#my pet peeve is when people use anything but quotations for speaking in writing

[nani-nonny]

I was in the mood for something specific but my search results are miniscule

*cracks knuckles*

Fine, I’ll do it myself.

I won’t post it, but now my priorities are elsewhere lol

[astra-novar]

Dialogue Tips

Now this is a personal pet peeve of mine that I've noticed in a lot of fanfics.😂 If the dialogue, or interaction/talking points between your characters, aren't properly formatted it gets really confusing for the reader and just takes the joy from reading in my opinion. Not saying that's the case for everyone else but personally for ME, a badly formatted dialogue is a turn off.

Firstly, and actually one of the most common mistakes made, YOU CANNOT CLUMP THE DIALOGUE TOGETHER. PUT IT ON SEPARATE LINES.

If you don't remember anything from this post remember that.

I've seen numerous fanfics where everything being stated was just clumped together. You cannot just write dialogue as one giant paragraph. Having it all squished together as one is confusing for your reader to discern the speaker as well as overall creating a bit of a messy look as opposed to a well formatted story. While readers solely look for a good plot, format and general appearance of text is also a factor that attracts and keeps them. Some people can tell inexperience and judge right away if the dialogue is clumped together. You can unconsciously lose readers from just how your fanfic looks.

The reader shouldn't have to be figuring out who's speaking. Try to only make your reader work at understanding and being curious about what'll happen next in your plot as opposed to trying to understand what your text is saying.

Secondly, dialogue is supposed to be encased in quotation marks (").

For example:

"Hey Lila. Do you wanna go to the park?"

The quotation marks are the punctuation marks, mentioned in my previous post, that show that someone is speaking. Quotation marks go at the start of the sentence to the end of what the character is saying/asking. Also note how the question mark comes before the second quotation mark. Any punctuation marks for the statements must be inside the quotation marks.

For example: "I love your hair!" Exclamation mark before quotation marks. Speaker is surprised/excited. "Do you like getting your hair dyed?" Question mark before quotation marks. Speaker asked a question.

I've noticed some fanfics put two commas at the start of the dialogue:

,,I love your hair!" The quotation marks aren't floating at the start and replaced with commas.

-Note the dialogue on separate lines.

Personally I'm not a fan of this but it's your fanfic/story so if it goes with the aesthetic then I can't stop you. This is only my opinion. I'm just trying to show how it's generally done. But whatever suits you or your readers is up to you.

Thirdly, you also have to note who's speaking if there are more than two characters in the scene. It's fine if you still do so even with two characters though it may seem a bit repetitive.

For example:

"I heard Ariel went to James' place last night," Maria states.

"Really? She told me she went to Hunter's place last night," Julie says.

"So clearly she's lying," Amelia says.

-Separate lines. -Also note the apostrophe at James. It shows a mark of possession but there's a difference between using apostrophes with regular words as opposed to words that end with s. James can just have an apostrophe without an s. E.g: Lucas' room, as well as an apostrophe with an s. E.g. Lucas's room.

Note the commas. As I mentioned in the Foundational Writing post, commas are also used in dialogues. They're placed before the second quotation mark when someone's speaking. It does get confusing when to place a period or a comma, but something like "he said, she said" follows the quote, then use a comma. Other than that use a period mark.

I had to look up the dialogue quotes myself just to be absolutely sure. It's okay to look up something you're unsure about.

If you have any questions about anything else feel free to ask! Just posting things I've noted but maybe someone might want something different addressed.

[crunadh]

3, 4, 5, 20, 23, 37 for the fanfiction ask :)

Thanks <3

3 - Are there any fics that inspired you to write what you do?

Oh, certainly! I’d list you all of @do-androids-dream-ao3acc‘s fics here, especially the Road of no release series as well as anything by @softest-punk here (really, anything, but especially her Emhyr/Geralt and Iorveth/Roche/Geralt fics). Kudos also go to Glossamyre’s series Tomorrow is a new day and What Lies in Life as well as @traumschwinge and her fic The Midwinter Hedgehog. OMG and I almost forgot @dsudis' series Urbe Aureā!

