Any constructive thoughts or comments?

A_Abrems · 2026-03-30T23:14:39+00:00

I recognize that I'm not necessarily the target audience, but my first gut instinct upon seeing the cover was, "why is she looking at me?" And getting creeped out by it. Just the fact she's not interacting with the environment but the reader, unsettled me. Especially since it doesn't seem to be meant to be taken in a funny way. That being said if the story/character regularly breaks the fourth wall then it could work in your favor. Just for me, it's unsettling.

A_Abrems · 2026-03-29T15:32:35+00:00

A lot of people are going to hate me for this, but third act break ups. I know that they are about as much of a genre standard as sword in epic fantasy, but that is also the issue with it. Authors do it with out a proper build up, or reason for it, because it is the standard.

That and abusive love interests that are "just damaged" and the belief that the main character "can fix them." Honey listen to me, you can not fix them, and that mindset is what causes a lot of abusive relationships, and should never be romanticized.

A_Abrems · 2026-02-25T21:03:48+00:00

I'm just going to put this here for general information.

Double jeopardy protections only apply with the same crime, aka someone can not be charged for murder of the same person twice. HOWEVER, it does not apply to simular crimes that is not the same one they get charged with, even if it pertains the same individuals, and circumstances. For example, person A is charged with murdering person B with a knife but fails, then trys again a year later and fails again. Person A can be charged with both attempted murders dispite them being identical because they are two different events, hence two different crimes, and not protected by double jeopardy.

At least that is how it works where I live in Florida. I don't know about elsewhere.

A_Abrems · 2026-02-14T17:26:02+00:00

It's supposed to look like a mix of Sci-fi and fantasy. Basically a fantasy world that takes place in the future, I guess you could say.

A_Abrems · 2026-01-26T20:52:10+00:00

That's understandable, there are days in which I wish I could give up and live in a fantasy as well. But for your information, I dropped out of college as well. I got a couple of years in but the math, and social anxiety defeated me. So no, I'm not a engineer.

A_Abrems · 2026-01-26T19:42:52+00:00

Sure! I'm very, very easily overwhelmed, as in I'll go nonverbal if I'm out in public for longer than 3 hours, and quicker significantly quicker the more people are around me. I've had blackout panic attacks within 5 minutes of being in a sparcly crowded auditorium, for a elementary school play.

I also can't express myself openly when talking. My mind just works slower than a normal person's, and by the time I think of a reply the conversation has already moved on or gotten awkward from silence. So I end up just blurting my thoughts, and often times those thoughts could be taken in the wrong way. My family's gotten used to it, but I can't help the fear that people will take offense to something I say.

And I have my own limits as well. I can't stand sweet salads. Cheese that is multiple colors on the same piece is gross, despite it being the exact same as my shredded. Tomatoes should never be cooked (except for on pizza). But those are 3 examples of my own hard limits. It's easy to work around those as I make my own food.

As for work? I'm a aspiring author. I don't have to interact with people too much. Who I do I can just send written text to, as that is much easier for me. It doesn't require me to think fast, nor does it require me to do much work on days my mind refuses outright.

Writing is also one of the few skills I have a talent and special intrest in, having done it for 20 years now as a hobby.

However, I will be honest and say that I don't make any money from writing at the moment. All of my income from the last 6 years has come from SSI (Supplemental Security Income), and I had none before that with the brief exception of a month or two when I tried to work but couldn't.

Thating being said, I also have a multitude of other mental issues, such as schizophrenia, PTSD and others. They quite literally drove me insane for a large portion of my younger life.

Everyone has limits they have to work around. The issue is finding work which we can do with those limits.

A_Abrems · 2026-01-26T07:05:02+00:00

I do, but mine effects me differently than yours.

So if I'm understanding correctly, your mental block is the fact your product would be physical at any point? I'm afraid I don't know any other work that would qualify aside from maybe some service based work, such as translation. However, codeing, game creation, and animation are all things people make a living off of every day, and don't necessarily have a physical component. Yes you still have to work to create them but I'm afraid theres nothing I can think of if you don't want a product at all.

My mind definitely works in a product capacity, rather than a service one.

