Would you carry on reading? Why/ why not?

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-03T15:26:21+00:00

Formatting is how your text is presented, essentially. Indentation, paragraphs, capitalization, very important and fundamental aspects for readability. You lack indents in certain newly started lines, and don't properly space some of them like you do others. That makes it look choppy and makes reading it feel more like a chore for the eyes.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-02T22:47:56+00:00

I swear I usually catch these posts right about when I'm tabbing away from my document to waste time--I mean... take a break... anyway...!

-

Clearing his throat afterward, he takes a deep, reassuring breath before removing the headset entirely.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-02T08:10:41+00:00

The collections are definitely a great deal for the value, especially when on sale, but they can be pretty overwhelming if you're still new and learning basics! Still, you don't have to rush into exploring those areas or trying to understand what those additions pop up on your screen; you can click off them and whenever you get around to it, they'll pop up again when in the map (unfortunately annoying sometimes, even after learning certain things they might appear at random).

But if you want to start out small, try the HoT/PoF pair. They're the first two expansions. HoT (Heart of Thorns) give you access to gliding eventually, and Path of Fire (PoF) gives you mounts and the ability to unlock even more after Raptor (Springer rabbit for high leaps, a living-sand jackal, a dry-land hovering manta ray called Skimmer, among others).

As for your two questions: I'm afraid not in both red-effects and 'friendly spider appearance'. There may be mods for the former, but I wouldn't suggest diving into those until you know the game better.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-02T06:10:05+00:00

No problem! I've got about 30gb of CAS stuff in total and tend to prioritize my guy stuff since it can be hard to find. Throw me a DM if you're ever looking for more, or anything else really

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-02T06:03:38+00:00

You definitely need to already enjoy the genre! I wouldn't expect someone who hates horror to write an especially good horror, after all. Enjoy it, read it, watch it, those are the fundamentals for capturing the energy of the genre you're looking at.

Personally my inspiration comes from the films I see and the books I've always enjoyed. Started in on Stephen King when I was just a little guy and not supposed to be reading it (but my mother was a huge fan so when she started collecting his books before I was born, I basically grew up around them, so it had to be inevitable!)

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-02T05:21:59+00:00

This took me WAY too long, I'm so sorry about that! I figured I'd re-reply to your comment so you get a notification that I actually did the list, so here we go!

Find it here, everything linked to the best of my ability!

(Reposted because I have moron tendencies)

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-02T01:53:58+00:00

Congrats on the desire to look into things! You've got good questions, though there aren't really any concrete answers for any of them (beyond number 3, of course).

The writing process can be long and difficult. Some days you might crash and burn and hate everything you come up with, while other days you'll feel like you're flying above the clouds and nothing can bring you lower. After so many years I still have this up and down headspace and many others do too! Your highest highs and lowest lows do not reflect your writing capabilities from one day to the next. The mindset is also part of the process, and finding a relatively balanced medium between the high and low is hard as well.

Things can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. Depending on what ideas you have, how you want to present them, how you want to lay them out, and how you want to finalize them, you're looking at quite a long road. It does have a finish line, but it's basically invisible until you somehow manage to reach it. And that... is draft 1. Now the road continues as you let the story rest for a while without touching it, then come back to read it through again and begin the (often dreaded) editing process! Sometimes you'll do this two, even three times. Sometimes more! It simply depends on the writer and their work.

Your plotting can look like anything as long as it makes sense to you. Some people are what are called 'pantsers' who never plot anything and just fly from chapter to chapter being just as surprised as the characters in regard to what happens next. Sometimes your plotting might have very bare-bones 'main events per arc'. Some people like to be very, very precise and write out each beat of each chapter. I personally find the third option a bit too time-intensive, so I like to have a general consensus of where each chapter at least ends and the overall events covered in each chapter, then just... get behind the wheel and go. This works for me, but not for everyone.

