#lunar ramblings.docx

[the-writing-moon]

i need to clarify. the angel of the crows is an ok-ish book. the story was mildly entertaining and the characters are endearing if not somewhat forgettable (if we’re talking about the expanded cast and not the main characters). i love the world-building—it reminds me a bit of The Rithmatist and When the Angels Left the Old Country, and some part of me thinks the book was undermarketed or mis-marketed because while it’s an ok-ish alternate history-fantasy sherlock holmes retelling, it makes a fun and sometimes comedic character-led slice-of-life cozy fantasy. it really doesn’t hit the high-concept fantasy that it was being peddled as and the goodreads blurb tells you nothing about the story.

so going into the writing here: i’ve read four katherine addison books back to back. when doing this, you really get to see her writing crutches, favored tropes and relationship dynamics, and habits. i realized that she does this thing where she she shows and not tells character histories in the most offhand way possible, and often it’s related to character trauma or backstory. she often relies on *telling* when it comes to narrative events and character psychologies, but when it comes to personal histories and character backstories, she leave SO MUCH TO BE IMAGINED ITS ALMOST INFURIATING if it wasn’t so clever in getting the reader interested in the characters and the world

regarding her author’s note in TAOTC, i think it’s fair to say she has a background in writing fanfic and i guess this is why she excels in this regard. it’s like she’s opening opportunities for her readers to tell the story with her or feel for her characters; she’s giving them invitations to write fic or headcanons in the gaps almost.

[the-writing-moon]

Absolutely nobody is ready for the angel of the crows fic i have going on in gdocs, least of all ME!!!

I cannot stress enough how important it is to do silly, frivolous things that serve no other purpose than making you happy.