Snowflake 2026 #5

[visualjyushi]

In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts. 

Icons of my faves! — Vincent, Cloud (FFVII) | Prompto, Noctis (FFXV) | Sea Salt Trio (KH)

FFVII fic recs! — specifically looking for anything Gen (about Cloud or Vincent is a bonus), Aerith/Tifa, or Sephiroth/Genesis focused. I mostly read Cloud ships so any recs will most likely be new to me :)

Writing advice! — How do you choose the starting point of your fic/story? Sometimes I get an idea of how one might end but have no idea where to actually start it.

Comments

[autumninpluto]

I usually start with dialogue immediately, or the immediate aftermath of a conflict!

For example, I have a fic where a character goes missing, I start with how it seemed like no big deal, until the other half of the ship notices what's wrong.

Or in a post-apocalyptic fic, I start with an impactful one-liner like, "On [date], the world ended." Then I continue with exposition (what was it like? how did it affect the main character? etc.)

In a lot of cases though, I start with dialogue, like a character calling for another, or scolding/yelling, maybe the most impactful line/dialogue? Like their last words in battle, their wedding vows, the most hurtful thing one could say in a fight, etc.

I blabbed a bit, but I hope that helped! :'D

[visualjyushi]

You know, this just made me realize that I rarely start fics with dialogue. 🤔 I’ll have to try that the next time I go to write something. Thanks for the examples!!

[althea_valara]

Oooh, good wishes! +points to icon+ I made that one. It's not a great icon but you're welcome to it if you'd like. I don't have a Vincent icon alas, but I do have Barret (where the hell is the save point?) and Sephiroth (LOLing). Feel free to borrow those, too - I believe I have credited where I originally got them from.

One of my goals this year is to start reading fanfic, so I'd be interested in any recs you get! Straining my brain to remember if anyone wrote Aerith/Tifa for the FF Kiss Battle... it seems like someone would have? I might do some searching later to confirm that and find fics for you.

Writing advice: I would start with what sets the character(s)/plot on its path towards the end. Most plots end with a resolution of some kind - what was the conflict that was resolved? or the thing that was being searched for? Most of my work is short, so I don't have any advice for longer works, but for example (if I can toot my own horn), I got my start for A Long-Sought Duel partially based on the Kiss Battle prompt (FFV, Bartz/Gilgamesh, duel) but also by thinking about what a duel would be like. Duels are passionate, and it just so happens that Bartz is associated with the Wind Crystal, which is the crystal of passion. So I started with him feeling lackluster and missing passion in his life, and at the end of the short story, he finds it again.

Good luck with your writing!

[althea_valara]

I'm back! I found two Aerith/Tifa fics from past Kiss Battles:

Goodnight Kiss, written by threewalls off the prompt "Tifa/Aerith, friend date turned real date"

Aerith/Tifa, in remembrance, anonymous writer

[visualjyushi]

I love the silly icons! Also, I like your writing example. That’s such a good way to think about a prompt. I’m inspired to look for prompts to do my own little writing exercises with now. Clearly, I need practice thinking backwards lol 🤔

Thanks for finding these fic recs! They look like they’ll be fun reads.

[asuraid]

seasalt TRIOOOOOO the render is from this person on devart :D i tried my best w/the sea salt ice cream pixel

[visualjyushi]

I love it!!! The sea salt ice cream is a nice touch. Thank you :)

[themightyflynn]

This might not be that useful, but don't be afraid to write something, then scrap the entire thing. It's good practice, and may give you an idea of what else you want to add into a fic that only has an ending. I do the same thing a lot of the time, and just noodling in Word (or whatever writing thing you have) can really help. It also gets you more word count for GYWO if you're participating! XD

Beyond that, it depends entirely on the characters I'm trying to write. Because there are definitely scenarios that would fit in with an ending I have in mind for some characters that wouldn't work for others.

[visualjyushi]

I will always take a reminder that not everything I write needs to be perfect lol. I’m doing a habit pledge for GYWO so it’s not a bad idea honestly!

Cloud icons!

[sarajayechan]

Re: Cloud icons!

[visualjyushi]

These are great, thank you!!! <3

Re: Cloud icons!

[sarajayechan]

You're welcome!

Wish Granted!

[ysabetwordsmith]

This seemed like it would be a popular topic, so I made a whole post:

How to Choose a Starting Point for Your Story

Re: Wish Granted!

[visualjyushi]

This is a super helpful post! Thank you for taking the time to write it!

Re: Wish Granted!

[ysabetwordsmith]

You're welcome! I'm glad you found this useful.

[matsushima]

How do you choose the starting point of your fic/story? Sometimes I get an idea of how one might end but have no idea where to actually start it.
I usually start with the first line, like it will come to me (sometimes literally in a dream) and that's where I'll start writing. (That isn't necessarily where the story starts, that's a question to ask yourself in revision!)

Since you're usually inspired by the end of the story, maybe see if there's a way you could start by foreshadowing or bookending the scene you're inspired by and working from there?

[visualjyushi]

Great points! I should definitely just write out whatever scene comes to me but I get too caught up in the overall picture sometimes. Of course, you can always work with something but not nothing.

[sweetsorcery]

Unless the ending is the first thing that comes to me as an idea, the first scene that makes it into my head somewhat fully formed, especially if there's good dialogue or something interesting happening, is often where I start. I love starting with a line of dialogue, or in the middle of a scene, or with a thought inside a character's head, or something dramatic. Anything that's going to immediately put the reader into the setting without first having to climb over furniture or find out about the weather on the way there. :D

[visualjyushi]

Anything that's going to immediately put the reader into the setting without first having to climb over furniture or find out about the weather on the way there.

This is a really good point!! I feel like I don't consider the impact of my opening sentence(s) enough because I tend to dream up the climactic scenes first. The beginning should definitely be interesting enough to draw the reader in, so maybe jumping into action really is the place to start sometimes. 🤔

[axael]

I love the writing advice question, lol.

My favorite 'where do you start' advice is 'as late as possible.' Basically, it's the idea that you start not in the noodling-around exposition stuff, but you start as far in as you can when stuff is actively happening. If you have a string of plot events, start with the first one and decide whether or not it's something that would be more interesting as backstory. Then you look at the next plot point and decide if THAT might also be more interesting as backstory. Basically just pick the most interesting plot point that definitely cannot be backstory, and that's where you start.

I, personally, usually start with the catalyzing incident. The main character/ensemble MUST act after whatever happens in the first scene. So that's where I start. :)

[visualjyushi]

Great advice! Your reply already got me thinking about a story I might do this with, so thank you for that.