#and I know to avoid said things

[inkovert]

Welcome back to writeblr! ...I say as I only now dip back in myself after too many years of lurking. >.> I can't wait to follow along with your journey of editing your draft! I'm at a similar point in my writing, and while there's so much talk about writing and plotting and eventually publishing maybe, sometimes it feels lonely to work in that in-between zone of being "done" but not really. And congrats on 60 books! That's insane! As someone who desperately needs to read more, do you have any recommendations for Best and Worst books that you read?

aw thank you! Yes I definitely get the lurking. I've been lurking myself for the past few months but have finally decided to commit to posting again.

Haha I didn't think my editing journey would be of interest to anyone so I'm happy to hear that. I may post about it more than I'd intended to then in hopes that it may be useful to someone.

I 100% agree with you - though I understand finishing a draft of a story requires a *massive* amount of time/effort so understandable that there aren't floods of people posting about this part of the process - but I have been floundering to find advice about editing and while there is some out there I wish there was more! And just more commiseration about how hard it is? Like I've only just started in the last month and I haven't made much progress, I'm still figuring out an organized method to go about it. All that is to say I'm happy to commiserate with you any time about this "done-but-not-really" phase that we're both in lol.

Re best and worst books I've read: oof. It has so much to do with preference! A book that I consider 10/10 great someone else may not find their cup of tea. If you're asking for book recommendations for you to personally read for enjoyment I'd need more info on what you personally look for in books! If you're looking for recommendations on books to read to analyze story elements that I think have been done well and/or not so well, that's a list I'll provide below (excuse if this is not what you were asking for):

Books Stronger in Important Story Elements

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles:  Strengths: Storytelling, narrative voice/tone, well-rounded characters, character development. Weaknesses/Criticisms: time-jumps could be confusing.

 I think this novel was brilliant and so enjoyable because of the way the story was told. Of all the things I listed as its strengths the biggest was the character development. Following The Count (the MC) from where he began to where he ended, and how his growth came about so organically was so satisfying. And despite the slower-pacing of this story, the narration is delivered in such a charming way to keep you engaged and turning the pages. 

Legendborn by Tracey Deonn:  Strengths: everything.  Weaknesses/Criticisms: nothing (I’m joking I just can’t think of any).

This book is probably in my top three reads of this year. You want well-rounded characters with clear motivations? You got it. You want amazing and well-explained worldbuilding with information delivered to you at necessary times and not info-dumped into a wall of exposition? You got it. You want a well-paced story that nicely balances the heightened action and suspenseful beats of the story with the low-stakes emotional, introspective beats that will keep you hungrily devouring the pages? You got it. You want a well-developed and not-forced romantic subplot? You got it. I have nothing bad to say about this book, but I’m sure there are criticisms out there if you want to go looking for them. 

Pachinko by Lee Min-Jin:  Strengths: strong characters/character development over long time period, thematically strong Weaknesses/Criticisms: again, don’t have any but they’re there ofc

If you are writing an epic saga or a series, even though this book is a standalone, I think it’s a masterclass in how to write realistic characters who readers get to follow over an extended period of time. You can watch how they grow over a number of decades and simultaneously how they retain their flaws and the core of their identities. A big theme/trope of this story is generational trauma, which is handled incredibly well. 

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah  Strengths: strong atmospheric writing and strong conflict  Weaknesses/Criticisms: Some people think the ending was rushed/too unrealistic- while I understand the criticism I don’t agree with it so form your own opinion!

I will preface this by saying there are a number of CWs in this book that I would look up before reading because I was shocked/unprepared when they came up as I was reading. That being said, this is an emotionally heavy book. But what I think it does the best is that it makes it clear from the get-go that the setting is a major character of the book, and Hannah does so with such strong atmospheric writing that you can feel yourself in the bone-chilling, bleak, harsh winters of Alaska. But even more than that, is that the major conflict(s) that are central to the story are not just man vs. man or man vs. self but also man vs. nature. The setting is a silent but imposing antagonist, that is foreshadowed long before it becomes a threat, which makes this book even more terrifyingly engaging. 

Books Weaker in Important Story Elements

Disclaimer: I am criticizing these books purely from a writing stand-point. These books may be great content/premise wise; they’re probably someone’s favorite book, and that’s fine. But objectively I think most of my writing-specific criticisms are valid (and I’ve read reviews from other readers who have shared similar viewpoints). 