4 - Link your three favourite fics right now

Okay, I’d say see above but I will give you three fics that I love but didn’t exactly inspire the writing I’m doing:

The Missing Witcher by embeer2004, a wonderful story of Regis saving Geralt and bringing him to the Chameleon in time for Dandelion’s wedding. Lots of h/c!

Follow You Down by @kirk-spock-in-the-impala, the sweetest and best written BDSM story I ever read, pairing Jaskier/Geralt

Tales From Kaer Morhen by aleberg9, a tale about Geralt’s and Eskel’s childhood in Kaer Morhen, the funny and the cruel bits

5 - What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

Spelling and grammar are a huge thing for me. I don’t mind the occasional mistake, English isn’t my first language either and I make mistakes, too. But if every second sentence contains a spelling error, I’ll stop reading. Also punctuation. I don’t mind commas, I sprinkle them intuitively, too. But some people don’t seem to know the usage of full stops and quotation marks.

Another pet peeve would be people who don’t use paragraphs. I don’t want to read a wall of text - it exhausts me!

Like I said I have a tolerance but if it keeps on and on I will stop reading even though the story might have merit.

20 - What’s your favourite part about the fanfiction writing process?

My favourite thing is when I am writing and everything just flows. The characters speak and act for themselves and I don’t have to think too hard about what will happen next. Also, when one character suddenly sprouts a sentence that is not really necessary right now but too damn good to delete. I’m still laughing internally at one of Lambert’s jokes that I wrote down yesterday.

23 - What’s your absolute favourite trope to write?

Already answered here

37 - Give an update on your current WIP - if you don’t have one, give a sneak peek of a title or idea that you have and would like to write

I knew you would ask that! Also, I’m feeling generous today, so you’ll get an update and I’ll post a sneak peek separately in a minute :)

Update: Current word count - 30.535; Chapters - 6; Progress - probably halfway done

[navyhyuck]

hi! i love your blog and absolutely adore your writing!! if you dont mind, could you give me some writing tips? i feel like i can improve if i get them from you because youre such a talented writer! of course, you dont have to, you can simply ignore this if you feel no need to :)

hi love!!! thank you for liking my blog! <3 and absolutely! i am always happy to help hehe :>

mini disclaimer that these are just an opinion of mine ;-; and there’s a cut!

write what you know best! | starting off writing is really really hard, especially when you have a massive goal or a super complex idea. i’d say, start off where you’re most comfortable: writing something you know very well! a lot of my work is based off of personal experience (which, maybe, makes the story more personable and comfortable? i wouldn’t be the judge of that, though, haha), but!! that doesn’t necessarily mean that every piece of work has to be an event that’s happened to you. it can be as simple as emotions: how you feel, what you do as a result of it, how you deal with it (if it’s negative), etc etc. i personally think that people are more comfortable writing something that they are confident about, whether that be writing something reflecting once-real emotions or writing scenes that are personal to them in a way. [i’d say a good example of emotion-based writing that i’ve done is city stars. i promise i have never been an underground illegal street racer ;—; lol but i have definitely experienced a lot of the emotions that are described in that piece!]

show emotions, tell actions. | this is really important for basic writing because i feel like a lot of people will either do the opposite, or forget to do one of them. there’s a lot of good writing where actions are being shown, but it gets repetitive if used incorrectly. for example, if there’s a giant big proposal scene and someone is kneeling or presenting a ring, it would make sense to why the author would show those actions. but if a character is just walking across the room to get somewhere, and it’s irrelevant to the progression of the plot, please just tell us. and showing emotions! instead of telling us how the character feels, show us through physical or mental properties.