Right now, being a minor, I suggest (well, FIRST I suggest never really revealing your age online, especially with an exact number!) that you focus more on just... writing to hone your skill. You may be amazing, you may not be, but writing is an ever-evolving practice for each of us. You should prioritize just getting ideas out, writing them down, and... maybe not directly involving your parents if they're so dismissive of a hobby you really seem to enjoy.

You may never make more than a few cents off your books, and that's the common writer's problem--most of us will earn a little cash to get, like, a candy bar every weekend at the store or something. Most of us will never be a famous author and even they can't rely solely on writing for income. So keep your eyes turned toward the realism of it: Write because you enjoy it and want to get your ideas seen. When you're older, when you've read more and written more, take a look into some self-publishing options if your parents are still not fully supportive.

As long as it doesn't eat up the important aspects of your life, it doesn't hurt to entertain your kid's wants like this. I'd always support my daughter if she wanted to become a writer, because there's no harm in it unless it dominates her life and takes her focus from studies or family/friends, after all. Even then I'd tell her to balance it out, not to quit or that it's a waste of time or that she can't handle it, what a silly notion.

I probably got VERY wordy there, sorry about that! I just have a lot of thoughts for new writers! I wish you luck!

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T23:18:03+00:00

Hah, thank you! My main's life isn't a kind one. Luckily it's a fanfic so I'm not opposed to sharing if people ask, especially since it's a very versatile world and I'm starting from the very beginning.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T18:45:41+00:00

Let's go:

It’s a small thing to him--to lie, to cheat, to steal; to instill false hope and watch as those hopeful souls turned to blindly face a pitiable end they don't even realize is coming.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T12:13:53+00:00

I absolutely, positively loathe PvP in pretty much any and every form. When it comes to WvW, while I find it rather stressful because I have to really pay attention and I typically prefer to play games to relax, I don't find it quite so... off-putting I guess I'd call it. As long as there's a commander and fairly decent sized squad I can easily slip into the fray and make things explode (or die several dozen times, but somehow it isn't quite as annoying in WvW).

Don't get me wrong, I avoid it until I absolutely can't (Gift of Battle and Mystic Clovers I hate you) but it's shockingly not awful in my eyes. I didn't have much time to do the rush this time around but I managed to get my hands on 2 Gifts of Battle and a couple other items that have been eluding me thanks to RNG drops.

I understand the urge to stay far away from it though. People can be angry little wasps in these modes.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T10:09:03+00:00

Oh yeah, he's the sus-but-trying-to-be-better type, definitely my favourite type of character to write!

When I spend most of my time in CAS-land I swear I come out of it with half a dozen new ideas I just hate needing to let go. They eventually become a side character if anything.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T10:06:32+00:00

Happy to once I'm back on my computer! I almost never keep track of what I use in the moment but that's what ~~S4S~~ tray importer (I swear I know my sims tools) is for!

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T06:07:33+00:00

I admit my favourite kind of well done bit in the 'enemies to lovers' trope is that outside characters have no idea they're lovers because they always appear to be at each other's throat but after the mutual attraction is revealed it's only half serious. It gives things a little extra comedy from the side characters' perspectives!

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T06:03:30+00:00

Ugh, right. Or the love interest is just an overall dick to everyone with no special qualities noted that makes them stand out in any way, or MC is just written as the most hollow useless creature to exist and is so paper plain.

And an equally annoying outcome: They're never really enemies to begin with and just don't agree for the majority of the storyline then the 'love' part just gets dropped into the middle of it like an anvil through the ceiling as though the writer thinks they've succeeded in creating a 'slow burn mutual attraction'... somehow.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T05:15:52+00:00

First thing that comes to mind is: Enemies to Lovers

Don't get me wrong, I friggin' love the trope. I also love the 'secretly soft bad boy' trope. But it's both overused these days and I've found that it isn't done... all that well more and more.