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzales

I hate to criticize an author of color because there’s so few of us out there. But that doesn’t mean we’re above making mistakes. To be fully transparent, I did not finish this book (DNF'd @ 30%), but I was buddy reading it with a friend who did finish it and she told me that all the issues I had with it carried on to the end of the book, so I feel confident/comfortable still saying this. This book had a lot of potential, and the premise was quite interesting, but the strength of the story got buried beneath heaps of exposition/info-dumping, a lot of “telling” not “showing” (mostly with regards to the characters, which made it hard for me to connect with them and see them as real people). Another issue this book suffered from was its lack of focus. The author attempted to tackle way too many things in this story, which left her unable to meaningfully explore any one theme/subplot. So this book taught me that being overambitious with the topics I’m trying to tackle may not always be a good thing and can cause my story to suffer. And info-dumping on your readers can make them want to pull their hair out (at least that was the case for me). See: Lengendborn on how to balance the info you give readers.

Things We Do In the Dark by Jennifer Hillier This is a thriller/mystery novel also by an author of color (I’m sorry). This book did a lot of things well and I think it was a great novel…just not as a thriller. It took me a while to figure out why I felt meh about this book and it was because there was such a lack of suspense. I wasn’t sitting at the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I felt like I was reading a contemporary fiction novel sans thriller. 

Upgrade by Blake Crouch Same as above. This book did not have me hanging at the edge of my seat despite being a sci-fi thriller. What I believe this book suffered from most though, is that it felt like it was written for a movie adaptation, and not to please/satisfy its readers. In this new age where books are being shuttle to the screen with increasing frequency, I get it (esp because this author already has one his books being adapted to screen). But I think that just sets you up for the “movie is better than the book” comment. If you’re a novelist, honor your medium and write a book, not a screenplay. 

An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard There are too many issues with this book to count, so I’ll just list the lessons that I learned post-read: If you’re writing a book with multiple POVs, make sure each POV matters. Don’t use multiple POVs just to give the illusion that the story is fast-paced just because we’re constantly shifting POVs, or to make it seem like more is happening in your story when really…nothing is. It just makes the story unnecessarily complicated and hard to follow. Put as much time and effort into crafting villains as you do your main characters. Don’t make them caricatures! Make them well-rounded so they feel real and I actually give a shit about them even if I don’t agree with them. If you’re gonna build up to some intense moment or event - make sure there’s actually a satisfying payoff. Don’t end every conflict/battle in two sentences. It just makes me as a reader stop trusting you every time you point a red arrow at a scene and say “Look! This is cool/important!” I'll walk away feeling cheated and lied to.

I hope this was somewhat helpful to *someone* even if this wasn’t what you were looking for. Feel free to ask any follow up questions or come back and chat with me :) 

[chirpsythismorning]

I’m sorry but nothing will ever beat Finn’s drive playlist that he made during s3 filming, with songs like Me and Michael, The Basement, Gay Thoughts and No Woman lmaoooo

[bittwitchy]

you're awful.

[doodleodds]

Me? Uploading a Halloween comic on November 18th, almost four whole-ass weeks late???? Yeah that’s uh. yup. yeah

Thanks for reading! :) <3

[chloecherrysip]

"I hope you told your brother how much you loved him, because you're probably never gonna see him again."

"..."

"Was that too dark?"

"YES!"

"Sorry."

[moeblob]

OC again gomen ... (her name is Yuma)

[oceanwithouthermoon]

i feel like im obligated to remind everyone that the time we see the characters spend with saiki on screen isnt the ONLY time they spend together,,, i just see a lot of people take their screen time very literally and assume that this is the case despite it being heavily implied that it isnt, and im not entirely sure why but i can guess that it may be because of the assumption that saiki genuinely hates his friends (i do also see people doing this with specific characters they dont like or that they have a specific agenda for, which i think is them being like "i feel a certain way about them, therefore saiki the narrator who gave me all the information that made me feel this way about them must not like them" which i dont really have a problem with (its just an hc) until they start arguing with people that their hc is the only right answer and saiki canonically hates that person or is only around them when forced to be LOL)

yumehara and teruhashi immediately recognize "kurikos" eating manner as saikis despite us never seeing him eat in front of them, kaido + nendo + kuboyasu bribe saiki for his homework with coffee jelly because they know hes obsessed with it despite us seeing no on-screen reason for them to know that (we do see a bit later that he walks home with them every day and he stares at coffee jelly every single time though LOL), and mera talks about saiki spending a lot of money at her workplace despite us only seeing her and him there at the same time once before..

saiki does not succeed at avoiding them, and in fact is probably not even trying to most of the time LMAO he loves those idiots. dearly.

the people i see the least true implications of him spending off-screen time with are actually, weirdly enough, the other two psychics. this doesnt necessarily mean to take that at face value and assume he DOESNT spend as much time with them, but its interesting i feel... please correct me if im wrong though cuz i would love to see more examples of these kinds of implications, for any characters actually!

