Apparently I mixed up Adverb and Adjective... that's embarrassing. Also, youtube glitched and messed up my audio. I now dub this video a podcast

@Zeet1

Жыл бұрын

I was wondering what happened. Thought I was glitching

@ThatOneLadyOverHere

Жыл бұрын

I kept clicking off the video and clicked on a different one to try and get it to sync up. 😆 Still interesting!

@eweindesign

Жыл бұрын

Yay you fixed it!

@Dougeb7

Жыл бұрын

It's all good! 😄

@rriggs6547

Жыл бұрын

No worries. People make mistakes. If you didn't then I wouldn't care for your videos. I don't know if my opinion is unpopular and it isn't about a book, but how books are labeled. At this point I just want all fiction listed by author in bookstores. A good portion of 'Urban Fantasy' is placed in 'Romance' and vice versa. I once found a book by Kim Harrison in Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, and General Fantasy. The spine had the 'correct' label for each section. Some of the Urban fantasy is more Erotica and some in Romance have little romance but are far more suited to Mystery or Fantasy or even Sci-Fi. I hate this.

I think people misunderstand what “show don’t tell” actually means. It doesn’t mean pack the book with flowery language, it means if this character is tough you add a bit to the plot showing them being tough instead of saying “oh that’s character, they’re really tough”. I read a book recently where protag was apparently a thief but she stole nothing the entire book, or did nothing that a thief’s skills might be useful for, the author just kept saying “she was a master thief” yet…

@ApequH

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I thougth the same thing

@kelseyswanepoel7056

Жыл бұрын

This is exactly what show and tell means, high school English teachers explain and teach it wrong so most people don't understand.

@Cashman9111

Жыл бұрын

@@kelseyswanepoel7056 how the hell can you misunderstood that ? it's self explanatory pretty much isn't it ?

@kelseyswanepoel7056

Жыл бұрын

@@Cashman9111 The Schooling system is designed to make people obey commands not think on their own, the people have become so used to being reprimanded for using their heads that they just do what they're told. That is without taking into account the fact that these are teenagers and younger sitting for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week for most of 5 years of their lives. IE: the teacher says show don't tell with no context every time a creative writing assignment comes up (which is actually said since creative writing assignments come into the academic career), it is safe to assume even by adult standards that simply stating things is a no no 90 percent of the time.

@ErmenBlankenberg

Жыл бұрын

I've never encountered anyone who would think "show, don't tell" means using flowery language in the book, it's literally the opposite of what the phrase says. Even your example doesn't showcases that apparent misconception. Do you have any other examples?

I think I prefer romance as a supblot because far too many stories where romance is the major storyline resort to manufacturing drama in order to add stakes or drag out the runtime or whatever when 95% of issues in these sorts of stories could be resolved in three minutes if the people involved had even an ounce of communication skills. If romance is a subplot, relationships can develop naturally without feeling forced to add unnecessary manufactured drama that hinges on the main characters acting like they've never heard of a conversation before.

@nichescenes

Жыл бұрын

Have you watched Eternal sunshine. I think it doesnt do that whole will they wont they etc. It expresses relationships like they should, messy and fun. Were all still changing even as were in a relationship.

@lianneburwell4763

Жыл бұрын

As an asexual, I actively swerve away from books where the description make it clear that the romance is a *major* plot point. Not being interested in romance, it would be nice to find more books without it,

@klausd.6285

Жыл бұрын

That or the drama is the love interest being an abusive pos. And romanace in other fictions just feel forced. At least when it comes to movies and tv shows. I mainly read romance. Which is why I decided to start making a romance story that is also an action story, but it is a romance first. The biggest issue I see with romance, is that people are literally just uncreative and clearly can't think of things that can put stress on the relationship. They just go wtih an abusive love interest, or some times ex, and miscommunication that would not happen in any way in real life. And instead of looking to real life, they just recycle the same crap that is in every romance there is. Money is a massive one that puts relationships to the test. Maybe main character had an ex cheat on them and now are untrusting of their new partner, which will cause stress on the relationship and maybe said partner helps them get over their issue. Someone gets into a tragic accident or gets a dangerous illness and the issues that come up from that, which was done in the TV show Hannibel with that one FBI guy that I can not remember his name and his wife having cancer and her hiding it. There are lots of ways people can be doing romance and what do we get stuck with? Crap. :/

@jyjaeskz

9 ай бұрын

​@@lianneburwell4763I wish there were more asexual main characters in fantasy

I think romances as subplots have the benefit of not needing to follow the rules of a story as much. If the romance is the main plot, you kinda have to introduce some bumps in the relationship to fit a romance into a story structure, and end it on some sort of climactic scene. If the romance is a subplot, it can exist as something that just develops naturally between two characters while they're working on more important stuff.