grammar / sentence structure | this is really just a personal thing, like a pet peeve if you will (but it’s not really insanely bad or anything), but please just check your grammar. [in american english standard grammar] punctuation goes before the quotation marks (unless you’re writing a mf research paper). two characters should not be speaking in the same paragraph (it confuses the reader on who’s speaking.) parallel structure really really matters. use the same tense when writing!!!!!! honestly, grammar and sentence structure doesn’t always have to be perfect, considering creative writing is meant to be .. creative lol, but it’s only a problem when the writing sounds awkward as hell. you should be the judge of how well you think readers are going to understand your work!!

utilize the setting to your best advantage! | but in the right way, and ONLY when it is relevant to the progression of the plot. [again, *cough cough*, city stars is pretty big on setting] you, as the author, are responsible for introducing your readers to where the story happens. in some cases, you may not think it’s necessary, which is fine. but know that describing the scenery of a specific setting that, for example, is where the climax of the story happens, gives the reader a really good impression. [*wheezes* every descriptive setting in city stars has a connection to the plot]

do not force yourself to write. | it doesn’t work, and you’ll end up disliking the writing you did do during that period of time. i only write when i’m feeling in the mood to write something, and it improves my performance! i feel like every writer has gone through this at least once, but if you can’t write today because you just can’t, you can’t, and that’s okay. it might not always be writer’s block, but you’re allowed to take a break. :)

also other basic things: planning out a plot is not a necessity and i honestly work better having a simple idea but a lot of creative freedom, writing when you feel the most emotional (doesn’t have to be negative) may just be the ultimate solution, dialogue does not always have to be witty or metaphorical (unless they’re shakespeare or napoleon or smth idk) since people are gonna people, you really don’t have to be relatable when you’re writing something, and!!! always make sure you’re happy with what you’re producing! you are the best judge of yourself, more than anyone else in the world, and it doesn’t matter if a world-renowned author is critiquing you, you still know yourself better than anyone else! :>

[babyleclerc]

Mimi’s 4K Follower Celebration!

Hi, pals!

After I posted my last fic, it sort of dawned on me that I have over 4,000 of you following me. Holy smokes! I’m blown away, and so appreciative of your support, likes, comments, & RB’s on my fics. You guys are THE BEST and I so appreciate you!

SO, in that vein, I have decided to post a challenge to all of you + some prizes from me! Details are under the cut, and if you have any questions about the challenge, feel free to just ask! 

Rules: 

I’m not so vein as to demand that you follow me, but it would be nice ;) 

Reblog this post (the more you share, the more talent we can get to write. So spread the word!)

No underage (cough Peter Parker) NSFW fics. If you want to use Peter, just write for Holland instead ;) 

Can be anything Marvel universe related - Dr. Strange, Steve, Tony, Peter, Loki, etc.

Can be anything RPF related (RDJ, Hardy, Hiddles, Holland, Evans, etc.)

Can be any genre, but please tag warnings appropriately.

No pedophilia, rape/non-con, dub-con

1.5K words minimum, please.

Must post the fic & tag me in it by Saturday, August 31st, 2019. (If I don’t like the post within a few days, just shoot me a message w/ a link so that I see it!)

Use the hashtag #mimis4kchallenge when you post your fic

Please use general grammar/writing rules. This is my NUMBER ONE PET PEEVE, and although your idea might be amazing, if it’s shitty grammar and I can’t read past one paragraph, it’s not fun to read. Ask for help if you need it!

If you need more time, send me a message!

To Enter:

Send me an ask/message with your choice of prompt + what character, person, or ship fic you’re choosing.

Prizes/Winners:

While I hope this exercise encourages writers of all types to enter/submit, I will be giving a “prize” to the first, second, and third winners of this challenge.*

Mimi’s Favorite: In addition to a ‘follow’ from me (if I’m not following you already!), the first place winner will get a hand-picked series (minimum three parts) from me, of your choosing. While it can be anyone in the MCU, I prefer to write RPF for Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, or Sebastian Stan. But I’m open to other genres/characters - we can talk about it and collaborate. :)

Most Notes: The fic with the most overall notes will get a fic of their choosing from me. 3K words minimum, any genre.