[safety-pin-punk]

yall Im so fucking tired. This month has been exhausting. I promise Im alive, just barely functional atm.

[frederickkittens]

.

[iguessitsjustme]

Ter stop talking over and making decisions for Dee challenge 2k24. Y'all ain't even friends at this point you're just the annoying coworker go away

[kaeyapilled]

i am still not over the fact arlecchino is referred to as "father" by the house of the hearth kids btw. the gender of it all

[phoenixcatch7]

Everyone keeps pairing Danny up with the bat kids and I'm not even a shipper, but.

Pair him up with Steph,

Cowards.

[bluefever]

Thoughts and other stuff that I want to say

Some of these are problems I have, excluding the problem where I take my anger out of my friends/people I know in general, that I am trying to get over of (it’s going somewhat ok so far). I fear that this might cost me time loose some friends but I really need to get this off my chest (Some I already confessed on a WB).

After the whole events with my other problem, I saw the reason why some people don’t like “vent people” or whatever; reason being that it’ll cause someone anxiety and/or worry when a friend of their’s vents, even when the vent is suicidal or anything big. I’m tired of worrying and I don’t like to see my friends like this, though I do understand how sometimes they have to say what they feel (that’s why I’m writing this whole thing). I know not everything is cupcakes and rainbows but it pains me to see my friends in their own pain, though I don’t react, but I set myself to the side (especially since I’m not a big help when it comes to venting, I get a bit stressed). 

As much as I am moots with someone or someone is following me and I know them, I don’t really consider some people here as friends or whatever. Not saying I don’t like them it’s just…I really don’t know how to feel about them. It’s not a lot of people on here -probably only 2 or 3- but still. There may be a reason for this, but it may come out as rude so I try not to say it directly in their faces, but also try not to say it behind their backs either (I also only take joking insults from people I’m close too).

(Ok now this might be the one that would cost me some friends…) I saw this with two people I know that are “dating” (idk if they are actually dating, probably not and it’s only platonic, but this is just if they are) and they have RP accounts in which they happen to ship their characters with each other. Now let me say this…JUST BECAUSE THE RP ACCOUNTS ARE SHIPPED DOESNT MEAN ITS ACTUAL DATING (or whatever). Idk what you guys do in private but if you guys are dating in character shouldn’t mean you are dating in general, because you guys might not know each other well enough and it might end up being bad (I have experience this once). Although if you guys DO know each other well enough then that should be fine and dating in general would be ok, I just feel like thinking you guys know each other just by only dating in character will turn out very bad.

(IDC IF YOU DONT TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY BUT I GOTTA SAY THIS.) I overthink sometimes, but/so when it comes to people calling me by “pet” names (anything but romantically), I get all crazy and giddy over it, letting my mind think that it’s romantic when it’s really not. I honestly live for “pet” names (it depends on what the name is tbh) and if someone were to call me one I might fall in love with them for a bit (it goes away though…maybe). So sorry if you call me something like “honey” and I go full on crazy (over you), I can’t help it./gen

[ai-higurashi]

I think all the triplets have, accidentally or on purpose, called Beakley "granny" at one point or another.

Louie is the first one to slip up and it's like calling the teacher "mom". Beakley doesn't comment on it but if Scrooge notices she's happier than usual afterwards despite acting as normal as possible, no he didn't <3.

Webby is ecstatic about it each and every time .

[firebirdsdaughter]

Something that occurred to me this time…

… Is that Eliot deliberately brings Hardison w/ him to confront Moreau the first time. He tells Nate that he and Hardison will do it (don't worry, I also Love Hardison taking the moment to be like 'hey, are you okay?' bc those two usually express themselves through bickering so much that it clearly telegraphs just how off Eliot is being that Hardison is dropping the usual banter to be serious).

Which for one thing, says something about Eliot's confidence in Hardison in general, but also, like… Yes, Parker's probably not the choice for that introduction, it's not her style, but Nate or Sophie could also have played the part. He could have tried to go alone. But he pulls Hardison.

Obviously he's not trying to put Hardison in danger, he makes it quite clear in all other scenarios that he does not tolerate Hardison in danger (visual cues in The Gone Fishin' Job my beloveds), the others are well aware of the fact that he's Done Some Shit and are equally unaware of his connection to Moreau. And to be honest, I can't pinpoint an exact reason why I think he might have done it, chosen Hardison to be the one who finds out first. Maybe he suspected Moreau would underestimate Hardison, making him safer (relatively, if course), then someone like Nate or Sophie. Maybe he thought it would be best to have Hardison's tech skills as back up. Maybe he thought Hardison would roll w/ the punches the best. Maybe he just wanted Hardison there for morale.