@ThatOneLadyOverHere

Жыл бұрын

👆 Yes! I have started to get sick of romances because they are everywhere, so I really enjoy subtle romances (or just stories about people in aleeady existing healthy relationships because not many of those exist.)

@apollog7764

Жыл бұрын

I agree. I was thinking of berserk (I won't spoil) but anyone that's read it can attest to how impactful, beautiful and disgusting romance can be portrayed

@pRahvi0

Жыл бұрын

Emphasis on that: _it can exist as something that just_ _1) develops naturally_ _2) while they're working on more important stuff_

@satana8157

Жыл бұрын

I wanted to write the exact comment! Couldn't agree more. Main plot romances are unnecessarily complicated and they have to introduce conflict to make it interesting. But a subplot is where the healthy relationships live.

@wolfco47

Жыл бұрын

I agree completely. I really enjoy a romance that develops naturally due to interactions. It seems like authors are much better about exhibiting healthy relationships when it is not the main focus of the story. They don't over do stupid miscommunications or have various family members objecting for ridiculous reasons. The ex-whatever doesn't come back suddenly after 5 years to interfere. And, authors are seemingly less likely to use the death of a romantic partner for cheap plot progression when it is a subplot. I am totally done with death of a loved one as the motivation for the main protagonist's, story, etc... advancement.

14:23 as a romantic who absolutely HATES the way romance books treat a love story, romance sub-plots literally save me. I can't stand reading something where whether the main characters end up together is the whole point of the book. I want more, much much more, because it feels a lot more realistic. So say, when the main plot is about a magical world and there's something deeper going on, but at some point two characters slowly develop feelings for each other, I eat that up (not in ya smutty fantasy though, I hate that)

@myhobbies7091

Жыл бұрын

Agreed! Totally, if a book has a romantic genre then you obviously know what will happen in the end. Ik a lot of romance books end with sad ending and all, but mostly the purpose of them is to tell the story of a romance between two people. It's waay too obvious for my liking. A fantasy book or a literary mystery book with romance as a subplot is definitely more interesting in my opinion.

@pRahvi0

Жыл бұрын

Be that romantic or non-romantic, I prefer there to be more substance in coexisting with my partner than just simply being together. And the same applies to the couples in the stories I read. While I acnowledge the benefits of someone to share experiences with, I still think those experiences should be worth something to begin with.

@macarenadazasaez4407

Жыл бұрын

Yes! Please can someone recommend some books like this? 🥺

@myhobbies7091

Жыл бұрын

@@macarenadazasaez4407 mistborn series, warbreaker, elantris basically anything by Brandon Sanderson

@shreyapradeep8286

Жыл бұрын

This sums up everything I've ever wanted to say.

I HATE when I review uses “the character was not relatable” as a negative, because whyyyy do you need to have the main character be just like you??

@corneliastreet2491

Жыл бұрын

Use some imagination 😅

@corneliastreet2491

Жыл бұрын

Have some empathy 🎉

@taliw7736

Жыл бұрын

Lol true all people are unique

@taliw7736

Жыл бұрын

@@corneliastreet2491 lol

@Nazoto

Жыл бұрын

I think that relatability is how relatable they are in the decisions they make which are sometimes questionable.

I think 3:22 ‘s argument wasn’t that they want more morally grey characters, but that the people we call morally grey usually aren’t.

@a.r.e.j.1693

Жыл бұрын

This! I agree with that person.

@SuperAgentWashington

Жыл бұрын

Basically yeah, but its fine 🤣

@idiatico

Жыл бұрын

Like a mass murderer who saves a little girl because she looks like his dead sister isn't enough to be morally gray

@assimilater-quicktips

Жыл бұрын

But their first two words were "we need"

@YourBlackLocal

Жыл бұрын

@@assimilater-quicktips and then proceeded to say “Actually morally grey characters” you can’t just single out two words from a sentence and ignore the rest of it.

I actually disagree with you about villains. I feel like Hisoka is a great example of a relatively "simple" villain. Like we literally know nothing about him and we can't sympatize with him either. He has no backstory and no reedeming qualities. Even his motivation is fairly simple. He just spends all his time looking for the next fight. It's literally all he cares about. And yet he's one of the most memorable and fascinating characters in Hunter X Hunter.

@remus4283

Жыл бұрын

He exemplifies how a character doesn't have to be relatable, as long as they're entertaining. The wild card characters that give you anxiety in any scene because no one knows what they want or how they'll react.

@ayajade6683

Жыл бұрын

Not all villains have to be sympathetic they just have to be entertaining and fit their role as a villain.

@SamTheGumMan117

Жыл бұрын

Nothing redeemable what about "The properties of both Rubber and Gum!"