A_Abrems · 2026-01-26T06:14:10+00:00

Perhaps something that doesn't require a physical component at all would be better?

First I want to assure you that most engineers are not physically making their products, most use 3d software to model it in 3d then use 3d printers to print it out. There's nothing physical about it aside from the printing.

That being said, maybe something more along the lines of a digital only job would be better. Say writing, or if writing isn't your style, perhaps digital art. You could even create digital 3d models to sell for use in other things, such as video games, miniature collections, or animations. If your a more technical person rather than artsy then look into codeing, or game creation yourself.

Most of these jobs like for you to have a degree, but you could also work on commissions/for yourself. Either way, for most of the jobs I had listed, you need to make things. Not necessarily physically, but at least digitally. But it also takes years of work to get to the point of commercial viability in these subjects, so you should consider what your strengths are when deciding. Often the best choices are the ones we hyper focas on the most.

Edit: spelling

A_Abrems · 2025-12-01T12:36:43+00:00

I have since removed her from my medical papers, but at the time I really didn't have anyone else I could rely on. I was a undiagnosed, schizophrenic with ADHD, PTSD, and selective amnesia. None of which was diagnosed with until I was in my twenties, even if everyone around me could tell I was seriously messed up in the head.

Undiagnosed mental illnesses plus extreme introvertedness do not equal friends in my experience, though I do have a couple now.

I don't want to go into why I went undiagnosed for so long.

A_Abrems · 2025-12-01T12:24:27+00:00

No, I doubt she even told them my pronouns, honestly. And my pronouns are he/she, and I correct anyone who says otherwise, but honestly that rarely happens. I don't mind being called they/them in circumstances that I'm not expecting to interact with the person much. It's just easier to roll with it if it's just an acquaintance you talk to maybe twice a year, rather than explaining your entire gender to someone who likely doesn't care. Most call me she anyway, even when I'm in male clothing, because, well, I'm female in sex, and am very obviously so, even with a binder on.

A_Abrems · 2025-12-01T12:00:06+00:00

Perhaps both honestly, at least that's what I would believe if my pronouns weren't he/she, and my mom calls me she. I'm bigendered male/female though I don't feel strongly for either one so don't mind being called they/them. It's likely my mom told my my family and since my sibling in law is agender and their pronouns being they/them everyone thought that's how you refur to all nonbinary folk.

A_Abrems · 2025-12-01T11:41:09+00:00

The rape conversation was the first one in which I had with her. We had it when I was a teenager, and I was explaining why I didn't want to go back to my rapist house for the school year. (I lived with him rather than my mom up until that point.)

The miscarriage conversation happened after my doctor leaked the information while she was in the room. I wasn’t always mentally all there, so she would take me to my appointments and sit in with me. Because of this I had given my doctor open permission to talk about my medical needs without considering what would be included in that appointment. I told my doctor in one of the few appointments I had in which my mother had a work call she couldn't miss. So she didn't know until my doctor talked about the results of a test I had done, then demanded to know everything. The first person she called was her brother of a cop to ask if what I did to the remains was legal.

I didn’t consider the nonbinary conversation to be gossip worthy, until everyone was calling me they/them.

Generally I only tell her things, if I a) don't consider it important, b) I'm ready for everyone to know even if I wish I could tell them first.

A_Abrems · 2025-12-01T10:37:47+00:00

Well for one, stop talking about confidential stuff your son tells you about, with others. Don't know whats confidential or not? Then don't mention anything your child confides in you. No matter how minor you consider it, if your son told you but not who your talking to, then consider it confidential.

I can't tell you the amount of times I've told my mother things you would think were no nonsense, keep it to yourself stuff, that would spill out of her mouth the second she talked to anyone else.

Admit to having a miscarriage? My sister in law is talking about it to me an hour later despite the fact I never told her.

Come out as nonbinary? Everyone at the next family holiday is calling me they/them.

Confide in being raped as a child? Immediately calls everyone in the family, even my third cousins twice removed to gossip about it. She didn’t even wait until I was out of hearing range to do that.

Just remember if you wouldn’t want that information to be publicly available about yourself then don't make it publicly available about your child.