I don't know, but it's a moment that didn't really occur to me the first time, but I think is actually quite meaningful in a more emotional way.

[cienie-isengardu]

Tomas brought that mean talk Bi-Han gave him on himself. Bi-Han only said he's tired of waiting and Tomas went on a speech why that's disrespectful to their dad. Tomas was out of line. Bi-Han should have been even harsher.

Mortal Kombat 1 made it clear that Bi-Han was not at his best mental state. Kuai Liang himself admitted to be aware that his brother’s frustration ran deeply while at the same time apparently neither Scorpion nor Smoke figured out it was their own behavior and treatment of Bi-Han that fueled the frustration in the first place. The one thing the game consequently showed is that whatever Bi-Han will say, be it an opinion about Lin Kuei’s future or just angry complain, all his brothers have to say back to him is father this, tradition that and I think even the most patient person at some point would reach the breaking point. And Bi-Han did reach his, otherwise I doubt he would openly confront Kuai Liang about their father’s death. 

So as much as it is understandable (human) that whenever Tomas or Kuai Liang mentioned father or the tradition Sub-Zero lashed out in frustration, anger alone is a poor excuse for saying mean things - unless in that scene Bi-Han did in fact speak his mind about not considering Smoke to be a true Lin Kuei. Which I doubt is the case, as they were called for the first big job in a while, and looking how

Liu Kang did not recognize Tomas through the whole story mode

Bi-Han had a final say in who is accompanying him, as he rejected aid of Raiden (Fire Lord’s current Champion) and Kung Lao and Liu Kang did not try to impose them on him

I think if Grandmaster truly had an objection to Smoke performing Lin Kuei duty or not deserving being one, he wouldn’t take Tomas on the top priority mission ordered by a very concerned Liu Kang when there were plenty of other more experienced warriors to pick up. Frankly, even if Bi-Han had a doubt about his younger brother’s skills, it wasn’t a baseless assumption, as the infiltration of the enemy's fortress proved Tomas lacks battle experience in that regard. As was seen during his fall after Nitara’s attack - instead of using his powers that literally allowed him to fly, he screamed in panic and using a knife to stop the fall was his second option after instinctively grabbing the wall with his hands failed. Which proves Bi-Han’s point but it didn’t override the decision to include Tomas into Lin Kuei duties. 

But I digress, so let’s come back to the awaiting scene alone. 

Bi-Han: “How long are we expected to linger?" Kuai Liang: “Patience, Bi-Han. There are many demands on Liu Kang's attention." Tomas: "Were he here, Father would advise us to wait without protest."

For one, Tomas did not say anything about Bi-Han being disrespectful to their father nor even to Liu Kang, only that the man would advise them - mind you, them, not Bi-Han alone - to wait as long as needed without a protest. Considering the real possibility that up to his death, their father was the final authority whose words settled any dispute between brothers, Smoke brought an argument to support Kuai Liang’s Patience, Bi-Han. There are many demands on Liu Kang's attention. He simply said what father would do himself in their situation. Something he and Kuai Liang take comfort in, as they held father’s teaching in high regard, while Bi-Han did not recognize the man’s authority any longer - what the younger brothers may know already but still ignore due to their own grief, or Bi-Han up to this moment managed to keep down his frustration under more or less effective control.

This exchange led the discussion away from Liu Kang’s treatment of high-ranked Lin Kuei to the more dangerous subject of father’s teaching and tradition:

Tomas: "Were he here, Father would advise us to wait without protest." Bi-Han: "But now he is gone and I am Grandmaster." Kuai Liang: “His teaching did not pass with him. They should still guide us." Bi-Han: "Guide us, yes. Shackle us, no." Tomas: “We can't abandon tradition." Bi-Han: "Mind your place, Tomas. Father may have taken you in, made you one of us... but your blood will never be Lin Kuei."

For me, Bi-Han’s response was harsher than Tomas’ words deserved, especially as the “your blood will never be Lin Kuei” has nothing to do with the main course of the argument - i.e., following father’s teachings and upholding tradition. If Bi-Han wanted to point out that Tomas is not in position to decide the course of the clan's politics, as it was Grandmaster’s choice alone, he could have said so instead of bringing Tomas’ past. However, at the same time, Sub-Zero’s words could be much harsher and hurtful, for example to deny him the brotherhood or right to consider himself one of Grandmaster's sons. 

