorry, but it really gives me a bad feeling.”

“No that’s perfectly ok. You’re not happy, none of us are happy.”

“Tell me the deposit wasn’t non-refundable.”

“It’s fine, we got it for dirt cheap, this flyer showed up through the door and the number we called practically gave it to us for free.”

“It’s going to be tricky finding somewhere that cheap again. And when we booked it in person, the lady was so nice, she even gave us this cool themed skull key for the door!”

“Oh! I got an ad for an old castle that needs house-sitting! They’ll even pay us to be there and it looks really nice, and it needs a minimum of five people and we fit perfectly.”

“Let’s see?”

“I love those paintings in the hall, so lifelike. Skilled artists, you guys.”

“None of you are allowed to make decisions anymore. I pick where we go next.”

getting horror movie vibes from the trip your friends were planning, you decided to simply stay home.

Love it when that happens

Storyediting Questions to Ask

As You Read the First Draft:

Are there place that surprised you as you read your first draft? - Why do you suppose that is? - Is there material there you'd like to expand?

What are the character really doing in this story? - Might they have issues you haven't explored fully yet?

Look to the places that drag. - These might be scenes where you have avoided dealing with something deeper. - What are the characters really thinking in these places? - What are their passions, frustrations, and desires?

Imagine alternative plotlines. - How might your plot be different if ti headed off on another tangent from various points in the story? - You don't have to follow them, but they might suggest other streams that can flow into the main plot.

Think About Structure:

Does you story play out naturally in three acts?

Is there an immediate disturbance to the Lead's world?

Does the first doorway of no return occur before the one-fifth mark?

Are the stakes being raised sufficiently?

Does the second doorway of no return put the Lead on the path to the climax?

Does the rhythm of the sotyr match your intent? If this is an action novel, does the plot move relentlessly forward? If this is a character-driven novel, do the scenes delve deeply enough?

Are there strongly motivated characters?

Have coincidence been established?

Is something happeing immediately at the beginning? Did you establish a person in a setting with a problem, onfronted with change or threat?

Is the timeline logical?

Is the story too predictable in terms of sequence? Should it be rearranged?

About Your Lead Character:

Is the character memorable? Compelling? Enough to carry a reader all the way through the plot?

A lead character has to jump off the page. Does yours?

Does this character avoid cliches? Is he capable of surprising us?

What's unique about the character?

Is the character's objective strong enough?

How does the character grow over the course of the story?

How does the character demonstrate inner strength?

About Your Opposition:

Is your oppositing character interesting?

Is he fully realized, not just a cardboard cutout?

Is he justified (at least in his own mind) in his actions?

Is he believable?

Is he strong as or stronger than the Lead?

About Your Story's Adhesive Nature:

Is the conflcit between the Lead and opposition crucial for both?

Why can't they just walk away? What holds them together?

About Your Scene:

Are the big scenes big enough? Surprising enough? Can you make them more original, unanticipated, and draw them out for all they are worth?

Is there enough conflict in the scenes?

What is the least memorable scene? Cut it!

What else can be cut in order to move the story relentlessly forward?

Does the climactic scene come too fast (through a writer fatigue)? Can you make it more, write it for all it's worth?

Does we need a new minor subplot to build up a saggin midsection?

About Your Minor Characters:

What is their purpose in the plot?

Are they unique and colorful?

Polishing Questions:

Are you hooking the reader from the beginning?

Are suspenseful scenes drawn out for the ultimate tension?

Can any information be delayed? This creates tension in the reader, always a good thing.

Are there enough surprises?

Are character-reaction scenes deep and interesting?

Read chapter ending for read-on prompts

Are there places you can replace describing how a character feels with actions?

Do I use visual, sensory-laden words?

For a Dialogue Read-Through:

Dialogue is almost always strengthened by cutting words within the lines.

In dialogue, be fair to both sides. Don't give one character all the good lines.

Greate dialogue surprises the reader and creates tension. View it like a game, where the players are trying to outfox each other.

Can you get more conflict into dialogue, even emong allies?

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

Bruce, texting Jason: Text me when you’re home safely.

Jason: I’m home dangerously.

Bruce: Stop it.

Jason: I’m home lethally.

What ppl think thugs in Gotham are afraid of: Batman

What the thugs in Gotham are actually afraid of: Robin

Bat is stoic with brute force who wants justice, robins do it cuz they feel like it and it’s fun to them.

I hc Dick will be non-verbal for a bit when Bruce first adopts him

The Batkids definitely forget that their comms are on and linked up to each other's, which is what leads to instances such as:

Cass humming some song for our twenty minutes, nobody has even thought about interrupting and several Batkids have taken to texting each other

Bruce flirting with Clark

Barbara doing asmr as she works and hacks. It gets slightly more concerning when she starts talking to her dolls.

Sound effects related to devastating injury and then that Batkid furiously huffing and puffing and trying to play it cool (Dami, while everyone grimaces)

Bruce flirting with Selina

Dick bitching about something stupid a JLA member did and then going quiet, and threatening everyone listening in

Duke making sound effects under his breath and catchphrase-celebrating unseen feats of heroism and/or parkour

Steph making grim but cheerful comments about near misses while driving, and then going "Haha just kidding. Got you guys good."

Bruce flirting with Khoa

Jason panting heavily, and clearly running for his life, before profusely thanking a bus driver

Tim making mission impossible sounds very quietly as he walked after bad guys at the edge of some rafters. Followed by him falling through them

Bruce being awkwardly flirted at by Riddler, followed by an ew straight from someone's soul

Alfred's random commentary

Batfam as things me and my friends have said

Steph: Fucked up I probably could have worn a crop top today 😔

Jason: Yeah well crop top fucked up is trop cop

Jason: and ACAB

Tim: You would baffle the psych department at any university.

-

Damian: You will never guess who just learned there are different breeds of horses.

[Simultaneously]

Tim: Is it Dick?

Babs: Is it Dick?

(is was)

-

Damian: DICK WOKE HIM (the cat) UP!

Damian: SO FUCKED UP!

Jason: Kill hi-

Dick: I'm sticking a fork into a power outlet.

Jason: Okay he's on it

-

Tim: I'm not autistic, probably, I'm the other one.

Dick: Artistic

Steph: A Cancer

-

Jason: Get me, uhh, a crapple juice

Duke: And if they don't have that?

Jason: A bullet to the head.

-

Bruce: Tim what do you do when you have a fever?

Tim: Sleep???

[several people are typing]

-

Tim: Who wants to play a little game?

Cass: What is the little game?

Tim: How long do you think it's been since I last slept?

Cass: 39 hours.

Tim: What the fuck

Tim: How did you do that what the fuck?

-

Tim: Wait wait wait, I thought energy drinks were good for when you're dehydrated?

Bruce: You.

Bruce: You're thinking of sports drinks.

Tim: What's the difference?

-

Dick: You don't ever talk about your parents.

Tim: I don't ever talk about my parents because... *shrugs* they're fine.

-

Duke: You all need to go to bed or I'm calling the cops

Tim: LOL call GCPD and see what happens (nothing)

Duke: Ok

Duke: Called. I don't think they're allowed to say that word but whatever.

you can pry happy endings from my cold-dead hands. It can be the most heart stopping, gut wrenching fic that has every existed and I will read every drop of it if I get my happy ending. I have had enough painful endings in real life, give me happy in my fantasy world. It can be at the last second, it can be a single sentence, even a single word. Give me all the angst and hurt in the world for 500,000 words, but please give me the comfort I need in the ending. please and thank you.