Draft Happens

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Pastiche is a creative work that intentionally imitates the style or techniques of another artist, genre, or period as a form of tribute. Unlike parody, it isn’t mocking—the goal is appreciation and stylistic exploration rather than criticism. #DraftHappens #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #Terminology

Write What Should Not Be Forgotten. #MotivationMonday #DraftHappens

The Refusal of the Call matters because it reveals the hero’s fear, flaw, or wound. When they hesitate, we see what the journey must change. A quick “yes” creates plot; a meaningful “no” creates character.
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Plot hooks your reader, but character keeps them turning pages. External stakes pull them in; internal stakes make them care.
Which character in your WIP would readers follow anywhere?
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Contrasting characters make stories sharper. Give two people the same goal but different worldviews — the young vs old scientist, the rich vs broke fighter. Contrast = instant tension. The HOW of accomplishing a goal will change.
What’s the best contrast you’ve written?
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When conflict hits hardest, it’s because no one is the villain. The emotional truth lives in the tension between them.
Make your conflicts unwinnable in a human way—two people with valid wounds, crashing into each other instead of healing.
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Let your characters reveal themselves through action, not explanation.
Behavior is emotional truth—especially under pressure.

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Doubt isn't a flaw. Only those who don't realise how little they know can be confident. Keep growing, keeping discovering all there is to learn about writing, then add it to your to-learn list and keep going. #DraftHappens #MotivationMonday #AmWriting #WritingAdvice

Your monster should grow with your character. Dart starts cute, then sheds, hisses, evolves—mirroring Will’s rising terror. Let your threat unfold in stages that reflect the internal arc. Symbolism as tension.
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Miscommunication only works when it reveals character. Eleven, Mike, and Max aren’t confused—they’re hurting. Use misunderstandings to expose longing, insecurity, and fear of being replaced. It matters because they care.
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The best monsters are mirrors. Will’s “between worlds” episodes show his fear, shame, and isolation made literal. Let your antagonist embody what your character already battles inside. The monster = metaphor.
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The Chosen One - A character marked by destiny, not choice. This doesn't mean they don't have agency, their power comes from how they respond to being chosen. #drafthappens #amwriting #writingcommunity #storytellingtropes

Small conflicts reveal big truths. A tiny costume argument in Stranger Things exposes insecurity, grief, and shifting power. Your “small” moments can carry your biggest character reveals.
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Instead of recapping Season 1 through exposition, the episode shows how trauma lingers:
Will sees visions of the Upside Down.
Joyce panics when the phone rings.
Mike calls Eleven every day.
Hopper forces calm but carries tension everywhere he goes.
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The smoother the story feels, the more effort hides beneath it. Good writing looks effortless because the writer has already done the work—cutting, shaping, and refining until every word feels inevitable. #drafthappens #writingcommunity #motivationmonday

High stakes force hard choices. Hopper cutting a deal with Brenner isn’t noble — it’s desperate, messy and human.
Don’t protect your characters from moral grayness. Let the climax expose who they really are.
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Sometimes the most powerful way to raise the stakes isn’t a new threat — it’s a memory.
Hopper’s flashbacks don’t pause the climax… they sharpen it.
Backstory should collide with the present, not interrupt it.
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Joyce shows how compassion shifts a character arc—she doesn’t push Eleven, she listens. Not every turning point needs conflict. Up to this point, every adult in Eleven's life has forced her to do something.
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When subplots finally collide, the story surges forward. Episode 7 proves it—once Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy link up, everything accelerates.
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Motif — A recurring element that threads meaning through a story. It can be an image, phrase, color, or symbol that quietly echoes a theme. #drafthappens #creativewriting #learntowrite #storytellingtips

Episode 7 raises the stakes and gives relief at the same time—Hopper finds Eleven just as the danger spikes. Layered emotions make moments hit harder.
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In Episode 6, every character hits a breaking point: But the emotional core is Eleven. She admits she opened the gate—and Mike reframes her entire identity with four words: “You’re not the monster.”
IA perfect example of how a single line can shift a character’s arc.
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The story already lives inside you; your job is to listen, not control. Trust the instinct that pulls you to the page—it knows the path long before your logic catches up. There's a reason you're drawn to writing. Trust yourself. #drafthappens #amwriting

Each group deals with more than just "find Will". There's social dynamics that become obstacles. Steve & Jonathan's fist fight puts Jonathan in jail, Eleven's guilt causes her to interfere with the compass search for the gate.

Stranger Things nails ensemble plotting: every group follows its own thread, finds unique clues, and the pieces only make sense when they come together at the end.
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The plotlines look different, but emotionally they're unified.
The story feels tight, satisfying, and character-driven.
Pick one emotional question, let every character answer it in their own way — and your story will feel cohesive no matter how big the plot gets. #DraftHappens #StrangerThings

Probably why the scene existed and was cut from the video game.

Will's body is found - The False Defeat Midpoint - and even the strongest Believers (Joyce and Mike) start to doubt.
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