For some people they can can like the media of fiction (MoF) but hate the protagonist. But I can't. I can't do that.
For me, to like MoF I need to at least like the protagonist.
To me the protagonist is the window author open today show us their world building. If I don't like the protagonist then I don't bother to learn the world author build. Just because I lack interest.
I do admit that my thinking is inflexible, and I wouldn't say that everything I said now as fixed things. Maybe I would encounter some exceptions to this.
But I know myself, and this quirk of mine while maybe not forever definitely stay for long long time.
I avoid some fanfic (refers to scrolling past them after reading the tags and summary) because either I respect your idea but it's not my kind of read or to prevent my eyes from being polluted.
Is introducing past lover as breakout point and giving new conflict is really that popular trope??? (Cry from the soul.jpg)
If I have penny for every time I see this trope I will have enough to buy soda.
Honestly I don't mind much of this, if not for the fact that they added this at the end of seasons most of the time. The cliffhanger kinda killing me bro
These are rules I generally adhere to in my own writing, they aren't gospel or meant to be the end all be all of writing. Also it should be noted that like all rules, these too are made to be broken when and where it serves the text. This is not about grammar or Correct Use of King's English™, this is just a list of personal style choices.
Anyway.
1. Indicate who's speaking as quickly as possible.
See difference between:
"Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser? I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine. Though if you steal it, I will kill you."
"Nice. I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?"
"You had two weeks to come up with your backstory."
And:
"Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser?" Melanie asks. "I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine," Jan says. "Though if you steal it, I will kill you."
"Nice," Melanie says. "I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?"
Annie says, "You had two weeks to come up with your backstory."
But this looks like talking heads in a blank void talking to each other, so, give the characters bodies and physicality, which brings us to rule 2.
2. no talking heads in void.
Though people do just sit around talking without doing anything else, it's not that interesting to read and also, gotta remember that readers can't see what you see in your head while writing. You gotta actually give them something to latch a mental image onto, so. Characters should move and emote.
"Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser?" Melanie asks, rummaging through her bag. "I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine," Jan says, nudging his own eraser over. It's in the shape of an old fashioned motorcycle. "Though if you steal it, I will kill you."
"Nice," Melanie says and snatches it up to do quick edits on her character sheet. "I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?"
Annie gives her a flat look. "You had two weeks to come up with your backstory."
Now you can sorta tell what they're talking about. Just don't go overboard - dialogue has a momentum and a rhythm, and too much description can overwhelm it.
3. Character Action and Character Dialogue go on the same paragraph.
See difference between this:
Melanie rummaged through her backpack.
"Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser? I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine."
Jackson nudged his own eraser over. It was the shape of a motorcycle.
"Though if you steal it, I will kill you."
"Nice."
Melanie snatches it up to do quick edits on her character sheet.
"I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?"
Annie gives her a flat look.
"You had two weeks to come up with your backstory."
And this:
Melanie rummaged through her backpack. "Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser? I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine." Jackson nudged his own eraser over. It was the shape of a motorcycle. "Though if you steal it, I will kill you."
"Nice." Melanie snatches it up to do quick edits on her character sheet. "I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?"
Annie gives her a flat look. "You had two weeks to come up with your backstory."
Not only does it make the text way more cohesive and snappy but, once again, it's much more clear who is saying what - but even then, I prefer to use dialogue indicators. Text like this to me looks like maybe there's a voiceover going on or something.
4. No mixing and matching characters. One character per paragraph.
This is one of my most broken rules, but in general it's character per paragraph.
So, none of this:
Melanie rummaged through her backpack while Annie set up the DM screen. "Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser? I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine." Jackson nudged his eraser over and Melanie snatched it up "Though if you steal it, I will kill you." Melanie begun making quick edits.
"Nice. I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?" Beside her, Annie gave her a flat look.
"You had two weeks to come up with your backstory."
Mixing and matching who's doing what like this makes it hard to see who's saying what, it makes the dialogue messy. However, this is fine.
While Annie set up the DM screen, Melanie rummaged through her backpack "Wait, does anyone have an extra eraser?" she asked. "I could swear I brought one, but I can't find it."
"You can use mine." Jackson nudged his eraser over and Melanie snatched it up. "Though if you steal it, I will kill you," he added.
"Nice. I'm changing my brother's name to Gerry, is that okay?" Melanie ask, grinning at the look Annie gave her.
