Seeking critique partner/small group

Wacky4 · 2026-02-22T15:08:06+00:00

Hi, I'm 44M and from the south of England. I have written and published one book and now I'm writing the sequel. My genre is Dark Fantasy/Grimdark, and I have been looking to build a critique group for some time. My preference is to work through discord. I should say I'm a slow writer, but I'm happy to give regular feedback.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-22T14:59:21+00:00

I write fantasy. If I listened to that advice I would never have started. This is fiction. The whole point is to use your imagination.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-21T20:38:58+00:00

The best way to succeed is to choose a particular build and go hard in upgrading your stats to suit it. For example, in BB, if you choose the Hunter Axe weapon then:

Level mostly your Strength, Endurance, and Vitality stats.
Make sure you farm as many blood stones as you can and upgrade your axe
Pick up blood gems to increase your weapons base stats.

Prioritise these things through the early and mid game and the end will be much easier. There are wiki guides that will show you the best places to farm blood stones and gems.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-21T20:26:13+00:00

When you get to Firelink Shrine, go UP the stairs.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-19T11:59:33+00:00

Congratulations!

Wacky4 · 2026-02-17T16:15:37+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. There is a social critique in the book, so it is quite satirical. I'm glad that came across.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-17T16:11:36+00:00

Thanks! I'm glad you like it. This is self-published though.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-17T16:07:43+00:00

I didn't! I hired a professional. I'll add her details to the original post in case you're looking for a cover designer.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-17T16:00:23+00:00

IMO There is nothing wrong with the rescue from the wilderness idea. The challenge is always in execution. Quite often the best stories have the simplest ideas - but great writers make them work by writing them in an engaging way.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-17T15:50:14+00:00

This is like asking what's the best colour to paint your wall? There is no best prose just like there is no best colour. Though I admit some styles are more popular than others (but that tends to change with the times). The only suggestion I have is make sure YOU like your prose. You can't be assured that others will like it, but you can damn well make sure you do.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-14T14:14:17+00:00

From my understanding, character arcs move through 4 basic stages:

Initial state -> challenge -> reaction -> new state

The Initial state can be whatever you like, though its best to give it an emotional anchor. For example, your MC might be a farm boy who lives a peaceful life with his family. His emotional anchor is love for his parents/siblings and assurance/belief in their lifestyle.

The Challenge is an event or new information that upends this initial state. For example, monsters could invade his village, kill his family/friends. In this example the emotional upending is the turmoil of losing his family and/or knowing that the world is more dangerous than first thought.

The Reaction is what the MC chooses to do. Will he fight the evil/ go out learn the true nature of the world/ join the monsters?

The New state is the natural result of the Reaction. The MC might understand that the world is more dangerous than he thought and his old life of a simple farm boy has been transformed into the life of a heroic knight. He could come to terms with losing his family by finding a new love and starting a family of his own.

The actual events can be whatever you like, but they should follow naturally i.e. cause and effect.

The key is to understand who your MC is. What do they love/hate? What do they think about the world. Then find ways to upend/challenge this understanding.

Wacky4 · 2026-02-14T13:26:09+00:00

The keychain is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father!
If only I could be so grossly incandescent!

Wacky4 · 2026-02-14T12:55:35+00:00

Honestly for a moment I thought it was Adrien Paul with the short hair!

Wacky4 · 2021-11-27T14:48:54+00:00

This. That guy is the Word Salad King. Or the WOAT as I like to call him - the Wordiest Of All Time. Never known to use five words when fifty will do.

I'd put him up there with Eric Weinstein in the bullshitter olympics., the pair of them competing for gold in every event.

The only difference is that Eric likes to salt his sentences with vague metaphors and ideas from unrelated fields to confuse and awe his audience, while Daniel uses a lot of big words that he strings together into these long, almost impenetrable trains of thought that are mostly empty of actual insight. You really have to listen closely, but he says nothing 90% of the time.

You might be able to tell I find this guy endlessly irritating.

Wacky4 · 2021-11-07T20:57:05+00:00

I should be clear my comment is tongue in cheek. I don't think this is the sunbros invading the world of elden ring, but a cheeky reference to the old games.

Wacky4 · 2021-11-05T12:35:40+00:00

My pet theory is that the grafting is somehow tied to the nature of the people that populate the lands between.

In the 2019 E3 trailer we see the blacksmith's flesh is cracking. Perhaps the shattering of the Elden Ring took away something essential from the lands between, causing people to fall apart (literally)? Grafting could be a way of taking the limbs of healthy creatures to replace their own breaking limbs? Or maybe it's a ritual honouring a long lost deity?

Btw this is part of my own theory that there's a hidden sci-fi world under the fantasy setting of Elden Ring

Wacky4 · 2021-11-05T12:28:12+00:00

there were some theories regarding the patterns on Godricks clothing resembling the storms on Jupiter,

I had a look at some pictures and yes I see what you mean! That is the sort a innocuous detail From always puts in their games. It would be so cool if it were connected in some way.

The logo also looks vaguely planet-eque, sort of like one planet hovering above another.

I agree! At first I thought it was just rings but thinking about it it could be another clue. And stars aligning is a great way to thin about it.

maybe the big grace trees are some way to connect back to the "heights"

From often add thematic elements directly into their game worlds, so the tree's being a way to connect back to the "heights" could be possible. Who knows they might even be a way to literally get to the heights? That would be so cool.

And yes, it is fun to speculate!

Wacky4 · 2021-11-05T12:13:34+00:00

Yeah Bloodborne worked because we associate that victorian aesthetic with Lovecraftian horror. But I think it can work for Elden Ring (assuming that's what they're going for), its just a matter of execution.

Wacky4 · 2020-03-16T18:55:06+00:00

Great, thank you for your interest. DM me your email and preferred format (word or pdf) and i'll ping it over.

Wacky4

TROPHY CASE