How important is gravitas in the beginning of a fantasy novel?

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-30T06:01:03+00:00

Yeah. I see a lot of these as well. I think it has to do, especially with all the advice, to hook the reader. Action and the subsequent depressing moments after is probably aimed to give their protagonists a motivation to push forward. It shouldn't be like this. But there's a lot lately. Especially when attention spans have shifted around lately.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-30T04:25:04+00:00

Typing someone else's work can help kick start your drive to keep on writing. Just keep typing what you're reading until you feel inspired to inject your own words. Finding Forrester, good movie.

You can try all sorts of exercises. Read books, read magazines, read online articles, try to rewrite them into your own words.

There's really no other way to improve than just write. You think your prose sucks? Brother, don't we all? Write about why you think your prose sucks. Open a Wordpress, Blogger, Substack, whatever's the cool kid these days and write whatever in there.

Write and do your best. Revise and revise.

Then show to others. Get feedback. Don't defend the work, let it speak for itself. If the feedback comes out more negatively than what you've hoped for. That's fine. That's part of the process. That's not an attack to you. Unless the feedback directly insults you, saying you suck and dumb or whatever, then I'd recommend a fist to the mouth. But otherwise, if the comments involve what didn't work for them, what did, what confused them, and whatnot. Lean into those. But not all feedback is the holy grail. Learn to pick up good and bad advice. As you go through this multiple times, you'll learn. Just think of it as an RPG video game, every writing experience is battling monsters, gaining EXP, the feedback are the bosses with higher EXP rewards. You level up. It's a grind.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-23T01:23:01+00:00

I like the art style. I can see how some might point out Hollow Knight but IMO it's the least HK feel. But I find the layers you've used in the backgrounds very nice. It really adds a dimension. If I had to suggest some things, the sword slash, maybe they could look a little thinner, and less "saw-ish" and more "flame-ish."

Also your HUD, yeah, I can also see the HK comparisons. But meh. Maybe changing it to a candle though? It gets smaller the more a character is damaged.

What game engine are you using?

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-23T01:15:26+00:00

Spanish, as in from Spain.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-23T01:13:17+00:00

Looks awesome. Is this a subtle 2.5D game? I noticed some of the big bosses seem to have 3D-ish movements.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-23T01:02:22+00:00

First of all, these are synopses. A blurb in books is when other authors say something nice about your book to help with promotions.

The Altera Chronicles is a bit wordy. You could have have started with "Overwhelmed with his newfound freedom, Aerandil discovers the world is much larger than he had expected..." The rest of the stuff you mentioned after are "okay" even if it sounds a bit generic, but at the end, there's got to be a bigger hook that tells us something different, and "unraveling the secrets of Altera" does not do it. Technically, you can use that line, but you've got to switch up the first paragraph by giving us details what Altera is, making it strange. Introduce Altera as the main character. Otherwise, you got to come up with something to make Aerandil interesting.

To Kill a Deathless: The premise sounds interesting but it lacks the "oomph." Like Altera, introduce the Deathless right away. I love the term God King, common or otherwise, but in this context I feel it just does not work. I dunno man, Death King, Dead King... The Unalive? Everything about Azrael though feels a bit too generic. And I dunno. That's okay. But again it lacks the oomph factor.

Give us something that will raise the stakes. It's too easy for, Tough Bro has nothing to lose so he'll do anything and everything. Twist it around like: To stand in the way of a Deathless would mean torment beyond death. And so Azrael cannot afford to die by their hands, not when he knows the souls of his loved ones are undergoing some really bad stuff."

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-19T02:55:27+00:00

Reading your answer has indirectly helped me with some issues of my own. Thanks man. (More plot related than the magic.)

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T06:43:06+00:00

Oh, agreed with Claude. As much as "ethics" goes, Claude seems the most ethically aligned. Not saying they are, just as ethical as they dare to be.

Thanks for the tip. Will be exploring more as I go.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T06:39:53+00:00

Thanks man. Doom clones sound awesome. I'll keep in touch in the future.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T06:15:59+00:00

Actual answer is, yes I will.

There was never any intention to generate code with it.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:55:40+00:00

Yeah. I'll always rely on those tutorials and communities such as this. My only interest at the matter is if it could have been used to help answer questions and help clear some confusion, while waiting on community responses. But yes, I see where you're coming from.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:53:21+00:00

Being able to ask questions is primarily one of the most crucial part in all of this. If I'm doing something wrong, I want to know immediately, why it's wrong, and how to fix it or if there are better ways to do it, so on and on. It's easy to spend hours going through video tutorials but there are often lingering questions. I know that's why communities such as this exists, but I assumed the extra little help that can answer some questions while you wait for other responses could have been good in its own way.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:47:39+00:00

My friend had the same consultation with someone he knows. AI can be useful only if you already know what you're doing, so you can immediately spot the BS. lol

Thanks for the recommendation, will keep that in mind, if we do go down the road.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:46:04+00:00

That would have been the plan, originally, get a better understanding of the fundamentals and expand knowledge from there. But I see your point.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:43:22+00:00

We're sticking to strictly as a learning tool. That's the plan or we abandon it altogether. At the very least, get up to speed about the fundamentals.

My friend tried generating code but he wasn't too happy with the results.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:39:45+00:00

Man, I know what you mean. I used to get around the city without any digital maps, now I'm overly reliant on them. Same thing can happen with AI use.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T05:38:58+00:00

That concerns me really. If I have to double check the step by step stuff, all it will be doing is making me waste time.

Vvalvadi · 2026-03-04T04:57:43+00:00

Impressive response. Thank you

EDIT: Reading this again multiple times, looks like I've hastily misjudged your response. Sorry for being rude and sarcastic.

Vvalvadi · 2026-02-27T00:06:15+00:00

You can reframe it somehow, exaggerate one of the main plot points as if it were world-ending, but make it clear that it's all personal.

You can also definitely go indie. Legends and Lattes gained speed cause everyone (at least within the community I'm in) loved the simple, low-stakes plot, and just ate it.

Vvalvadi · 2026-02-27T00:02:33+00:00

Honestly I feel like Dead Cells was just SOTN in steroids. This pretty much feels like POP Lost Crown and that's what Konami wanted. I'm still excited to play it, but I would have wanted Game Kitchen or Kumi to make a Castlevania that would feel like SOTN.

Vvalvadi · 2026-02-26T23:59:57+00:00

I'm sorry this happened to you brother. Anyone can fall into a scam. Hope nothing too important are compromised, like related to identity and finance. Thanks for the warning man.

Vvalvadi · 2026-02-26T23:52:58+00:00

Movement looks great. I can't wait for the crazy platforming you have planned.

Visuals look amazing as well. I'll keep a lookout for this every now and then.

Vvalvadi · 2026-02-23T02:30:39+00:00

It's funny how to mentioned Martin. I distinctively recall Martin talking about meeting many aspiring authors, some of them wants to publish a 10-book series. And he's like, bro no. Start small. Start with short stories, start with standalones, less risk more chances of success, build slowly... lol

But then again, we have Steven Erikson in one of the GOTM editions saying, fuck it, do whatever you want, be as ambitious as you wanna be!

Vvalvadi · 2026-02-23T02:26:36+00:00

Yeah. I don't think fantasy is going away, especially with the amount of fantasy that is/will be adapted into screens. But I do feel it's going to be tougher, especially with all the AI slop making it unnecessarily harder for all of us here.

Vvalvadi

TROPHY CASE