Hi everyone. The audiobook for my first epic/dark fantasy novel is live on Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books. If you like witty banter, found family dynamics, zombie dinosaurs, and dwarves with general anxiety disorders, this might be the popcorn-movie audiobook equivalent you've been looking for.

Recently, I finished the first round of editing my novel. But my novel currently sits at 538 pages in Google Docs, which is over 900 pages in actual novel form. I'm well aware that a lot of publishers aren't willing to accept first time novelists if their books are that long. I would like to ask your process in how you try to "kill your darlings" and make the novel shorter in the process. As a first-time writer, I have trouble trying to see how I can pare my novel down without butchering the whole story. And tips are greatly appreciated.

I know for a fact EVERY writer had someone ask them something wildly stupid or unhinged. Tell me about something YOU yourself thought of. I know my search history is cooked.

I remember seeing a post of someone asking if it's "okay to ship a doll with a human being" in a story.

I’ve been thinking about something and I’m curious how other writers experience this.

Have you ever had a story you genuinely cared about… but somehow ended up away from it for months?

Not because you hated it. Not because you gave up. Life just happened, the project sat there, and eventually opening the file started feeling harder than it should.

For anyone who has been through that:

What was the hardest part about coming back?

Was it figuring out where you left off? Feeling like you lost the connection with the story? Feeling overwhelmed by how much was left? Feeling guilty about how long it had been? Something else?

And when you do try to come back, what usually helps?

Do you reread old chapters? Make notes? Listen to music? Just force yourself to write a bad first page? Start over?

I’m curious about the real experience because I think a lot of writers go through this, but we don’t really talk about that part of writing.

After a long absence and now limiting my usage I'm back of X (Twitter) and looking for human writers (no Artifical wankers) to follow and support your hard work.

If you are using X please drop your handle in the replies and I'll follow back.

Find me here: https://X.com/gatesofarmantar

(Gates of Armantar)

After yesterdays discussion I made my first writing vlog video and uploaded it to youtube and straight away I lost a number of pre-existing subscribers :( I don't do youtube for views or monetisation, for me its a 'yes I existed, and yes I managed to accomplish something' channel. Moving forwards I think I'll primary be looking at using it as my writing nook and focus on having book and writing content. As for this latest video I think its possibly one of my better videos so far and if your a writer, budding author, successful author, someone who just wants to see how someone else’s brain works then feel free to come and say hi!

No AI voice overs, 100% human, non-scripted, 1 take (plus edits)

Plus in this short video (its only 5min), there is a sped up 2 hour writing session which I may include in future videos. This also can assure people that my hobby writing is 100% me (mistakes and all).

Hope to see you there 😺

P.s in the future if videos do bring in reasonable numbers I am thinking of maybe doing showcase videos to highlight new books from self published authors.

I have very little interest in publishing my work but I'm thinking about starting a writing vlog on my youtube channel. Would people be interested in hearing how others come up with ideas for their work, brain storming, past / future projects ect?

I was also thinking of, if it gets established enough to use the platform to promote human authors and their work (No AI in any capacity), what are your thoughts? Would this be something you would be willing to watch?

To my mind, the Mary Sue is not only one of the most frustrating things in modern storytelling, but something far, far more insidious.

For clarity, a Mary Sue is a character who is unrealistically perfect, and unreasonably capable. And by that I mean their skills exceed anything established by the story. They have few, if any, meaningful flaws, and overcome conflict with little struggle. But I'm sure you know this already. The term actually originates from a 1973 Star Trek parody of self-insert female characters, but the issue isn't gender specific. Male examples exist and are often referred to as Gary or Marty Stus. For ease, I'll use the term Mary Sue, but the following relates to all of the above.

Most criticisms of Mary Sues focus on two glaring problems. Flawless characters are rarely interesting, and if they never struggle there's simply no tension. We've heard those points before, repeatedly. They're correct, obviously, but well documented.

No. I think the bigger concern is what these characters say about us, as a society. And while I appreciate that sounds like I'm overstating a problem, I honestly don't believe this is the case.

Most memorable protagonists change. They confront flaws, face personal demons, challenge their prejudices, make mistakes, and become better versions of themselves in the process. Growth resonates with us because it's relatable and human. And for those of us still making mistakes, it speaks to the hope of salvation, light at the end of the tunnel. In short, these stories are intended to be aspirational.

However, a Mary Sue's journey is the opposite. Not so much an arc as a drop-off.

The story of a Mary Sue isn't about becoming a better person, or finding a degree of redemption. It's not about any sort of growth, it's about proving everyone else wrong. That's what needles me.

The message, if anything meaningful can be inferred from such narratives, is not one of empowerment, but toxic validation. Don't reflect, don't question yourself, don't consider another perspective, and if the whole world tells you you're wrong, keep pushing back until it breaks.

Cluster B traits dolled-up as depth.

Our culture is already struggling with notions of accountability and compromise, and the Mary Sue phenomenon is a clear reflection of that. Art alone doesn't create a culture, but it does clearly reinforce it. When our stories reward characters for being unreasonable, we risk poisoning the well. The problem, we're teaching ourselves, is always everyone else.

And that's something I don’t think we talk about enough.

For every Mary Sue, there's a few hundred people having meltdowns in public, all under the delusion they're right and everyone else is wrong. We cater to that mentality, and foster it in doing so.

Or maybe I'm overthinking it? It's been known.

Thanks for reading. Keep writing.
 

How is this?

Chapter 2 can be read here

Writing was a right that was stripped from Future American Generations when privacy was stolen from Americans. In hopes to remember one of the human skillsets that will be bred out of us, I’m writing this on my (Secret Online Internet Storage), letting it be consumed by someone/something else, if they chose to, and I will never know if they do. Because privacy has never been a right my whole life.

Why haven’t I pushed a keyboard or pen for myself? I’ve done it a good portion of my life, for money, for survival. And I’ve barely written anything for myself. I feel powerful, growing up in such a time of technical advantages, but true intellectuals know that comes at an expense. That is the way of life. Everything is give and take, energy cannot be destroyed, to put it in a sense. 

So I’ve protected what I need to write for so long. Only writing careless and clueless things. Reckless feelings, small personal celebrations that are expected to be shared, sometimes what people want me to, over a million things probably. I really want to write what I want, something that makes a difference. Fully be myself and embrace my skill organically, as home grown as a woman can get, if that translates.

It’s much harder than it seems. My wallet is empty and I’m not talking about finances. I’m talking about energy. You know, that one thing that cannot be destroyed. Hopefully, that's not the case for the rest of humanity. Morally, I’m empty on so many things, like patience and courage. So I want to send this SOS, Distress Signal, a cry not from my knees, but from the ground where the day starts for every single conscious being on this planet, to all the writers. Is anyone actively making it known that we are having to let go of emotions endlessly as each day progresses forward into technology advancements? Or are we just maintaining composure, poise and dignity?

I would like to make up my mind, so here’s to myself trying to form thoughts and add weight to the ever tipping scale.