In My Feels: The fic that sort of, say, hits me the most while reading (whether it’s angsty, soft, fluffy, w/e) will get a fic of their choosing from me. 2K words minimum, any genre.

*I reserve the right to judge/choose my favorite fics (aside from the ‘most notes’ winner) however I see fit. I will do my best to judge non-biased, as I want this to be fun for everyone! Grammar & dialogue are my #1 pet-peeve, so I do encourage you to use spellcheck, use quotations when a character is speaking, have someone else read over your fic, etc. Also, if I’ve promised you a fic, I reserve the right to take the time I need to complete it. I’m not one for forcing creativity or writing, so please understand if it takes me a few weeks given real life, work, family, etc.

Prompts:

Some of these prompts I thought of on my own, some are taken from various sources around the web. Not taking credit for them all.

Angst |

“I thought you said you loved me.”

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“This will be the last time you lie to me.”

“You know it’s not like that.”

“Sometimes I think I would be better off if we’d never met.”

“I hope you’re happy.”

“I’m just really tired.”

“Can we have this conversation when you’ve calmed down?”

“I should never have trusted you.”

“I really think it’s easier for people if I’m not around.”

“You don’t have to pretend you care when you already have one foot out the door.” taken by @dtrainwin for Steve Rogers

“I didn’t think I’d see you again.” taken by @kentuckybarnes for Bucky X Reader

“I think you’ve had enough to drink.”

Fluff |

“Stay here tonight.” taken by @winterisakiller for Tom Hiddleston

“I’ll keep you warm.”

“Is that my shirt?” taken by @driftingtonystark for Bucky

“You look amazing tonight.” taken by @stuckyandsciencebros for Peter Parker

“We’ll figure this out.”

“Dance with me.” taken by @the-winchesters-wallflower for Loki 

“Did you just kiss me?”

“Where are my pants?” taken by @buckyownsmyheart for Bucky B.

“I wanted to say “I love you” for the first time without stuttering, but that failed.”

“You can’t be mean, because I cook the food…and I could technically poison you.” taken by @hopelessromanticspoonie for Loki x Reader

“I’ll feel much better if you let me walk you home.” taken by @redfoxwritesstuff for Tom Hiddleston

Fun/Comedic |

“Do you want to know how she/he/they really feels about you? Get them drunk.”

“Well, if I tell you, then it wouldn’t be a secret.”

“DON’T FLUSH THE TOILET WHEN I’M IN THE SHOWER!”

“Shut up, it’s fine, just chill, we’re fine, I’m fine, everything is cool, everything is good! We’re chill, nothing is happening and I am not freaking out, not at all, we’re FINE.“

“As the wise Scooby Doo said; “Ruh Roh”.” taken by @thebeautifultrashcan for Steve Rogers

“Why are your hands purple?” taken by @acreativelydifferentlove for Bucky or Steve

“Touch me with your cold feet one more time and see what happens.” taken by @just-the-hiddles w/ Tom Hiddleston & @sad-af1121 for Stucky x Reader

AUs |

Coffee Shop

Soulmates taken by @adefectivedetective for Loki x Reader

First Kiss

First Date 

Pregnancy

Marriage Proposal

Fake Relationship

High School

Wedding

Magic/Fantasy

Tagging some mutuals so this doesn’t flop | @deartomhardy @sad-af1121 @starksrhodes @spider--bae @buckylicious @bucksiesarch @sebsticles @fwmholland

[siirensung]

