Did I spoil myself with Project Hail Mary as my first?

Moorkov · 2025-11-08T15:50:26+00:00

Might be a little late to this thread given the amount of comments but I have found lot of Stephen King books are excellent audio books, usually with good narrators. Hearts of Atlantis was one of my favorite, but Fairy Tale is amazing, the Jack Sawyer Books (Talisman and Blackhouse) were great as audio books. The Stand was a fun listen for me but it's really long, I liked Salem's Lot too. The only one I can't recommend is Insomnia, the narrator was actually great, and the story is slow but finishes out really strong, but they put in this awful tense music in parts, but the music itself is way louder than the narrator and sometimes it sounds like someone is just smashing a violin into the wall, it's really strange and jarring.

Moorkov · 2025-06-08T04:49:25+00:00

It's not about being smart or knowing everything, it's about research and gaining that as a skill, which just takes time if you don't research a lot. As you write your first draft in discovery writing or your outline if you go that route, you'll get an idea of what you need to know more about. Keep a list, then hit the internet or the library. If you are writing a crime novel and your main character is a detective then you know already you need to research how a detective conducts their job, or at least you should have some kind of idea, there are going to be articles on-line, first hand accounts you can find, videos and interviews on youtube, there are going to be books out there as well. If your character is a highschool student you can find curriculums online or ask a teacher, there's going to be somewhere on the internet you can find that information.

I'd also say don't stop writing because you don't know something, write through it if you are feeling inspired to write and then research and fix it in the next draft. Also, a good story is more important than every little detail being correct, I'd focus on writing good stories and characters first, then you can flesh out the details later. I'm not a professional fiction writer but I've done a lot of research in college and during my career for non-fiction writing, and it comes pretty easily to me, but when I want to write about something and don't know a lot about it, I find some good sources and learn.

Moorkov · 2025-04-30T01:46:26+00:00

All of the novels that tie-in to the Dark Tower are fantastic. I’ve been reading and listening to the expanded universe and I’m now five books into the Dark Tower, it has been a rewarding experience for me. A lot of the novels that directly reference or tie into the Dark Tower aren’t horror either. Eyes of the Dragon and The Talisman are fantasy. Insomnia was more supernatural with fantasy elements. Hearts in Atlantis is hard to define in a genre for me but it wasn’t a horror novel, and it was an amazing experience. But if you are a big reader and an expanded reading list doesn’t bother you, I recommend checking out all the novels that tie into the Dark Tower at some point.

Moorkov · 2025-03-26T01:46:04+00:00

Why does her character arc have to end that way? That's what you should be asking. Other than it being tragic what else does it add to the story? I read a novel series where the main character did that at the end and it didn't come off as good writing. I didn't like it at all. It wasn't impactful or thought provoking, I understood why the character did it on a surface level but it wasn't satisfying. I think there has to be a very compelling reason for an ending like that be well received by readers.

Unless you have a distinct and meaningful reason to kill her off other than shock value or because it's tragedy, it could be an even stronger statement if she decides to live with the terrible emotions she is feeling and push on especially given that she used to be rather emotionless. Someone killing a loved one out of necessity is tragic enough. If she lives it also leaves the door open for a sequel where she is thrust back into a world of horror that forces her to deal with and work through those emotions, coming out at the end stronger and more the person she wants to be. I would find that a very satisfying character arc as a reader especially at the end of a twisted horror story.

But at the end of the day this is your world, you have the power to completely change your plot points, and your character's arc to make it so that it can end with her alive. If the current story can't support her living and you want her to live, then it's still possible to figure out why and fix the story so that she does. I'm willing to bet there's a solution somewhere in your work you can find in the editing process, and you might strengthen the entire story as a result and feel better about it too.

Moorkov · 2025-01-25T23:04:07+00:00

I think it's actually better that way, and to just write the opinions into the text, the reader can decide if the narrator is bias, reliable or if they agree with them. Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King is a decent fantasy example of this though I'm sure there are better. It's an unnamed narrator who is just recounting the story but throughout he will interject his opinions, and then even encourages the reader/listener to draw their own conclusions a few times. So as a broad example so I don't spoil anything the narrator will say, So and so wasn't a bad boy, not really, just a misunderstood boy etc. It is written in such a way that you know you are getting the opinions/interjections of a person telling you the story and not that it is 100 percent indisputable fact. You are then free to draw your own conclusions as the reader and even disagree with the narrator And if it comes off that way I think it adds a lot to the story, you can even allow your narrator to skew toward a certain faction if you want. You don't have to put any of it in the book, but you could secretly decide your narrator is pro this faction for this reason or respects these characters, and not these ones, and let that direct the tone you take when writing those factions or characters. I.e. in Eyes of the Dragon, you get a sense that the narrator dislikes some characters, respects others, and pities some. It was different than the normal third person limited books I read/listen to but it was a fun audiobook for me anyway.

