TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #74

Writing is a field of unknowns. Take this entry. This could be my last entry for a good while, or I could be back in two weeks. I have no idea which.

Why could it be my last entry for a long time? Because I finally did what I've been saying I need to do off and on for a while now. I got a job. We'll see if this magically sparks my writing powers - so far they are sapped more than they have ever been.

However, getting a job isn't why I wanted to write this FFC. Throughout the later half of my writing years, I've posted various 'roadmaps to novels'. As a whole, they've been fairly inaccurate. But, because repeated evidence clearly has no effect on me, I'm going to post another one.

As I've said elsewhere, I've been nailing down the remaining issues my writing consistently has. I've noted everything I can find, and for the most part I know how to deal with all of them. It just remains...

I finished the second book in the Mistborn trilogy yesterday, and after letting my thoughts gel a bit, I want to get down to the review.

On the whole, I think I definitely liked the first book better. It just felt more... cohesive. It felt more structured, in a good way. But I'll get more into that below.

In terms of writing level, I feel like it's about where I am now. I think my structuring and development is better, but Sanderson I think has the better characters and twists.

Ratings:
5: Amazing, above flawless.
4: Flawless, but doesn't really stand out.
3: Might have some issues, but works fine.
2: Has some issues which might detract from the story.
1: Flawed, bring the story down noticeably.

Title: The Well of Ascension
Author: Brandon Sanderson
My Rating: 3.7/5 - A good read

Summary: Following the events of the first book (which I'll do my best to avoid spoiling),...

TGRF's Fan Fiction Chronicles - Entry #73

I spent a few minutes looking at the screen today, the realization washing over me that I might have just defeated my greatest writing nemesis.

Throughout my writing years, I've narrowed down my problems to a few consistent ones. Crunched intros are there, due to me trying to introduce everything at once. Undeveloped antagonists seem to be haunting my more recent stories for some reason. Stakes - an older nemesis - hems and haws on if it's still an issue. But the big one, the main thing I seem to always struggle with, is a double-header: squished content, and the inability to get a character to change.

These are two sides (plot and character) of the same coin: absent middles. On one side, you have the plot, going straight from the beginning of the story, to the midpoint, and then straight to the end. What happens in the middle? Unfortunately, the 3-act structure is a void there. It took me awhile to...

I read the SYLO books back in... I can't even remember when. A few years back. I hadn't read anything recently at the time, and possessed by a sudden urge to do so, I perused the fiction shelves of the local library, looking for likely titles. The one that I ended up checking out was SYLO, by D. J. MacHale, the first in a trilogy. Since reading all three books, I've had the desire to review them ever since.

Ratings:
5: Amazing, above flawless.
4: Flawless, but doesn't really stand out.
3: Might have some issues, but works fine.
2: Has some issues which might detract from the story.
1: Flawed, bring the story down noticeably.

Title: The SYLO Chronicles (SYLO, STORM, STRIKE)
Author: D.J.MacHale
My Rating: 4/5

Summary (no spoilers)
It's kind of hard to summarize the whole trilogy without spoiling it. That's because the last two books are based on the ending twist of the first. That twist...

I've decided to start another series of blogs, for the purpose of reviewing/critiquing stories (and possibly movies) I've read. I don't read as much as I should these days, but when I do finish up a good fiction book, I often feel like sharing my thoughts on it. So that's what this is for. There are no spoilers below, aside from some very general hints on the story structure used.

Ratings:
5: Amazing, above flawless.
4: Flawless, but doesn't really stand out.
3: Might have some issues, but works fine.
2: Has some issues which might detract from the story.
1: Flawed, bring the story down noticeably.

Title: Mistborn (The Final Empire)
Author: Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3.9/5 - a solid read.

I hadn't heard about Brandon Sanderson until recently, and upon hearing that he was known for writing 'clean' stories, I knew I had to check him out. I really don't want to read a ton of language or......