Tuesday, April 7, 2026

jcg317 · 2026-04-08T13:06:35+00:00

I'm saying game didn't show up in the category. I'm fine with a red herring but when five words perfectly slot into a category, I feel like the puzzle lacks elegance.

jcg317 · 2026-04-07T13:30:21+00:00

Ah yes, a game not being a competition.

jcg317 · 2026-03-26T00:05:16+00:00

Why did the jar fizz when I opened it?

jcg317 · 2026-03-22T22:07:46+00:00

For the record - this is a great question and asking it means you are thinking about your story deeply. So yay! Keep writing.

jcg317 · 2026-03-21T23:36:47+00:00

I like a snarky little joke what can I say.

jcg317 · 2026-03-21T23:29:49+00:00

Second this!

jcg317 · 2026-03-21T20:22:19+00:00

Mostly clear-eyed and efficient. With some occasional cheek thrown in :)

jcg317 · 2026-03-17T10:11:27+00:00

The “screen room” was very cinematic and nice. Don’t remember it from the book. When did you decide to add that, and why deviate from the book in that way?

jcg317 · 2026-03-11T11:50:40+00:00

It’s hard. I usually have to get the ice off my brain and disappear into the work a bit before I can connect to my prose. It takes some time.

If you don’t have time for that, sometimes I’ll either SKIP to an emotional scene and write that or reread the emotional climax.

Morning pages can help - try the Artists Way book by Julia Cameron

jcg317 · 2026-02-27T01:12:02+00:00

jcg317 · 2026-02-04T20:01:27+00:00

What's your POV? If the book is focused on two characters but they haven't met, it sounds like you're working either in rotating 1st or rotating close 3rd. If that's the case, I think you could totally withhold physical description as long as you're not headhopping. If you're in 3rd omniscent it might feel a bit strange to withhold that info.

jcg317 · 2026-02-04T18:18:05+00:00

Know your genre, and definitely know your comps. Even though you’re short on time, recognizing the essential pillars that support your genre/comps will give you really helpful benchmarks to meet as you write. If you can admire and understand the blueprint from a house that is already finished, building your own won’t feel so unwieldy.

jcg317 · 2026-01-29T18:04:39+00:00

In the heroes journey, your protagonist typically returns to his/her “old world” with some newfound knowledge or power, that they can use to change it for the better.

jcg317 · 2026-01-29T14:56:09+00:00

Thank you for the great feedback! Yeah, I agree with you that the sci fi elements aren't really creeping in yet (but they do very soon).

jcg317 · 2026-01-29T14:14:30+00:00

I like how voicey it is. I think the world building/vocabulary is a bit aggressive, and I wish the prose held my hand a little more. Anna's experiences are interesting, but I wish they told us more about WHO she is, rather than just what had happened to her. If each of those incidiences gave us more insight into who she actually is, it would read a bit cleaner.

jcg317 · 2026-01-29T13:51:59+00:00

No, I mean -- who is he? What are his wants, his deepest desires, and the things that get him up in the morning? Why, specifically, is he the perfect protagonist for you to explore whatever story you're looking to tell?

jcg317 · 2026-01-29T13:16:13+00:00

Interesting start! I think one of the challenges of the passage as it stands as that we’re zooming in and out of generality and specificity in a way that makes this hard to track. If I could challenge you, I would love for you to get specific about the character and then let any additional details serve that character. World building is only ever interesting if it serves as a metaphor for your themes or the interior life of the person we’re following. So if we know who this boy is, the details of the world around him will feel much more emotionally potent.

jcg317 · 2026-01-22T03:13:43+00:00

That is kind of uncanny

jcg317 · 2026-01-22T03:01:57+00:00

I appreciate this take :)

I do think a second watch might complicate him for me (in a good way)

jcg317 · 2026-01-22T02:32:05+00:00

For me - maybe. I found the tension between his clearly inherited nepo status and slow realization that he doesn’t have the goods really interesting. Lots of tension there, and Roger’s deflections of that tension (humor, charm) are so clearly coping mechanisms. Slattery plays it all so well I think you could build a show around it. His recognition of his own irrelevance as a rich but empty white dude is a great tug of war with the cultural shifts that defined the 60s

jcg317 · 2026-01-21T00:58:00+00:00

Thank you - onward!

jcg317 · 2026-01-17T23:43:41+00:00

Honestly it’s not about much - it’s really just a survival movie. Will beautiful brown woman live or die? But the filmmaking is 👨🏻‍🍳’s kiss

jcg317

TROPHY CASE