"You had two weeks to come up with your backstory," Annie says flatly.
Note that in mixing and matching like this, it's all the more important to point out who is saying what. In general though, I tend to minimise this sort of stuff.
5 is kinda rule 1 rehashed, but, again, indicate who is speaking upfront. Especially when there's a larger piece of dialogue.
Sometimes, people aren't actually reading - sometimes for various reasons they're using text to speech, or maybe someone does a podfic or something. Even in visual reading, when there's a big block of dialogue without indicators it can be hard to follow.
So instead of:
"If Melanie can change her background, can I add a cool uncle to mine? I want a cool uncle - like, a gunslinger or something. Or a wizard - oo, a wizard uncle! He can be creepy and vague and give me problematic spells!" Jackson says eagerly.
I'd rather do:
Jackson puts his hand up. "If Melanie can change her background, can I add a cool uncle to mine?" he asks eagerly. "I want to give Kaiser a cool uncle - like, a gunslinger or something. Or a wizard - oh, a wizard uncle! He can be creepy and vague and give me problematic spells!"
Especially so when there's multiple characters talking and maybe one character hasn't been talking as much as the others - if they jump back into the discussion, it should be noted.
6. Limit your bits.
But as said before, every rule is made to be broken, and I break my own rules all the time. When I do it, though, it's generally for the bit, to make the text more interesting. Stuff like bits of dialogue without any indicators who is saying what to show that there's a faceless crowd speaking all at once, or two characters going back and forth, stuff like that.
"Jackson's dude has Main Character Energy," Melanie says solemnly.
"Kaiser is the anime protagonist," Jan agrees. "We're just NPCs in his world."
"The cheerleaders of his adventurers."
"Founding members of his harem."
They nod in perfect understanding and agreement.
For a couple of lines, exchanges like this can be fun - if the back and forth goes on for 12 lines, though, it will get tiresome.
There are other bits I do, and again, I break my own dialogue writing rules a lot for stylistic reasons to make the text more interesting or to give it better rhythm, or whatever. Sometimes, there's no dialogue at all, sometimes there's no indicators. There's no actual rules in writing, even grammar is all made up. These are more guidelines than anything.
But I hope the effort makes the dialogue more readable.
If you have expectations for LOTM games, keep it low.
Not to say that you shouldn't have anticipation, but from what I see so far at least the game background wouldn't closely follow the background lore of LOTM world.
Like this example,
This is the earliest draft.
This is not bad design, if this game is original game.
But this is LOTM game, so most of the people who will play this first is actually the novel fan.
They expect it to follow the background of the novel. I EXPECT IT to follow the background of the novel.
But when I see this design, I was so disappointed real quick.
I don't even think demoness of fourth epoch, in the height of Solomon, Tudor and Trunsoest ruling would dare to wear this kind of thing in public. Never mind other people of different pathways.
I don't even think that Intis people in fifth epoch whom are synonymous with daring and openness can accept this kind of outfit.
Idk if they scrapped this design but months after this leak they introduced Mia Abraham, who I think is probably our guide for the game.
Compared to the early design, her outfits proved that they are getting closer to era accurate, but I also can see why some other people still dissatisfied with her outfit.
Idk about other, but for me if she doesn't have the necessary background, her outfit just become incongruous.
"It's just thigh, it's not like she doesn't wear stockings to cover it."
And I agree with it, if not for the fact that LOTM despite being fantasy world still follow the basic clothing rules of victorian era.
"But look at Xio and Bernadette, they wear pants and Bernadette wears jeans but nobody calling them for it."
But Xio sometimes dressed as a man, and she wear full length pants like other man. Bernadette has Huang Tao as her father, and she has almost the same view as her father in most thing. So of course she get influenced by his father, a former modern man. And despite it she still wear full length jeans, not short or short skirt. She doesn't show anything below like Mia does. (Ofc maybe there's also consideration that Bernadette comes from hundred years ago before canon and still has a bit old fashioned thinking)
So unless she is from Intis, the pre-epoch transmigrator or has family/friend from pre-epoch that's influenced her fashion sense, I don't get how the canon era influenced Mia's fashion sense.
Tbh there's nothing wrong with Mia's design as game character, I can admit she is in fact 'covered up' compared to other game characters like Genshin or Wuwa. But as LOTM character she stuck out like sore thumbs. Especially in conservative place like Rune kingdom.