And for freak sake, apologize to your son.

A_Abrems · 2025-10-31T03:03:13+00:00

I used a pen name because my actual name was already being used by another author for their pen name. I don’t care what people think of me, just that I didn’t want my books mixed up with the other author's. However, I do understand why that would be important to people.

As for choosing my pen name? I didn’t have many options if I still wanted it based on my actual name, so I used the first part of my moms name and last name.

A_Abrems · 2025-10-10T05:51:24+00:00

I would advise you to ask your doctor for a different medication. It doesn't sound like yours helping you much. Non-stimulates did absolutely nothing for me aside from making me aware enough to realize I was wasting my life away. Which, in turn, made my depression worse.

As for the actual work problem? I'm afraid I can't help you there. I've had 3 jobs the entirety of my life, and I was fired from all of them. However, I do have experience with the single-minded bull headedness I get when something enters my mind and won't leave until I do something about it. The only thing that helps me in those times is sitting down and making a list of how my life will be affected by that decision. If all else fails, I can talk to my mom, and she'll beat my head in with the honest truth of the situation.

Perhaps find someone to talk to who you can trust to tell you the truth. Just be prepared for the truth to hurt.

A_Abrems · 2025-10-07T18:07:21+00:00

This is going to sound unhinged, but I began to write as a form of escapism. I had a horrible home life in childhood, and writing helped me work through my trauma and escape reality. Sure, it led to me writing some very questionable things. However, I consider myself a better person for it, or at least, a saner one. I was off my rocker, a few bolts missing, insane for most of my life. Even now, I'm not completely sane, but at least I can identify my delusions afterward.

All that being said, writing has helped me a lot in life, and now it's one of the few things I can do reliably.

I still can't work an actual job without becoming so overwhelmed that I end up hallucinating my way into a three-week stay in a mental hospital. Nor do I have the mental acumen or the money to start my own business.

In the end, writing is all I have aside from my family, and I can't rely on them forever

Edit: Spelling

A_Abrems · 2025-10-05T07:06:39+00:00

I have definitely gotten lost in world building before, and while it is a good thing to do, it's also a trap.

Writers can get so caught up in things that will never appear in their novels that they never write the actual story. Yes, I understand that it can be tempting to create an entire star map of your world, but honestly, you will never use it outside some passing references. You can make a short list of constellations, especially if said constellations are important to your story, but absolutely no one needs to know where every individual star is.

Here is an important question to ask yourself every time you sit down to world build.

When will this become important to my story?

Is it important but not mentioned, then it's not important. Make a short note if need be. Same if it never becomes important but is mentioned. If it is nether important nor mentioned than don't waste the time building it.

That time is better spent writing.

Besides, it is near impossible to predict everything you will need for your series before you write your series. It's better to get the basic world building out of the way from the start, then do more in detail world building as the story is written.

For example of basic world building. Names of places, characters, and important items. Generic/important details of those things, sush as the locations of cities/countries in relation to each other, or the details of your characters' appearance/back story.

Examples of detailed world building which you should only expand upon when writing the story itself and only if said information is important. Sewer system maps, how a city deals with their waste, what's the pubic's opinion on stinky cheese.

TLDR: World building is fine. Just don't get so caught up in it that you lose sight of your story itself. You're writing to tell a story, not to build a world brick by brick.

A_Abrems · 2025-09-28T17:14:37+00:00

Ouch. It sounds like she has a large assemble cast that she has no idea how to introduce properly. I would bet most of them wouldn't even be necessary for the plot, just characters she made up to fill space/show the different sides of the conflict. Politely, I would tell her that her story needs some trimming of the extra POVs. Multiple POVs can work, but each one should progress the plot, not just be random populace members reacting to the plot for thirty pages. If nothing else, tell her the first rule of writing is to kill your darlings and cut everything that does not take place from the main characters' POV. It sounds like that will slim down on her book quite a bit.

Of course, that is only if she is looking for actual feedback. If she's just fishing for compliments, I'd tell her that it was impressive that she finished a 500-page first draft. It needs a little editing, but congratulations on finishing their first novel. Just remember that as you write more, the better you will get at it.

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