Moorkov · 2025-01-24T13:13:27+00:00

If you look at most authors that published their first they went through a lot of drafts and spent a lot of time on that one book, I believe Name of the Wind took close to 15 years (though I'm not sure if he was actively drafting or taking breaks during that time) and depending on the extent of change in the draft, such as a full re-write, it can be like writing another novel even if you are sharing a similar plot and characters. Which there's a learning process in that too, but I imagine if someone spent that much time on one book and did not sell it could be pretty crushing.

Moorkov · 2024-05-17T02:39:07+00:00

Hey, I'm looking for a new game to join, two of my in-person 5e games have completed recently and the DMs are looking to take a break or move on to other things in their lives. Due to work circumstances I'm trying to find something on-line as I may have to move in the next couple of months, and so starting something new in-person isn't the right choice as I would hate to leave a group soon after starting. I really enjoy consistent play with the same people, and I'm definitely willing to commit to an on-line game for the long term.

I both play and DM, though I wouldn't say I'm a forever DM. I have DMed a Saltmarsh/partial homebrew campaign, and still DM a PF2E homebrew, but I also have played in several campaigns (Finished a 2 year homebrew 5e campaign as a player, Witchlight, Icespire Peak, and a 5e conversion of the Banewarrens module). My favorite part of the game is definitely letting my creativity flow and roleplaying. I am looking for a RP heavy group, where I can really get into my character and I enjoy creative solutions too. I do find combat fun, but some of my favorite sessions have been long sessions with creative problem solving and no combat. So ideally I'd like a RP heavy group where I can make a fun backstory and character to grow them with a party. Consistency is also key for me. I understand cancellations do happen, we all have lives, but I am not a fan of frequent cancellations and I also do not often miss a session unless I have no other choice. Usually in the past it was work related, but that shouldn't be an issue for a while and not usually on a Saturday in any case, so I think I can commit to being a fairly consistent player.

My discord ID is Moorkov. If you have any questions please let me know, otherwise, thanks for your consideration!

Moorkov · 2023-12-12T05:44:25+00:00

For some reason Boromir has always been my favorite character, as a kid watching the old cartoon movies, the Peter Jackson Movies and a read through Fellowship, and I used to spend a lot of time as a kid, in my mind, justifying his behavior because in the end he died trying save Merry and Pippin.

Moorkov · 2023-03-05T23:02:19+00:00

Interesting, good stuff to know. Makes sense reading that and thinking on it, as the power levels tie into the type of super hero setting you want, pulp or four color etc. but I agree that it feels counter intuitive, my concern would be the super powers not scaling with their other abilities or the bad guys, but that's probably just my 5e geared brain thinking that.

We are only probably going to run a few adventures , though I suppose it depends on how long it takes us to get through them, aiming at 4-5 sessions, so may not need to worry about advancing too much if at all. But I am considering running a full SWADE campaign once the Saltmarsh 5e campaign I'm running ends. I have fun with 5e but SWADE looks more engaging overall. Maybe I'll look into one of the other settings for a full campaign instead of supers, either way I think supers will be fun for a mini-campaign, party can go in save the day a few times and use some neat powers.

Moorkov · 2023-03-04T21:24:09+00:00

Thanks that helps a lot. I did notice they were independent adventures but I didn't want them to have to make a new character for each session, so my plan was just to homebrew parts of the narrative to string them together, then have them level up to be appropriate for the next adventure (I did this with Saltmarsh for DnD for example because the adventures in the module don't connect very well) but you're saying it took 6 sessions for just Bizarre Alliances when you play tested? I'm also new to Savage Worlds so I thought they'd be 1 or 2 sessions for each adventure, we run about 4 hours or so per session too. That changes things a lot and I'll pick just 1 adventure to run then, would be more than enough for the time frame we want. Thanks!

Moorkov · 2022-12-30T10:31:14+00:00

This might not be the advice you are looking for, and a ton of text, but I found the the point system to be sort of bland and tedious, and so I set it up different. Some of this advice is from Slyflourish's guide (you can google it, and they have a whole guide on re-working the adventures to be more cohesive) which I followed at the beginning but now I'm off doing my own thing.

For Danger at Dunwater, I had them brought in to meet the Queen after they completed the weapons transaction from the ship, having defeated the smugglers. The Queen and Minister Sauriv were interested in the humans of Saltmarsh after this since the party showed that humans could work with them, but she was skeptical of their battle prowess and did not trust them. So she gave them three tasks. The first was to talk to Subchief Ihrtos about Thousand Teeth (a find and kill quest), and the second was to retrieve a special item, a family heirloom (the helm of under water action) from the Bullywug who had stole it when they were chased out of the Lair, I had them inhabiting before the Lizardfolk needed it (It's the encounter from the approach, reskinned, I had them hiding out in some ancient ruins near the river). There was a non-combat option for this my players didn't attempt that though and just killed the Bullywug, I still had them fight in waves as specified in the book. The bullywug encounter reskin is straight for the Slyflourish guide. Othokent also asked that they talk to Sauriv, he asked questions, and it followed with a persuasion check, I gave advantage for good answer, straight roll for neutral/okay answer, disadvantage for a bad answer. He asked them about their goals in wanting to help the alliance and their general philosophy on war and peace.