Hello :) My name is Dani and first of all let me tell you that I LOVE your writing. I literally sit and read how you interact with others for HOURS and seeing you and a couple of the people you write with gave me the inspiration to create an indie blog for my bb Reyes. That being said, I've never had an indie rp before but I've figured the basics with the rules, verses, etc. Could you please give me some suggestions on how to approach people or get this thing started? I'd thank you forever

asldkfh that’s so sweet of you omg what the fuck

HELL YEAH OKIE DOKIE first thing first: the best way to learn how to indie rp is just to follow a bunch of people and sort of pick and choose the different techniques you like to resemble. that what i did. i came from a long experience of closed group rping with no formatting, and just sort of floated with the indie trends that came and out, and kept the ones i like. i’m gonna tell you how I consider indie rping, which isn’t law or bible or anything, but this is what i look for when i’m looking to follow people!

first, the technical shit

RULES. i’m gonna go over things you say you already know, because there are some. hidden things that people sort of silently expect. in your rules, you must have your name/alias, your pronouns, your age (the terms ‘minor’ or ‘18+’ are sufficient, you don’t need to give your exact age but you NEED to tell people if you’re a minor or not), and your triggers (again, no detail necessary, just tell us what we should tag for you). these are the necessities and the rest is up to you. make your rules clear and concise, and on the short side. it helps to bold important things so people can skim and find them easily. personally, i like seeing people’s shipping policies. bc i’m a shipping slut. are you single ship? multiship? do you prefer not to ship? are you exclusive?

SELECTIVITY. on that note. let people know about your selectivity. do you want to play with anyone who follows you? do you only want to play with mutual followers (people you follow who follow you back)? i, as well as (almost) everyone i follow, are mutuals only. don’t feel guilty if you want to follow this route, and don’t let people talk you into playing with people you don’t want to play with. this blog is yours and your time is yours. spend it how you choose.

EXCLUSIVITY. along the same vein, let people know about your policy on exclusivity – which basically means that there are certain blogs of characters and theirs is the only blog of that character with whom you will play. this is entirely up to you. personally, i don’t do it and i never will. but be sure to let people know if you do! make sure to be honest. make sure you’re comfortable with your rules.

then, the aesthetic shit

REPRESENTATION. the first glance. the first eye contact. generally, this is the mobile preview. have a cool looking mobile banner! it attracts the eye! you don’t need to be a photoshop god for this, either. minimalism is in. a dark screenshot of your character that blends in with the color of your mobile background is hella neat. make sure the color is eye-friendly. black, white, cream, soft tones. if a mobile preview is lime green or shocking blue, i won’t give it a second look. My Eyes, They Bleed. then make sure you have SOMEWHERE on your mobile preview the bare minimum of your blog’s explanation. it doesn’t need to be long. in fact, i tend to like short ones. minimalism, man. for example, mine: ‘multimuse rp blog: dragon age and mass effect canon and ocs’. i’m saying what this blog is: an rp blog. i’m saying what KIND of rp blog: a multimuse. what fandoms i cater to: dragon age and mass effect. what characters you expect to find here: canon and ocs. sometimes people will put their name, too. (also, warn people if you have an autoplay. just write ‘ap’ or ‘autoplay’. people know.)

REPRESENTATION PART 2. piggybacking on all that: promos. gotta have a promo. this is how people find you, and how you can spread the word about your cool new blog. (tag it with the audiences you want to attract. such as: mass effect rp, mass effect roleplay, bioware rp, bioware roleplay, star wars rp, etc etc. the mass effect fandom isn’t all that huge. consider expanding with crossovers to other space fandoms, such as star wars and star trek. we’re buddies.) it can be as simple as the icon promo trend, where you have a horizontal line of icons of your character followed by ‘like/reblog if you’re interested in playing with (character name)! written by (your name).’ it can be that chill. sometimes it can be dramatic. just make sure it’s tasteful. try to avoid gaudy. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS (this is my pet peeve) INCLUDE YOUR CHARACTER’S NAME AND THE FANDOM NAME. i die inside every time i have no idea who this promo is for.

