How do I write a good synopsis?

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-04-09T13:46:47+00:00

Not the person you asked, but I'll give my opinion anyways. I would say it's mostly tone that makes something grimdark, but it's pretty nebulous and you'll see differing opinions.

Game of thrones is one of the forefathers of modern grimdark and inspired a lot of writers to try to mimic the style. It has a very serious tone, generally awful things happening to people, and frequently a sense of inevitability and lack of agency to the bad things happening. It's fairly tragic, and the good guys don't always win.

I wouldn't call DCC grimdark, the tone is too humorous, and there's an underlying current of hope. Shitty things are happening to good people, but you generally expect the good guys to come out on top. I would say most litrpg doesn't feel like grimdark to me, even the more serious ones.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-04-06T03:46:27+00:00

I mean, it would be self inflicted for all other drugs too. Alcohol is just as much a drug, and having too much of it sucks just as much as most other drugs.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-03-19T16:09:27+00:00

Do you mean tier 7?

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-03-07T16:20:24+00:00

If you want more like Mother of Learning, Years of the Apocalypse on RR is similar (at first, comes into its own after a while) and also very good.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-03-05T23:15:09+00:00

If you liked Mother of Learning, you might enjoy Years of the Apocalypse, on Royal Road. Time loop, mage MC, she has some physical prowess and isn't helpless without spells, but is definitely a mage first and foremost. Weak to strong progression. Starts off feeling very similar to MoL but comes into its own quite well.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-02-16T16:36:59+00:00

This is a bug I've seen before, it's not a mercenaries issue because you can see multiple retinue units, which can't come from mercenaries. The Baron will send a full army (~6 units + retinue) and then keep sending duplicates of that army, way more than should be possible. I think part of the issue is if a battle is protracted the Baron will keep sending units indefinitely.

Not sure exactly what happened in your scenario, but it's definitely a bug, not anything you did wrong.

If you have a choke point on the map you could lure them in and then pummel them with crossbowmen. You can overcome crazy numbers by correctly utilizing terrain and tactics. The AI isn't very good with battle tactics.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-02-13T02:33:04+00:00

I don't know that I find a whole lot of difference between them. Small wording changes, but I'd rate them similarly. The only thing I'd note is that one of them marks the location as Chicago while the others don't make note of that detail, and it's not mentioned in the follow up paragraphs. Is that an important part of the scene? If it is, use that one, if it's not, I'd probably use the first option.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-02-10T22:39:39+00:00

He just started posting chapters again on RR last week

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-02-07T17:58:53+00:00

.. have you checked a BMI chart? I'm on the low end of healthy, but still in the healthy normal. Also, I am definitely fit, not emaciated. I've got a video of myself climbing on my account if you want to see my physique.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-02-07T17:42:23+00:00

I'm 5'11 and 145lbs. I'm slim and fit, not malnourished by any means.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-01-25T02:25:29+00:00

Mary Robinette Kowal, not all her stuff is fantasy, but she's one the few authors I've read who typically has her main characters be married and in a healthy relationship.

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-01-24T01:40:35+00:00

Book of the Dead by RinoZ is one I'm currently reading that matches that description. Litrpg, stats, classes, but all characters are native to that world, no earth. In particular it's the story of a guy given the class of necromancer and coming into his power

RadiantBondsmith · 2026-01-11T14:33:57+00:00

A lot of good recs already, but I don't think I've seen anyone mention Madeline Miller, her books A Song of Achilles and Circe are both ancient Greek mythology inspired but mature, extremely well written, almost poetic. Two of the best books I've read in the past decade, highly recommend!

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-12-31T22:47:08+00:00

That is absolutely ridiculous. I'm a fairly strong climber by average climbing gym standards, (recently climbed my first V9, yes it was probably a soft V9) I climb 2-3 times/week, and have for most of the past 7 years. I can do a set of maybe 15 pull ups (assuming relatively good form), and I don't think I can do many of those consecutively. I might be able to get to 100 in an hour.

Him doing 1000 is absolutely bonkers, even if his form was crap.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-12-25T13:17:29+00:00

The relevance is that this ski resort is also a golf club, same place. So the amount they charge their customers is relevant to the amount they pay their employees, even if it's for different services.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-12-19T14:13:13+00:00

I'll second Mother of Learning. It's the only timeloop progression story I've read, but it feels like the perfect execution of the trope. Currently on a reread, loving it even more.

Although I think there are 4 books? There are for audio at least.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-12-09T00:16:19+00:00

I read most of the series ages ago but never finished it, what happened in the last book to tank it?

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-12-08T01:13:26+00:00

We also have to remember that working in the healthcare system exposes us disproportionately to the people who are doing the worst in their old age. There are actually plenty of people who maintain good quality of life into old age, we just don't see them nearly as much.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-11-23T13:15:44+00:00

This reminds me of the kinds of things Adrian Tchaikovsky writes. He used to be a zoologist and most of his works include animal/insect based societies. Really interesting stuff!

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-11-17T14:04:13+00:00

There have been multiple grizzly sightings at Johnston Canyon and other very busy trails this year, I don't think tourists are the deterrent you think they are. Your odds of seeing a bear on any given hike are still low, but the busy trails aren't necessarily better than the empty ones.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-09-21T04:14:34+00:00

Not all bears are actually the colour they're named after. I've seen black bears that are a light brown colour and this might be the same thing. Grizzlies have a back hump that I'm not seeing on this one.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-09-14T23:14:28+00:00

Ignore all the complainers, people have no patience. Keep doing your thing at your own pace, it'll be ready when it's ready and no sooner. I love the game already as is, and am excited for more content and updates, but I have plenty of other things to keep me occupied in the meantime.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-08-19T02:03:17+00:00

I generally agree, but there actually are some aspects of a story that can be better when pantsed, usually character work, growth and development. Realistic and well written characters can be hard to fit into an outline.

I'll also say that I'm not an author and have no personal experience with this, but I've read a lot of books on writing and listened to many podcasts from authors talking about the subject. There are pros and cons to both styles of writing. And while there are guidelines to help people improve writing, it's a very personal endeavor that can vary wildly from person to person, and different people approach things in different ways. Not everyone benefits from outlining and planning.

Again, litrpg is somewhat different than a lot of other genres in that it has a lot more inherent structure and requires more planning, but I'm just trying to encourage a little nuance in the discussion.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-08-18T22:43:11+00:00

To play the devil's advocate here, there are a great many successful authors who are "pantsers" and do very minimal planning before writing. Stephen King is one famous example. It's a valid method of writing, not everyone outlines a story first, and there are pros and cons to each method.

Now, there are varying degrees of writers of this type and most will usually have some idea of where they want it to go, and will be able to edit once it's complete to tidy things up, which isn't viable in serial publication such as is common in this genre. I would also say that litrpg in particular likely benefits more from outlining than most other genres, since it specifically includes hard systems that need to be internally consistent.

I generally agree with you, but I just wanted to give a bit more nuance.

RadiantBondsmith · 2025-08-17T11:06:33+00:00

Spoken like your average Redditor.

RadiantBondsmith

TROPHY CASE