@Demonmack0

Жыл бұрын

@@SamTheGumMan117 OH MY RUBBER NEN

@benjaminwatt2436

Жыл бұрын

While a morally gray character can be great, there is a reason purely evil villain's exist. they reflect the worst of real people. You can find numerous stories of people are do the most heinous things out of pure selfishness and hate. People who no matter what they went through cannot be justified. Take the recent shooters who go into elementary's and kill innocent children if you want an example

It's funny, but if you want a soft-magic feel modern sci-fi is your best bet. Sci-fi is moving away from the "everything must be scientifically explained or feasible" stage while fantasy is moving more toward explaining every aspect of the magic system.

@benjipixel1438

Жыл бұрын

basically they are swapping places! (at least according to Orson scott card's definition)

@sleepysera

Жыл бұрын

I remember 20 years ago or so when I wrote Sci-Fi for the first time, getting called out for it and being told that what I'm writing is "Future Fantasy", not Science Fiction, because it HAS to have clearly laid out scientific explanations for everything. Reading Science Fiction nowadays is like "He pressed a button and shapeshifted into a cat." and I'm like...what 🙃

@samanthaa.6055

Жыл бұрын

@@sleepysera That is hilarious

See if romance is the main plot I know I’m gonna be bored as hell cause that’s never enough to keep me interested. But I almost always love seeing side-plot romances since they can consist of all the best that the romance genre has to offer while not beating me over the head with it and still giving me dragons.

@Yohannai

Жыл бұрын

Side plot romances are the only reason I realized romances could be something I could actually _like_. Main plot romances (especially in YA, where I started seeing them first) are either really fucked up in some way (immortal & teen romance), or enjoy giving awful "problems" for the couples to go through which more than not end up turning into bright red flags that they shouldn't actually be together at all. Side plots though..... you can see friendships and bonds forming, healthy ways of going through difficult patches of life together, ongoing relationships, etc. Its great.

@abigase135

Жыл бұрын

My favorite romances are from books with little to no romance, I also tend to get bored if the book is romance only, give me a brush of a hand before a deadly battle and I'll captain that ship

I would personally argue that we have an over saturation of morally Grey characters and too many complex villains where people go out of their way to give some sort of a reasoning motivation or excuse for why the villain is doing a bad thing. More often than not, it feels like the whole backstory given is just to make us feel like “oh they aren’t really bad, they’re just misunderstood or misguided!“ The problem is, there have been plenty of people in the real world and throughout history who just do bad things because they are bad people. And the statement that simple villains aren’t memorable is, I’m afraid, not true. Everyone remembers maleficent, Cruella Deville, Darth Sidious, Nute Gunray, and many more. People have been taught by literature teachers for decades that only complex characters are good characters and they’ve also been pushed towards this idea that “because people are complicated, you always need to show that there’s a reason for why people do bad things.“ This idea comes from a philosophical idea, to be honest, that people are ultimately good and just do bad things because of bad situations. But that’s not always the case. People are greedy, people are selfish, and people can very much be hedonistic seeking out their own desires no matter the expense. Sometimes people do things that hurt others and they just don’t care. You don’t need to write a villain coming up with justification for why they’re doing bad things or have some complex network of events in their backstory that makes them think that what they’re doing is the only way to live. You can just simply have a backstory where somebody grew up with parents that were overly accommodating and never taught them to reign in their selfishness greed or personal desire. A person raised like that is likely to believe that they shouldn’t have to control those feelings and so they go through life without expressing any empathy for those they hurt while following those desires and that makes a pure evil and/or simple villain. Are real people complex to where you can’t reduce them down to any one thing? Yes. But you can make a simple character that is realistic. If you make them realistic, then there are multiple parts of their personality, but what makes them simple is the fact that what you see is what you get. They can have their own personal interests or hobbies like anybody else. They can have their own personal values and beliefs. But the difference between a complex and a simple character is that a complex character will be multifaceted and layered to the point that you have to dig deeper in order to understand them whereas a simple character will be someone who you understand on face value and there are plenty of people in the real world to fit both. A lot of people are not so easily understood and you do have to put forth the effort to dig deeper to understand what they think and believe. There are other people who are so Earnest and confident that they just display themselves as they are. Either way, the point is that being simple or complex is not the defining trait of a good character and we need to understand that there are people who do bad things just because they want to do that bad thing. There are people who simply think “so what if it’s bad? Why shouldn’t I do it anyway?” These types of villains are those who are dominated by a key personal flaw such as pride, greed, or envy. There are people who haven’t learned to control these vices about themselves and don’t see a need to control those vices.

@NameNotAChannel

Жыл бұрын

Good content... horrible formatting... paragraphs, please.