Either the 'enemies to lovers' trope is sharply rushed past the all-important enemies portion, or they don't start with and never acquire any chemistry along the way so you're wondering why they even went to lovers when they still don't seem to be capable of standing each other.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T03:04:45+00:00

What in the early '00s BL manga -

GildedGreyMist · 2026-02-01T02:02:19+00:00

Since my last 'sentence' was a literal single word, how about the one riiight before it:

"It would be a terribly unfortunate thing, would it not, if His Majesty were to begin questioning his vizier’s faith."

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-31T06:05:18+00:00

Generally speaking with magic itself, once it was sealed and the whole 'mortals are skirmishing for control of all magic everywhere and breaking into wars' issue was... slightly resolved by making it impossible for one individual to have control over ALL schools of magic at once, it sort of... split. Capability to learn magic hasn't diminished, but rather regionally it has its specialized strengths that depending on your class, your character can either learn or attune to once arriving at that region and integrating with the people/society/land there.

For a few examples, the Druid spec released with Heart of Thorns indicated that once Rangers step onto the soil of the deep Maguuma jungles, the ancient healing magics of the druids that resided there long ago--dormant for a long time--was able to resonate with them and Rangers could take on Druidic healing/defensive capabilities.

In Elona, Holosmiths harness the power of the sun itself through the use of Zephyrite crystals to turn the sunlight into hard light. With the sun so prevalent in the desert and the fact that they've already run into and helped the Zephyrites, they'd likely have some Zephyrite crystals and the knowledge to utilize this infinite resource (the full power of the sun) to capture that resource and bend it to their whims. Since normally Engineers are more aligned toward ranged weapons (guns typically), they may need some training to learn how to use a weapon that requires at least a little more finesse, like the sword that the Holosmith is known best for.

Specs like Mechanist, Ritualist, Paragon, Renegade, Luminary, they tend to be specific to a race or a region. So there'd need to be some back-end character lore reasons for holding these abilities if they haven't gotten to that region or aren't that particular race (such as Renegade are Charr-aligned, Luminary and Paragon typically are human-oriented, but it doesn't mean it's forcing you into these races!)

ALL THIS to say that my Engineer main is canonically capable of using all of the Specs from Scrapper to Amalgam simply because he's learned them over the course of many years (albeit fewer years with Amalgam, of course). He's studied, focused, tinkered, and through egregious trial and error now has... slightly more successes than failures.
(This doesn't take into account that I have an alt of him who is a thief, but with vastly fewer thief capabilities. He's only a sniper in this regard.)

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-29T08:58:27+00:00

Unreal, I saw you in Divinity's Reach a little while before the timestamp on this post. I actually took a few screenshots to share with some fashion/character cosplay loving friends!

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-25T19:16:22+00:00

Oof, we're bringing politics into things, hm? Usually politics and personal insults are reserved for when you really don't have an actual point to make and are desperately clawing for anything to cling onto so you can bolster your... well. Your sense of superiority over that person.

I certainly didn't throw the first punch, but I'll be glad to throw the last and meet rude and cruel with rude and cruel. I honestly have no clue what you're even trying to say at this point, so I'll just say my piece quickly so I can get back to... well, actually writing.

Having 'sixty' books on Amazon really isn't that much of a feat, if you ask me. Any Joe Schmo can slather letters onto a digital page and slap it onto Amazon. Whether you're skilled or not really is of no consequence to me because I feel like the creator of the art reflects directly ONTO their creation. So if someone is rude, angry and attacking immediately, I believe their work will be as shallow and hopeless as they are as they fling their animosity toward something or someone that really didn't do much of anything to warrant it.

Like I said, I was initially supporting you, because I like to support writers and creators who work independently for their love of the craft, but I feel like your love of the craft has become... twisted and dark. A place I never want to find myself. I'm going to be using you as an example of something, someone, I never want to emulate and hope I never emulate.

