maybe instead of making another post about hugo or tolstoy or whoever who went off on “unrelated tangents” in their books instead of focusing only on charaters and plot development… why dont we take a step back? maybe dont believe the book editors on twitter who are trying to persuade you that books need to start a certain way (in medias res -_-), that you must cut out 90% of your adverbs, that you need to cut out every scene that doesnt ‘fit’ your narrative perfectly etc since all these people are only saying this because theyre paid to discover new hunger games or w/e.
novels are genuinely so much more than snappy YA books you can read in a single afternoon… why are you so afraid to just. indulge. engage. why do you mind reading the war scenes in a book called. war and peace. why do you mind victor hugo taking you on a trip through paris history. why do you expect every book to hold your hand and walk you through a Sharp and Well-Defined Plot with no side quests? live a little, babe!!