@sunwukong5518

Жыл бұрын

Who the fuxk remembers Nute Gunray XD

@sleepysera

Жыл бұрын

This. It goes hand in hand with advice I often see: "No one thinks of themselves as a bad guy, so you need to write them in a way that makes it logical for the character to take a morally bad action or allows them to justify it to themselves." And I'm just like....what? Where is this idea even coming from? Lots of people have the self-awareness to know what they are doing is despicable. Heck, half of mental illnesses are tied to an extremely negative self image, of people hating themselves BECAUSE they think of themselves as greedy, lazy, not compassionate, etc. Where did this abstract idea come from that no one sees themselves as the villain?

@nichescenes

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, morally grey has turned into the new edgy...im exaggerating but people tend to like certain ideas or tropes in different eras or times. Thats why im alittle easier on stories that arent "good for out time" or arent "correct" or "don't hold up" since stories take time to produce and even if you release at the zeighist...you were either predicting or lucky or just good lol.

"Get romance out of here, I just want to ride the dragon." - Merphy Napier

Murph: I hate people telling me to wait till the 4th book Also Murph: Finish out chimera ant arc and wait till the second book of First Law. I think these are fair opinions I just found it funny and wanted to poke fun.

@Opsinpelaaja

Жыл бұрын

I noticed the same but difference is between finishing a book or books vs a chapter.

@gregwillams5463

Жыл бұрын

I just finished "Before They are Hanged" I loved it.

@ClayHales

Жыл бұрын

I enjoyed the First Law well enough, but the ending of book 2 really cemented it that I really, really like it.

Gotta disagree. While a complex villain can be fun, I LOVE a villain who's just GLEEFULLY evil for the sake of being evil, and have fun doing Like Jack Nicholson's Joker. Those are the most memorable villains to me.

@rodvincetolosa9386

Жыл бұрын

Joker is different cause he has so much personality. Sure he's just evil but he's fun. But most villains who are evil for being evil's sake is just plain and boring imo, like Sauron and Ozai from ATLA.

@Virgil_Hawkins

Жыл бұрын

not always true, frieza and crocodile are some of the most iconic villains from their series. Frieze’s iconic even beyond dragon ball. People also love Bill cipher from gravity falls or Him from ppg

@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t

Жыл бұрын

@@rodvincetolosa9386 I wouldn't say Sauron needs a personality. He's never *here*, in person in LotR, so he doesn't need one.

@benjipixel1438

Жыл бұрын

@@rodvincetolosa9386 Yall should read silmarillion

@abigase135

Жыл бұрын

Any book recs with those villains?

Joker is "shallow" when it comes to his backstory an motives and he is a enigma. Same for Hisoka in Hunter x Hunter. We don't understand why they are the way they are but the moment they are in the story they take over. And they are great because of the mystery and personality they bring and not their backstory.

@MM-ko1qz

Жыл бұрын

Hisoka don’t need a backstory, adding a backstory to him while take from his charm and mystery

@rasaecnai

Жыл бұрын

I thought Joker's backstory is intentionally obscured by DC?

@tithannisk7470

Жыл бұрын

I wouldn’t say that the Joker or Hisoka are "shallow" but rather tjat we don’t know their depths. But we know - or suspect - that they have a lot of depth. And one of the reasons why we love those villains is that, at least in the back of our minds, we always wonder "what happened to that person to make it that way "

@achimwienzi381

Жыл бұрын

@@tithannisk7470 I put shallow in parenthesis because I dont agree with using shallow. They are written like an Iceberg and under the suface there is a lot of substance we just don't see it and the mistery adds to the character. But if you only go by what you see you could argue that they are shallow and you can't truly understand where they come from. So I Agree with you just wanted to clarify that I'm not really calling them shallow. just implying that by the definition of, understanding a characher and having a backstory is depth they would be shallow.

@achimwienzi381

Жыл бұрын

@@MM-ko1qz true. the mystery around him adds to the tension he brings to every situation he is in.

I think people want simple villains back because they're tired of fans simping for and excusing villains because they have a tragic backstory.

@Cardboard449

Жыл бұрын

It’s probably because those villains look attractive that fans simp for them lol

@shirendjorgee9320

Жыл бұрын

People will still do that if the villains are simple and attractive though. Plenty of older Disney Villains are simped over.

@sandraswan9008

Жыл бұрын

No? People are allowed to simp for whoever they want

@JohnM...

Жыл бұрын

This is a good point. Sometimes, in human behaviour, a psychopath is just a psychopath.