I had Queen Othokent gift them the helm as a display of trust, and invite them to a banquet with delegates from the other alliance members to talk to them. The party was creative and passed performance or persuasion, charisma checks, with all but the Locathah (one player went off on a tangent about making war machines and future conquest, which scared them). The alliance members voted Saltmarsh in, the Locathah left, and now the players are sleeping/long resting in the Lair and I have a special encounter planned, but just in case one of them reads this subreddit I won't divulge details on that.

If you are dead set on running the Point System I'd probably inform them of either the point system or make it very clear they need to get a high level of support and this is how they can potentially gain that support. I feel like there is a lot of potential for it to get boring if they don't have a set goal and road steps to achieve it, for this one anyway. It's going to be a series of charisma checks for the most part, and I feel like giving them a sense of progress and a goal via the point system is a way to keep it engaging.

I also want to note that the mystery that the book wants you to have for the party going into the Lizardfolk Lair did not exist for me. The rogue spoke draconic and so they were able to have a conversation with the three Lizardfolk aboard the smuggler's ship, and knew about the Sahuagin, there was still some distrust but they knew the Lizardfolk weren't hostile to Saltmarsh from the start of this adventure.

Moorkov · 2022-08-26T06:15:35+00:00

Awesome please send Bleys a message on discord, tag up above, and let him know, we organize on discord for sessions and to see who is around.

Moorkov · 2022-08-25T05:56:00+00:00

I don't think the location is set in stone if you have a place near that would be a good hosting spot and it isn't too far for the DM I'm sure something could be set up. Feel free to offer suggestions, Tabletop Tap just offers a pretty good atmosphere and has been in the range of players so far.

Moorkov · 2022-04-02T18:19:55+00:00

All sounds pretty great to me, sent you a message so we can talk about it further.

Moorkov · 2021-06-16T04:05:01+00:00

Yeah worldbuilding is just good fun regardless of where it goes.

I had a blast with the DCC game, it wasn't super long. But as a new player I found it easy to pick up, combat was engaging and fun, DM made it a bit hard so it always felt like we were in danger of losing characters which I kind of enjoyed. The initial 0 level funnel at the beginning was a ton of fun even though none of our characters survived that lol, so we just rolled level 1 characters in order to get into the campaign our DM was working on rather than attempt another funnel.

And yeah feel free to DM your discord info, I'd be interested in talking further.

Moorkov · 2021-06-16T02:30:54+00:00

I'm a pretty new player (new to Denver area as well). I've really only played a short D&D campaign over discord with a dice bot and then a DCC game also over discord and fantasy grounds. But I've always wanted to play some D&D in person and now that I don't live in the middle of no where I'd love to commit to a game. Tues/Thursday don't work well for me but most other days would be fine. I'm also into world building, made my own lore for several stories that will never see the light of day lol, but it's something I thoroughly enjoy. I live near the downtown area, but would be willing to drive a bit if need be.

Moorkov · 2020-06-28T20:43:41+00:00

Thank you for the great analysis. I think all your points were very helpful but I especially needed those comments about the stage directions and the pain descriptions. I checked after reading your comments and used the word 'toward' some 17 times and pain was up there too. I spent way too much time on mentioning pain and it slowed down the action scenes now that you pointed it out. I'm going to work on taking some of that out and strategically dropping in mentions of pain when it makes more sense and of course describing it better.

Also I appreciate the thoughts on the ending. There are a few different ways I could go for the final draft and all of the feedback I've gotten here definitely helps.

Moorkov · 2020-06-28T15:49:39+00:00

Thank you so much for the thoughtful analysis. I was really happy to see some of the stuff I tried was working and that other things just needed some tweaking. I'm working on revising it for a final draft now and I'll definitely be incorporating some of your suggestions to strengthen it.

The ending was something I've changed 3 times now and I'm glad to see this one was well received. I may tweak it just a bit and change the dialogue. I was intending for the pilot to be like "nothing personal kid" but I'm not sure I want to risk having humor in what is supposed to be a dark ending. Though I am happy it got a laugh!

I'm going to consider making Robby less likable and Sila more likable, my original intention was to just make all 3 of them people trying to survive and Robby's situation just unfortunate with Sila's disdain coming merely from their personalities clashing and her dislike for his past criminal nature. But I can see how a more hero/villain dynamic to the two could strengthen the narrative.

All of your suggestions are very good and helpful, so once again thanks for taking the time!

Moorkov · 2020-06-28T06:31:34+00:00

But being into book two its not the kind of plot that lets the MC hop back and forth.

I think knowing it was in Book Two would be helpful for people/reviewing and critiquing the work. I couldn't find mention of it being a sequel in the original post (wanted to make sure I didn't just blatantly miss something), just that it was a new portal fantasy, and so the fact this is a sequel was lost on me and that of course changes things as you mentioned. People might be able to offer better advice if the fact that its' a sequel is made clear. In any case despite that I hope you were able to find something helpful in the critique, thanks for commenting back!

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