THEME. the second glance. your blog’s handshake. first – and sometimes last – impression. same rules as the preview and the promo, make it tasteful or make it minimalist. make it easy to follow. if you’re not confident in your aesthetic or ps skills, the white blogs with a simple pic of your character in the sidebar is in right now. leave it open to interpretation. theme-hunter is where i get all my themes, for the most part. if you want some cool theme suggestions, let me know! you may end up interested in html through theme aesthetic and wANTING IT TO BE PERFECT. like me. hehe. anywho – you’ll see a lot of Hyper Aesthetic Themes. try not to get worried about them. the most important thing is that your links to your rules, verses, dossier (if you have one), and ask are clear. the writing is easy to read.

also, the replying shit

FORMATTING. okay so formatting is a Minefield right now. personally, i really enjoy formatting! my formatting trick is: twenty spaces before each paragraph to simulate tabs, bolding quotation marks and putting a space between the marks and the dialogue, ( doing this to parentheses and quite frankly using Way too many parentheses ), BOLDING AND CAPSING emotive words or phrases, italicizing things for emphasis, using small font (and sometimes tiny font). but DON’T overdo it. still, the point is legibility. it’s your choice to use formatting at all. i like it a lot, it helps me Feel the writing and reply. it’s also your choice to use small or tiny font, but… i’ma be honest. i really really do prefer when people use small or tiny font. people are pushing back against tiny font bc it can be really hard to read, so i tend to just use small font (unless my partner uses tiny font). to small font (on pc): select all the text, ctrl shift minus sign. to use tiny font: use small font, then ctrl comma. 

ICONNING. again, another minefield. as we speak, rp icons are getting smaller and smaller. my icons at 80x80 with a 2px border, and i often times use a psd. if you get your icons from somewhere, credit that place. i frequently make my own, but not always. as a personal favor, don’t go smaller than 75px… the icons… they’re shrinking…

SPEED. go at your own speed! i cannot stress the importance of this. i’m currently suffering from depression and some Shit, so i may be on the dash a lot, but my reply speed is frequently outstripped by passing snails. don’t write if you’re not feeling it. don’t feel pressured to do it. personally, the majority of the fun of rping is plotting with your partner and obsessing over your character. people love to see people enthusiastic about their kid. that’s why they followed you. bc they love your kid, too. if you have a thread you’re not feeling, be honest! TALK TO YOUR PARTNER.

COMMUNICATION. on that note! get to know your rp partners. love them. cherish them. tell them they’re wonderful. tell them when you’re not feeling a thread. don’t suffer in silence. drop threads. treat yoself. also, follow ALL THE PEOPLE. they may not follow you back. don’t tug at them if they don’t. follow people and make sure you have examples of your writing on your page, even if it’s just a long headcanon or drabble. like a cover letter. 

WRITING. third person. i think i can be pretty confident about this: only third person. i use present tense for the most part, but present or past tense. sometimes there are oneliners (replies that are usually just dialogue, maybe with a lil but of narrative for actions, usually spur of the moment and dropped after the moment is gone). there are short paras (generally 1-3 paragraphs of varying sizes). there are long paras (4-6 paras, usually for plotting). there are Novella (6+ for the Intense Future Tolkiens i can’t do this i’m a dr seuss). 

TAGGING. can be pretty simple. as a multi, i have too many characters to have thorough tagging systems. a lot of people have different tags for like. aesthetic, musing, visage, headcanons, etc. mine is simple. each character has an in character thread tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ character: scott. ⦆. also, a musing tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ musing: scott. ⦆. a headcanon tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ headcanon: scott. ⦆. sometimes a ship tag: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ scott & liam: just frame the halves and call them brothers. ⦆. and you MUST have an out of character tag, where it’s just you talking, and you must tag every post of just you talking with it: * ｡✧ ━ ⦅ out of character. ⦆. it must be clear. you can make them fancy and pretty like this. i like them. it’s not necessary. also: tag any triggers. important. search your partners’ rules for their triggers. if someone asks you to tag a trigger, do it without a second thought.

lastly, the important shit

HAVE FUN! we’re all here for the same reason. we love mass effect. WE LOVE SPACE. there will always be aggression and elitism and hurt feelings in the indie rp community. always. try not to let it bring you down. play nice. kindergarten rules. enjoy!

let me know if you have more questions/want more detail!

don’t reblog this

[the-suriel]

which parts of acowar did you dislike/didn't sit so well for you? i don't want you to get hate or anything but like what did you wish sjm didn't do? x

Hey Nonnie!