@klausd.6285

Жыл бұрын

I don't think that is the issue. Most people I hear say it's because of the redemption arcs that a lot get and are "getting redemed" over things that no one can ever be redemed for. They all want a Zuko, but Zuko never did anything so bad that it couldn't be forgiven and I think people forget that. Zuko was a good person who was born on the wrong side, but came to realize this later. But instead, we get Vegeta's. (don't know if you know who he is but I will explain things he has done.) Which, Vegeta has killed off planets of people to clean them out and sell, viewed killing as fun, and killed even his friends. To which, we later find out that he works for this big bad guy and if he didn't do all of this, he would of been killed. Even though there are clips of him finding out his home world was destoryed and laughed about it and basically said " good riddance". Nope, all of that gets forgiven because he becomes a dad and suddenly starts working with the good guys for his own self interest. So many villians have gotten this treatment. I don't think people really know what redemption means or understand what actions one could of done and be redemed later. Another issue I see is that the back stories are done in a way to make us feel bad for the villian, rather than just showing us that this was how they became what they became. Instead it is framed in a way that the actions they are doing should just be forgiven because of their up bringing and we should just feel sorry. Rather than still holding them accoutable but then trying to make a change in the world so it doesn't happen to someone else. Could it be due to the fact that people are simping? Maybe a little. But they will do that so long as the villian is hot. Being evil for the sake of being evil won't make them not be simped over if they are attractive.

Totally agree on the maps. It adds to the story and makes it easier to imagine journeys and stuff like that.

Most upvoted comments Sometimes a villain... 1:09 We need morally grey... 3:00 I know prologues... 5:02 We need more books... 6:32 You don't have to finish... 7:53 The idea of "relatability"... 10:45 Healthy relationships in books... 11:44 I love a... 12:16 Romance as a subplot... 13:27 Most recent comments I love Hunter x Hunter... 15:19 I don't think... 17:36 What skill has Joe Abercrombie... 18:10 Merphy loses it over adding extensions... 20:02 Why is this hard... 20:08 Random comments Complex literature... 20:09 Prepare yourself... 21:05 Having a "good" ending... 22:39 Maps... 23:14

I think there should be a button for DNF when you review things. I think it is very valuable to have a review from someone who gave up for the reason you gave. You should be able to click DNF as a review instead of picking a star rating on reviewing sites. Then it doesn't have to count towards the star rating but you get an idea of how many people didn't like it enough to stop reading.

@JonathanMandrake

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I get that DNFs are important for when you consider buying a book, however DNFs shouldn't have a star rating. If there had to be some categorisation similar to stars, I would make it categories like "Not my writing style", "Problematic Content" (for things like torture scenes), "Annoying Tropes", "Boring start", "Overly complicated introduction" and "Personal Disinterest". If you didn't finish it, you can only judge what you have read. So giving it a bad rating is only applicable in a fraction of the DNF reviews. Many others are for for reasons of personal taste, tropes and/or missing content warnings

@bluegreen5377

Жыл бұрын

On StoryGraph there actually is. They also give you the option to say why you didn't like it. On goodreads I just made myself a dnf shelf (the same kind that to-read, read, currently reading are) and just leave the rating empty (I don't think it affects the book's rating).

@rachelreadsandrambles449

Жыл бұрын

@@bluegreen5377 oh really! That's awesome!

@tohrurikku

Жыл бұрын

But if there is no low star all that would be left afterwards would be good reviews and people who are only looking at the final star rating before reading the book would not know that there may be an issue with the book. Low stars give the book a more honest face.

@who_the_fuck_is_riley5813

Жыл бұрын

It's like Howlongtobeat has a retirement rate for games

I absolutely hate reluctant protagonists. They’re in soooo many books, but the reluctant hero usually makes me wanna scream 🙃

When it comes to villains, Merphy makes the same mistake that a lot of people do in thinking that a villain can either be sympathetic OR one-dimensional, and that's just not true. A good villain, like any character, is nuanced. But all that means is that they should have distinct motivations and personalities that change based on the situation. I really like this way of putting it: "the villain doesn't have to be the hero of their own story...but they should be the _protagonist_ of their own story." A great example of this is Agent Smith from The Matrix. Agent Smith is not a sympathetic character. You don't want to see him redeemed, you want to see him defeated. And yet Agent Smith is absolutely a nuanced character! He has clearly defined motivations that sometimes pull him in different directions. We see him be angry, afraid, joyful. Sometimes he's cold and calculated, and sometimes he's filled with blind rage. BUT he's not a sympathetic character because his motivations are completly selfish! He doesn't think that he's morally justified, he couldn't care less! He's only in it for himself, and that makes him an intimidating antagonist. Now you could argue that giving him that kind of nuance does make him a little more sympathetic (he feels trapped in a miserable life, what's more relatable?). But he's not a "misunderstood" good guy. He is a true villain, and I think we could use more of those.

@ErmenBlankenberg

Жыл бұрын

That's a great point and there is a lot of people who don't realize this. Or, more precisely, don't realize you don't have to sympathize with the villain in order to understand them. Which is essentially what you are saying, villain should have discernible motivations and well-rounded personality and act accordingly, so we can understand what are they doing and why. However, that absolutely doesn't mean we have to agree with them or like them.

