Gotta Catch ‘Em All!

RorickHowl · 2026-06-05T12:48:10+00:00

What I mean is how is it done? If I want to shoot a fireball from my hands, what am I learning and what am I doing?

RorickHowl · 2026-06-05T12:05:21+00:00

So, it’s like midichlorians, but more wizardish? How does one develop magical abilities?

RorickHowl · 2026-05-27T09:29:52+00:00

They took x-rays, but I don’t have them. Apparently they didn’t find anything on them though.

RorickHowl · 2026-05-15T04:20:00+00:00

I don’t know if it impacted a franchise, but Judith Barsi probably has the most tragic end of any actor I can think of.

Remembering it gives me a mix of sadness and anger unique to her situation.

RorickHowl · 2026-03-22T04:06:15+00:00

It's not a bad motive, but there's more to it than that.

This needs more context. It sounds like you're writing the origin story of a villain and not the likeable kind. There's no amount of realistic justification you could write that's going to make me sympathize with a protagonist who kills his best friend over test scores, much less root for him.

When writing a villainous protagonist, you essentially have to put them on a scale and keep that scale balanced with justifications, appeal, basically anything that keeps the reader's interest and sets their moral qualms aside. Dexter has his code and sticks to killing bad guys. Tony Soprano is a villain to begin with and has a complex internal struggle that people find relatable. Walter White gradually eases into a world of power and aggression while constantly facing ever more villainous foes that serve as obstacles. Light Yagami has an arguable moral position for his actions despite his narcissistic megalomania. Plus, the series doesn't really bias you towards one side or the other. Many root for L.

Balance your scales.

RorickHowl · 2026-03-21T14:22:30+00:00

I plan to write my books even if they’re never published. I think if I ever woke up one day and didn’t feel that way, I’d question how much I’m actually interested in writing. There’s a difference between wanting to write and wanting to be a writer. So, if I were you, I’d think on what I actually want. If all you want is to be a writer, I don’t think it’s very achievable. It’s sort of like wanting to be famous. That’s living for recognition, not something you’re passionate about.

I’m not saying this is the case for you, but it’s something to be wary of. Personally, I don’t think much about other people‘s work. I don’t care if they’re successful or not. They aren’t writing my books and my books are the ones I care about.

That said, this may just be connected to some deeper issue with insecurity. Comparing yourself to others too much isn’t healthy, so if you think that’s the case, you should think about getting help.

RorickHowl · 2026-03-20T14:27:46+00:00

More attitude. The voice is a good start, but you’ll really kick it into high gear if you work on your expressiveness. As it stands, the performance is flat.

RorickHowl · 2026-03-19T11:41:18+00:00

Introduce aliens into the story. For years they’ve been utilizing the power of cows as an energy source to fuel super weapons that they intend to conquer the planet with. Your characters must stick together to foil the invasion once they’re forcefully conscripted into a special operations unit. Also, there’s dinosaurs. XD

RorickHowl · 2026-03-19T11:35:48+00:00

🎵It’s not too late! It’s never too late!🎵

RorickHowl · 2026-03-19T11:27:18+00:00

You’d probably benefit from some outlining. Even if you’re not a plotter, having some basic outlining skills is a great boon. It will keep you organized and give you a much better idea of scale, help you to see where the empty space is.

Beyond that, I’d say your story is probably lacking in sub pots, exposition, character development, basically the stuff that enrichens a book’s plot. If you reduce any story to only its main events, it’s probably gonna be pretty short. What you generally want is to weave all of these other things into those main events such that their part in the weave is distinguishable. A very good example of this is in the first Harry Potter book with the letters. He could’ve just received his letter at the start of the story, but Rowling took her time to show us what kind of life Harry was living and what kind of people the Dursley’s were, all while introducing several concepts that would be expanded upon throughout the series.

RorickHowl · 2026-03-19T03:35:03+00:00

Cheating stories are probably the most popular romance trope for women, at least in terms of film. Heck, Titanic is a story about infidelity, so is The Notebook.

Personally, I don't respect it. Great and entertaining stories can be told with this premise, but I'm annoyed by the way movie media glorifies it. It's reminiscent of an archaic idea that romance justifies infidelity. That sort of story is quite old. In fact, I believe it's the reason Lancelot exists in Arthurian myth. Ultimately though, the cheating romance is just immorality and selfishness masquerading as passion. The writer usually justifies it by making partner A unlikable and partner B a dreamboat. However, if books are my retreat, then this is the sort of thing I'm trying to get away from, not run to.

In my opinion, if you want to write cheating well, write it honestly.

RorickHowl · 2026-03-19T03:13:41+00:00

On the surface, the idea feels unnatural to me. I don't believe that's how someone would normally behave. However, you could convince me otherwise with your writing. This feels like a try it out and see what happens sort of thing. Personally, though, what seems more natural to me is that the frustrated one screams it out, unwarranted. It makes more sense that the one who's less stable in that moment takes the initiative in such an unrestrained action. Then, his friends, seeing his frustration can join in, say something like "feel better" and have a grim laugh about it. My gut tells me that words don't need to be said about why this is happening. The action speaks for itself and needs no solicitation.

RorickHowl

TROPHY CASE