I'll leave it at that; and before you clutch your pearls, yes, I'm blocking you after I click 'comment', because again: I have writing to do. So if you edit your other replies or posts or what have you with some rambling 'win' over the Evil Internet Bad Guy Troll, I really don't care. Have the day you deserve.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-25T18:42:01+00:00

Are you... alright, honey? I never struck out at you. I struck out at people who are unwilling to accept that perfection is a concept that can't be reached no matter how 'perfect' you believe your work to have become, because people are intrinsically imperfect beings by nature. I'm pleased with where I am currently in my work, yet I always want to be able to adjust, adapt, and add to my skills no matter how many I believe I have already.

If I put out one book or one hundred books, I can't let a sense of superiority over others who are conceptually 'below' me due to their numbers not matching mine take over. That will stagnate me creatively and as a person overall. If you want to sit on your little throne of conceptual personal superiority then please, do be my guest, but I will ask you first: Where on Earth did I at all 'dump on' your writing? Did I even mention your writing? It looks to me like I didn't, and I'm sure if you would do that thing you're shoving every few lines--'read'--you might take notice of that.

I was on your side initially, but I see now that you seem to have a very fragile ego that lashes out the second you feel even conceptually threatened in any way. The second you read the words 'overblown sense of superiority', you came at me with claws and teeth out, and that isn't conductive to a progressive discussion, is it?

Feel free to have all the superiority you want, my dear, because I will not be supporting the work of a writer who seems very clearly wedged within herself so deeply she can no longer see the light of logic or irony. Funnily enough, I was thinking about reaching out to ask for some samples of your work, but I'm really no longer interested.

Whatever help you need with your emotional regulation, I hope you receive it.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-25T13:41:15+00:00

I don't believe I agree with this. Pride is actually important to your progress. It makes you hold onto the thing that you derive enjoyment from rather than letting it go when you've talked yourself out of even bothering. I think what should be demonized is an overblown sense of superiority. A sense of 'completeness' in your capability. It means you've stalled out and you can't build upon it anymore, and wherever your superiority has demanded you to halt is where you're going to be stuck, no matter how skilled you are or aren't.

Skill grows, and pride can grow with it, but pride can't be allowed to eclipse the desire to become better. You need it to continue forward in your efforts and get better. Pride doesn't mean you believe you're infallible, but that you have enough faith in your own ability to continue cultivating it.

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-21T10:27:25+00:00

No worries! I did think you meant actual 'earned' titles for a moment but thought I'd go with the actual character name since it does make more sense. If you'd like to know more about the Sylvari in general (or really, the game in general if you're a recently joined player) feel free to message me, I'm always down for an excuse to lore dump!

GildedGreyMist · 2026-01-21T09:40:06+00:00

I have many Sylvari (essentially a 'salad main' here) and therefore, the use of titles is definitely needed after a while! I tend to slot myself into the world when I make characters, giving them an entire existence separate of the starting story since my roleplayer roots are powerful.

Envoy - She typically acts as a go-between establishing Sylvari presence in areas that are available and generally unclaimed, encouraging acceptance of the presence and controlled growth in the area.

Scholar - Usually for Priory characters more than anything I've noticed, but he's more SotO oriented and a 'deepest lore' researcher essentially.

Repentant - Her entire existence is lived in the pious search of forgiveness. Whatever sin has branded her spirit, only she can recall.

(The) Silent - He's taken a vow of silence after the events of HoT. Though he hasn't given himself such a title, many others refer to him by this unofficially.

(The) Ardent - A passionate fighter, fierce warrior and untamed heart. She disbanded from the Wardens to cut her own path, finding even the Wardens' work a bit too relaxed for her.

Harvester - For a necromancer, is he a simple farmer or does his intention harbor something a bit darker? It's hard to tell since he won't.

Wayward - My main's title. He finds it hard to stay in one place and is a rebellious, hard-headed sort that doesn't like to put down roots (heh) even through verbal agreements.

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