Ok. This turned out to be a REALLY LONG list so I’m putting it all under a cut, that way people don’t feel obligated to read this if they are tired of ACOWAR hate.

 If you are one of those people that are really tired of ACOWAR hate it’s totally ok to just scroll down, you do not have to read this.

Here we go… 

1) Mor.

I feel that she was so mistreated in this book. Even in the beginning when Rhys pulls the whole Eris scheme on her and letting her in the dark??? Why? I don’t understand. Why couldn’t he just sit her down before the meeting, explain the situation and ask for her input? Or at least let her know what is happening and give her the choice to stay if she is not ready to face what is possibly the two people that hurt her the most in her life. 

It felt so OOC for Rhys to do that to her. SJMaas is always reinforcing how good he is for always giving everyone a choice, but with Mor that didn’t happen at all. Not only was it cruel to put he in that situation, but as his third, she should have known. She is the Queen of Hewn city she is supposed to know these things before they come into action. 

I hated so much the way she came out. Don’t get me wrong here, I was so so happy to see that we finally get LGBTQA representation, but it was executed so poorly. I mostly agree with what a lot of people have been saying, it felt like a last minute decision on Maas’ part. 

I was also really sad that with the way it was written it almost makes it seem cruel that she didn’t tell Azriel about it for all those years. I just really really hate that? I am not supposed to blame someone for not coming out, everyone takes their own time until they feel comfortable enough to take that step. I feel like it was not ok for SJMaas to write her into that situation. 

And plus it was just kind of unrealistic??  I remember someone on Tumblr pointing this out, now I can’t remember who, but are you really trying to tell me that Mor kept this a secret from her cousin the deamati and her friend the shadowsinger and spymaster for 500 years!!?? They should have found out by this point honestly.

2) The Resurrection

This is more of a personal pet peeve than anything. Maybe this is because I watched TVD for so long, but I really, really hate when people come pack to life like that. It’s fine when it’s someone that was never introduced to the story and was believe to be dead, or when we don’t know for sure if they are dead but when someone drops dead on the ground I expect them to stay dead. 

I could swallow it when it was Feyre back in ACOTAR, I cringed when Jurian was resurrected but I draw the line at Rhys. It felt like cheating, and that’s not something I want to feel a few chapters before the book ends.

3) Tamlin 

Tamlin was a wild ride. His character shifted so much throughout the book, and I understand a fair amount of that is due to the fact that we read the story through Feyre’s point of view. I really wanted to see some closure on the Tamlin plot line. He was such an essential part of Feyre’s arc, and he kind of got brushed to the side in most of ACOWAR. I really wanted to see a scene when they sit down and talk about what happened, I wanted him to recognize his mistakes and perhaps, I dunno apologize. I felt like Feyre still needed to say a few things to him to truly move on (same goes for him honestly). Obviously she has no obligation to have a conversation with her abuser if she does not feel like she is ready, but I think that it would have been a good way to complete her arc. 

4) Lucien

Why did she get rid of him???

I started resenting Lucien a bit after the end of ACOMAF but I was so sold on him again by the start of the book. 

Again Why did she get rid of him??

He had so much to add. why???? It felt like a cop out for not having to deal with elucien in this book.

His absence made me sad :’(

5) The Threads 

 I know, I know, this is just the end of feysand’s arc and there are going to be more books, but the number of unanswered questions I have is very annoying. I have more questions now that I finished the book than when I first started. 