@Alexa-ts1zy

Жыл бұрын

I agree with you on this. While I love a good analysis of a villain's psyche, I also think that you can have a villain that's just a villain and still have them be an interesting and well-rounded character., they just need defined motivations. Like you said, they don't need to have any redeemable qualities, they don't need to be like, for them to be a good villain (good in the sense of being well-written). I think so many 'villains' these days are just morally grey or claimed to be 'misunderstood' (as much as I love these character types too) that sometimes having a villain just be a villain can be a nice change of pace.

@samauthor342

Жыл бұрын

I heard this somewhere and thought it was interesting: “the only difference between the hero and the villain is that the villain doesn’t change”. I’ve taken that to means they both have goals and motivation and obstacles, but one develops in character and the other chooses not to and stays rigid.

@GrimReader

Жыл бұрын

@@ErmenBlankenberg I think that attitude comes from the environemnt you're in. Booktube and online book culture is skewed to YA where anything semi-different is treated as revolutionary and the idea of villains has to be traced to an understanding of trauma and reasons for their actions. They don't understand that good writing is nuanced and that's what makes characters good not whether you can relate or find them sympathetic.

@peterlustig7336

Жыл бұрын

Missing the point

As a writer, I loved this. Hearing what people like and then comparing it to my own story or asking myself “how would my story change if I applied that” was a fun exercise.

“Let’s focus on the people that just died, can we?” -Merphy Napier, on romance sub-plots

@user-K8T

Жыл бұрын

Me, tearfully about one of my favorite characters in a still-running series: he is, and she was the romantic subplot for 16 books. What more do you want from me?

Actually, using adverbs well and effectively becomes increasingly more frustratingly tedious as more people inform me repeatedly about the bemoanably ridiculous 'adverb rule`. The more that people irksomely complain about my heinous use of adverbs, the more I shall attempt spitefully to slyly slip them in.

With the adverb rule, I think it’s because a lot of adverbial phrases can just become a different verb, unless they’re used in contradiction to what the verb means For example: “She ran fast,” can become “she sprinted,” or “they smiled happily,” can be “they beamed,” Personally, the second options sound better. BUT, adverbs come in useful when you need to describe the opposite of a verb, but still want the basic meaning of the verb there. For example: “she smiled sadly,” does not have the same impact as “she frowned,”. The connotations of “smiled sadly” means that there is still some happiness from “smiled” creating a more bittersweet effect overall. But with “frowned,” it’s more extreme in the negative emotions. These two phrases can’t be used the same way, and therefore here adverbs are really effective.

@NameNotAChannel

Жыл бұрын

Most of the time, I personally prefer adverbial phrases, because... depending on how common the specific verb is, simpler english is generally easier for most people to understand without grabbing a dictionary, or increasing their vocabulary (not a bad thing, but shouldn't necessarily be required for reading a story.) Also also, and and, you can get a lot more specific with adverbial phrases than specific verbs, that can accomplish what you described in your example, as well as more finely detailed levels of intensity and action that most accurately conveys what the writer had in mind.

My story has 3 villains. One is deeper than first expected. One is shallow but forward. The final is... existential. Having 3 seems like it'll be a bit messy, but also explore all those aspects of villainy.

@saadamansayyed

Жыл бұрын

Would love to read it!

@corrinflakes9659

Жыл бұрын

I mean if the second one has fun being evil, that's fine. Xenoblade 1 (because Xenoblade is relevant) is a favourite JRPG story of mine and Metal Face as a sick villain having too much fun stands out as much as "Mechonis's leader" being a badass who has a sympathetic background as the story progresses. Also while acting, especially localized, usually would not guide story. Metal Face has such ham in his role it's spicy.

@primarybufferpanel9939

Жыл бұрын

I've got the same going on in mine. A Kafkaesque beaurocracy, a violent sadistic person who uses vague commands by their superior as an excuse to do what they want, and a ideologue who recognises the flaws in their actions but believes it's a necessary for the greater good. So I absolutely love you're exploration of different types of villainy and the different tactics they might employ or motivations that have. I'd be super interested in a read when it's finished. It doesn't sounds messy at all, if it all makes sense for the world and characters, and the story can flow well with all three I say go for it!

Romance subplots are great imo. Idk it just provides some moments of levity, and if it's not the main plot it's just cute to get some romance sprinkled in there.

5:20 I think the rule they're referring to is that adverbs like "very" can be seen as sloppy/lazy. If you've watched Dead Poet's Society, the example I remember is "a man is not very tired, he is exhausted". Or "said quietly" would be better replaced with "whispered". Basically just that adverbs are a lazy way of modifying one word when there is likely a whole other word that directly means that thing.