P.s some of you guys are probably used to the soft porn costume like drakengard/Nier series, Genshin (of lately version), Wuwa, etc. And see nothing wrong with Mia outfit.
But as novel fan can't I still have expectations of at least lore accurate for the costumes?
isn't there like Assasin's Creed Syndicate for example out there?
P.s.s I forgot about Lorotta, but she's like Xio so my point still stand
There's that kind of writing that you need to be in the right mood at the right time to read it, because some topic it's just that unbearable to read in normal time.
And no, despite it being applicable, it's not porn.
The thing this mfs writes is either "It's just happened" or "it's coincidental", made me so mad I want to write the script about how it's just happened that Ince's face was in the path of my fist and coincidentally at that time I tried to graft supernova explosion and it's exploded directly into his face.
How does it's feel huh, can you feel that coincidence, the taste of "it's just happened te-hee" ™
Bro, if I got peerless cucumber treatment and isekai-ed as Ince either I will, a) Explode from knowing too much, or b) Somehow surviving with my knowledge.
If I survive and still got my knowledge nothing stopping me from hugging Klein's leg. Nothing!
In fact I will confess that I am transmigrator to Klein just so I can openly preaching about our mighty and lovely savior Mr. Fool.
I am shoving Danitz aside so I can be the first believers of the Fool.
The thing this mfs writes is either "It's just happened" or "it's coincidental", made me so mad I want to write the script about how it's just happened that Ince's face was in the path of my fist and coincidentally at that time I tried to graft supernova explosion and it's exploded directly into his face.
How does it's feel huh, can you feel that coincidence, the taste of "it's just happened te-hee" ™
I know that everyone have conflicted emotions about Grisha, but for me I like Grisha.
It's just that I like Grisha when he was still whole, the one in the third epoch.
I don't know everything about him in that era, not like I know Klein, but there's some point that made me like about him.
1. He brings light back into the earth
2. He defeats almost every ancient gods so human can walk freely on earth
3. He researching the first blasphemous slate to made 22 pathway system of safe to consume potions and ascension ritual so that human can reach the higher position safer. Not completely safe mind you, but safer.
4. He save Lilith from corruption and assist Amanises in killing Flegrea
5. When he failed to suicide and split into humanity that went mad and cold divinity, the fact that the divinity part of himself is like AI that have no emotions (it's still baffles me what he does to Medici like wtf) but everything He does is for the goal of protecting the earth and even if necessary He doesn't hesitate to ### himself for that(this is spoiler part of COI if ykyk)
That five part may not be much, but it's enough for me to like Grisha before he split. (Idk much about COI part because I don't read it so idk how does Grisha Adam behave in there)
Anyway, in my opinion Grisha does everything He can to raise human status and give them freedom. That itself is worthy of admiration.
P.s just because I like Grisha doesn't mean I like TC and Adam. TC was humanity part that went mad and that affect His believer and anyone in hanged man pathways. And this it's also affect people view of the god and made TC become mad god. It's vicious cycle that can be only break if TC regain his sanity and love for human.
Compared to TC I kinda like Adam more, but not much and it's more about neutrality because Adam was cold machine that only calculated the best probability for Earth to survive in apocalypse but ignore the little detail like human plight and personal relationship, example: Medici's loyalty.
P. S. S I got some theory tho, that whatever's little humanity Adam and TC have it went to his only son, Amon.
The fact that Amon, despite dislike by everyone, can survive until now is testament to his skills and his dad protection.
Killing him is probably hassle, but the fact that he was not being ganged up by gods is also because his backing.
In 3rd epoch he was protected by ASG, in 4th it's by Adam (still his dad btw), and then in 5th it's by Grisha Adam.
Even Klein who can kill him need to think twice because Adam and thus allowing Amon to transfer his consciousness into clone
There are two endings, HE and BE; you don't know the happier I am reading the HE the more I howl like dog when I read the BE in the next chapter.
Because Jiang Qiu, the MC, is truly good person.
The kind that can be said to be 'the world kissed you with pain, you repay it with song'.
He is strong, handsome and miserable protagonist.
To avoid spoilers I wouldn't say anything more about the plot.
Anyway, what I like besides the MC is that I learned more about celebrities fandom situation and the internet atmosphere that at least I think applied in China. That I also think may apply to other countries too.
To me it's window to see the world I never thought of.
At least I can found it to be applicable in real life.