There are going to be more books but that does not change the fact that this is supposed to be the closing book in a trilogy. She should have ended a few more threads instead of leaving it all so open. ACOWAR almost felt like a week second-book-in-a-series. it felt more like a bridge book than the resolution to this section of the story. 

6) Papa Archeron 

Although I did appreciate that he died and stayed dead, I wish SJMaas had explored his relationship with his daughters a bit more. I wanted to see his reaction to them being Fae, or the inner circle’s reaction to meeting the man that gave up on their High Lady when she was a child. It would have been such good character conflict. I also felt like the Archeron sisters deserved more closure than just a last minute funeral. 

7) Mor & Nesta

Why was Mor so mean to Nesta???

That felt so OOC of her. Can she not see that Nesta is going through some shit right now? They all expect Nesta to be very cruel and cold (which I would even argue is just a front [Feyre had literally told Cassian before that she thinks is a front but anyway not the point]) but I really didn’t expect Mor, a 500-year-old woman who has also seen some shit in her lifetime, to act that way to someone. She could have really used Mor’s help. Mor has no obligation to be there for Nesta when she is very rude towards most of them, but it would have been nice to see that friendship blossom.

8) Explanations

This point kind of relates to the previous point on threads. There was so, soo, so much thrown into this book, and not much of it was explained. People have already mentioned the lack in world building in the magic department, but even the subplots were lacking in context and explanation. 

The continent territories that were briefly mentioned were just that, briefly mentioned. I don’t really know what the king’s Ravens were all about (why were they called the Ravens? why did they look like all black and white? was it coincidence? was it just for the aesthetics?) The cauldron was also not developed enough for something that is so significant in the story, we still don’t know what power Mor holds, (The power of truth?? What does hat even mean?) and apparently Azriel can turn into shadows, I think, but like how ???? how did he become a shadowsinger? do the shadows speak to him? And Elain being a seer? Was that explained? How do the death gods work? I thought they couldn’t die. I mean obviously not.

SO MANY QUESTIONS

9) Moriel 

If you were a Moriel shipper you are put in a position where you either resent Mor’s sexuality (WHICH IS NOT HOW PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL, SPECIALLY FOR A BOOK THAT IS SOLD AS YA, A GENRE THAT TARGETS A YOUNG AUDIENCE) or you feel like your feelings toward the ship are/were invalid. 

Moriel, to many of us, was written with the intention of being end game. I don’t think it was even a question for most people. It was almost heartless to give so much hope for a ship and then completely squash it, I don’t think that it was fair to the readers. She should have hinted at it a little more or just written this situation differently so that this didn’t happen. It was sad to see that something that was supposed to be such a positive representation, this strong independent woman that is also a member of the LGBTQ community, get caught in the middle of this. Sarah should have written this better.

10) Feysand

It was nice to see feysand happy but I wish we still got some development in their friendship. They have only known each other for a year, they have only really gotten to know each other 6 months (ish), I felt like their relationship could have been further explored maybe bringing in new sides to their personality.

11) Grammar and Diction

Ehhh well, there is definitely some improvement to be done in this section. It wasn’t horrible and it didn’t damage my understanding of the plot or the character but I have to agree with what people are saying, this book was severely under-edited. 

The most prominent things that drove me insane were the sentence fragments, the use of –dashes– and …ellipses… in almost every page. Oh and the diction. The diction especially though. The one that stuck out to me was how many times she use ‘the former and the latter’ in her sentences. It is a good way to describe thoughts or action, but not when it is used every 3 chapters (I have the ebook, I checked). In my version of the book there is even a quotation mark missing (page 461 I believe). I understand that mistakes happen especially when writing a book this size, but this is a sequel to a best-selling series, and she probably has a whole team of people helping her with things like this.  

Again, it just felt lazy. For a best-selling author, she should not have mistakes like these in her work. It became such distraction that I am now writing about it.

 Anyway, this got a bit long but here are my 2 cents. I hope I didn’t offend or insult anyone, and if I did that was never my intention.