@FromTheHipp

Жыл бұрын

thats precisely what he was referring to

@benjisaac

Жыл бұрын

I think this goes out the window when adverbs are used in more like… whimsical books? Like when the narrator’s tone is almost confidential, and they say like “he was already terribly exhausted” terribly gives the exhaustion itself a bit of personality

For the first one, I found myself nodding going 'yeah, yeah!' but then as you were discussing it I realized the thing that I was really having that gut agreement reaction to was my hatred for woobie villains. Villains where the story tries too hard to endear them to you, to get you to sympathize and empathize with them, to the point where I'm questioning why the villain isn't the protagonist, or where I'm just annoyed by how pathetic the villain is, or where it's completely obvious they were created just to have a redemption arc and I'm over here rolling my eyes like 'just get it overwith already so we can MOVE ON'. I'm tired of people writing their villains as the protagonists they actually want to be writing. I want a layered evil character, sure, but I want them to be evil. Like, Umbrage is a good example I think. She's evil on every level, she's a disgusting human being. But she's also so well layered and her reasons for doing what she does mirror actual real life people and real life things that happened in the past and are happening today. She's evil for the desire of control and power, which to me is evil for the sake of evil.' Edit for safety: I'm not against redemption arcs. I'm just tired of poorly written villains who only exist because someone wanted to write a redemption arc without putting in the effort.

@abigase135

Жыл бұрын

I love that you described them as the protagonists authors want and I agree, they should make MCs that morally grey and have the villain as just that

Murphy: Don't tell people that it gets good at book 4. Also Murphy: The plot doesn't really start until book 2!

@jeremyabrahamson2872

Жыл бұрын

To be fair: A plot not kicking in for a period of time doesn't mean the beginning has to be bad. It can still be good while being more episodic or character driven.

@ll-bz8re

Жыл бұрын

Not comparable statements.

@rainhunter5546

Жыл бұрын

Came here to post this

@igaraba

Жыл бұрын

The plot doesn't start until book 2, but book 1 is still really good

I've been getting sick of romances, so side plot romances or the adventures of a healthy couple are things I enjoy a lot.

The prologue thing blows my mind! One of my favourite parts of a new Stormlight Archive book is reading a new perspective of a certain event in every new prologue!

@annmoore321

Жыл бұрын

I was thinking of this too! I’ve never seen prologues in a series written that way before, and it’s so cool!

@darraghflynn4335

Жыл бұрын

@@annmoore321 Right! I love it so much because it’s just so unique! And I just KNOW the prologue for stormlight ten is going to be from gavilars pov. It’s just one of those things in the series that feel predestined, like Shallans final truth being something about accepting herself for who she is.

I like both types of villains, but I do wish there were more menacing, maniacal, evil-because-they're-evil antagonists in modern media. The main example I usually think of is Maleficent. Maleficent from the animated Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite villains of all time, and a lot of that is because of the fantastic presence she gives off like you talked about. She's just bad, and they do such a good job of portraying that. This is also why I was confused by/uninterested in the Angelina Jolie live action movies about her, because I personally don't need a tragic backstory or complex motivations for Maleficent, imo she's just one of the best "pure evil" villains in fiction, and making her "the good guy" just didn't make sense in my book.

@eduardoramirez969

Жыл бұрын

Was just gonna write a similar comment using Maleficent as an example. Seeing someone else got to her as a villain for the sake of being a villain shows it works

@Rand_al-Thorfinn

Жыл бұрын

@@eduardoramirez969 Absolutely!

List of characters with a sentence or two of introduction at the beginning of the book is the best!

@pRahvi0

Жыл бұрын

A character page is useful to consult later during the story if the characters are difficult to remember, which can result from their sheer number of too short time to get to know them.

I love it when books of maps, I love flipping to the map every time a new location is mentioned to see where the characters are and where they may be going.

I think that you will really like Kingdom. It's a war story manga. It's just like every war that have existed, but like no war story that have ever been told

I love evil because they’re evil villains. To me, they’re so entertaining because they’re usually so bombastic. Maleficient in the animated Sleeping Beauty is regarded as one of Disney’s best villains. And a lot of people didn’t like the turn the live action took her for that reason. I think it basically boils down to simple motives can be just as compelling. Some people do evil things because they get a thrill out of hurting other people. And those people absolutely exist.

My favorite villains are the ones that are simple, with little to no character development, who are mostly if not completely evil. The more the story starts adding those things, the less the character feels like a villain and feels more like a person doing bad things. The most poignant example I can think of is from the Dark Knight movie. The Joker is incredibly memorable and most certainly a villain and we know practically nothing about him and he has no redeeming qualities. Constrast that with Two Face, who is also technically a villain, but because we spent so much time with the Harvey Dent version of him, the feeling I'm left with is that of the tragic fate of someone who was trying to do the right thing but circumstances and his own failings drove him away from that path. Both characters are memorable to me, but for entirely different reasons

I so understand the comment about spoilers. Sometimes if I can't get into a book I'll read the last chapter and epilogue. It tells you the ending, yes, but it can tell you a lot about the story without really spoiling much. For me, how you get to the end is the important part. Spoiling that would ruin things. Reading the end first just gives motivation.