The whole bicker was avoidable or at least could be toned down much better if Tomas did not bring their father into discussion. Considering that Kuai Liang was aware his older brother’s patience is a thin ice due to deep frustration, we can assume Tomas knew that too. I feel like if they acknowledged Bi-Han’s complaint or at least allowed him to vent his anger in peace, none of the following arguments would follow. 

I mean, Liu Kang called Grandmaster for top important mission (capturing Shang Tsung and destroying soulstellers), so we can assume Bi-Han and his brothers drop whatever they were doing at that moment and came ASAP only to be forced to wait for unknown to us period of time - that could be a ten minutes or hours, so Bi-Han’s complaint is not baseless. 

At the same time, I feel it is unfair to accuse Tomas of stepping out of line, as that was no formal meeting and he did not undermine the authority of the Grandmaster and older brother before outsiders. The scene was solely about them and their relationship and if Bi-Han felt comfortable to break out of his Grandmaster’s role to vent his frustration to younger brothers when they were all alone, Tomas had the same right to feel comfortable enough to state his opinion in the following discussion. This is them being brothers not the leader and subordinates, the way they were during the war meeting with Liu Kang.

Please, note, Bi-Han  as Grandmaster is singled out and to whom Fire Lord addresses only, while Smoke and Scorpion stood in their place in silence and won’t speak until the meeting is officially over, i.e. after Sub-Zero’s final decision (“We will leave immediately”). If Tomas spoke during that meeting anything contradictoring Sub-Zero’s words, even if his words were correct, then yes, that would be stepping out of line and deserves any lecture the Grandmaster would consider fitting or even dealing with Tomas’ behavior once they returned to home. 

But during the moment between brothers alone from any outsiders? It is different situation, different power balance to begin with (and really, if they didn’t feel comfortable in each company and didn’t consider waiting together as the quiet moment between just them as brothers, outside the clan politics, I doubt Tomas and Kuai Liang would sit while Bi-Han, their leader, was standing).

Did Smoke really need to bring their father into discussion, especially if he knew the late Grandmaster was a sensitive topic around Bi-Han? It could be easier to just avoid that topic however if we can acknowledge Sub-Zero’s frustration as the reason for his harsh behavior and lashing out in anger, I feel we should also acknowledge that Tomas, the same as Kuai Liang, was a son mourning the loss of father. As Smoke and Scorpion had no idea about Bi-Han’s (passive) role in their father’s death, and we don’t have an idea how long time passed since that incident, so there is a chance it was still recent occurrence and the brothers tried - and failed - to find a common ground between Sub-Zero’s ambitions and Smoke & Kuai Liang’s mourning.

Maybe Tomas was so wrapped up in his grief, he didn’t care or didn’t notice he was provoking Bi-Han? Maybe he on purpose kept bringing the late Grandmaster (tradition) into discussion to force his brother to talk about their father, because grieving people sometimes avoid talking about the dead and he did not want repeat what happened to him not speaking about mother and sister, as intro dialogue implied he did not talk about his biological family after their death (Scorpion: You never speak of your mother and sister.)

For me personally, this scene is not about who stepped out the line and who should be lectured, but rather a needed indication from the narration point that the brothers are drifting apart after their father’s death. Both sides have said things that rubbed the other in the wrong way (hearing non stop about father and tradition adds fuel to Bi-Han’s frustration, Tomas’s hearing no matter how hard he will try, he will never be a true Lin Kuei hits into his sense of self-worth), but even the closest siblings sometimes argue and it happened here.

The argument should not even happen in the first place, and maybe would not happen in any normal circumstances  but since Bi-Han and Tomas and Kuai Liang are affected by things outside their control - frustration and mourning respectively - it is understandable the heavy emotions led them to clashed over relatively small things. 

If there is one thing to say for sure, they have some serious communication problems and that is only partially about Bi-Han not saving their father and lying about that. The story mode showed us Bi-Han trying to explain his reasoning - and as much as game keeps his arguments as vague as possible, he still openly states what he wants for Lin Kuei and himself, while his brothers cling to "tradition" and "father said so" but won't present any countrarguments why those things should matters. Which is a major problem, as both sides want different things and can't find a common ground to agree on.

So no, I don't think Tomas was at fault in this scene, at least not in the sense he wanted to hurt Bi-Han by bringing father into discussion, the same as I don't think Bi-Han should be harsher. What they should have done was to talk about the issue in peace and work out the solution, but alas they weren't given a time nor opportunity until it was too late.