@Antenna17701...

Жыл бұрын

And here I thought I was the only one that reads the last chapter first 😂

@kirakoli8813

Жыл бұрын

I usually read the end around 1/4 to 1/3 into the book. I'm just bad at being hold in suspense.

As something of an opposite to the one about needing more meaningful multiple POVs to get invested in, I enjoy it when authors dedicate some chapters to abandoning the protagonists or usual POVs for incidental/episodic characters. Especially with longer works, it helps the story feel like it's not just a world inhabited by the protagonists and set dressing. Some instances of what I mean would be the intermissions between major acts in Stormlight, all the "little people" chapters in The First Law and the Age of Madness (e.g., constantly switching POVs in battle chapters), or those bits early on in Stephen King's "The Stand" with random people's drama ending in someone showing the symptoms.

It's probably an unpopular opinion but I absolutely LOVE waiting for the release of the next book in a serie ! I understand that waiting can be very frustrating, especially when there is a lot a suspens. And though I am not a very patient person I think that having the time to really process what you just read, to imagine theories for the next book, and most of all to get really excited about it makes you enjoy the reading experience sooo much more than if you just read all the books in one go.

@jojosoni

Жыл бұрын

Waiting makes it even more satisfying read/watch. That's why i read one piece weekly. Binge watching is not that much fun as it is being able to dissect chapter weekly and discuss with others

@countvladislausdragulia7414

Жыл бұрын

Thoughts on GRRM? (PS you have the weirdest username i have seen all day. And i was on discord for a couple hours)

@Dr.HooWho

Жыл бұрын

How long do books usually come out?

@boshman11

Жыл бұрын

ever waited on a Walter Moers book? Yeah, you‘ll grow tired.

@jjkthebest

Жыл бұрын

I think it really depends on how long you have to wait. If it's a month, that's fine, but I've been waiting on winds of winter for so long now that I've forgotten how the last book ended.

maps are amazing!!!!!

@Shadow_Shinigami

Жыл бұрын

Geography is everything!

I can go either way with villains. A perfect example of character redemptions done right is Zuko from Avatar and Shutendouji/Anubis from Yoroiden Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors. They struggled and earned their second chances (several in Zuko's case). I like these villain to hero character, but sometime I just need a OG Maleficent 'Mistress of All Evil' without a backstory (I still hate the live action treatment of her) that takes away what made her enjoyable. Disney villains specifically is where I want simplicity back ToT

Definitely agree about villains sometimes an evil person is just an evil person there’s not always some deep dark reason behind they’re crap lol and if I’m supposed to hate you why can’t I just hate you without having to feel sorry for you mid story?? Lol

The DNF one is difficult for me because I simply can't DNF anything. I could read the worst book ever, watch the worst movie ever or play the worst video game ever, but I'll still finish it because I can't leave things unfinished :D. The only things in my life I DNF is food, cause I have a small stomach and in restaurants they usually give me a waaay bigger portion than I can eat. The relatability thing. I feel like people don't really necesseraily want a character that's exactly like themselves, but someone who has at least some attribute they can relate to. For example, if I had to read a book about a rich guy who can have anything he wants and the story is about him having trouble to decide what to buy first, I'd hate that. Why? Because I can't relate to a single thing from that. However, if he was the same guy but his issue would be that he doesn't buy a lot of stuff because he's introverted and is too shy to go buy things, I'd like that a lot more. Cause even though the guy is nothing like me, we are alike in this one thing, therefore I can understand him a little better and I'm more invested in him. I mean it works the same in real life too. You usually befriend people that have something in common with you. If you have nothing in common with this guy, you probably won't really have any relationship. Also I love how Merphy complains about the "just wait until book 4!" thing and then kinda does it herself at 19:10. I know you didn't really mean it that way but I just found it hilarious :D

The adverb rule is that you should say “He shouted” instead of “He said loudly.” People apply it broadly though, which is extremely annoying. The problem usually lay with using a bad verb, and poor adverbs get all the blame. A well used verb-adverb combo is one of the most pleasant things to read.

@robertgronewold3326

Жыл бұрын

The issue here is less what words are chosen, but authors trying actively to not repeat words too much. If you have 'shouted shouted shouted shouted' all in a row, it can lose a bit of the charm of the prose.

@bodine219

Жыл бұрын

So much yes! Verbs are the villains!

Unpopular opinion 1: action/fight scenes in books make me bored (even in thrillers). Unpopular opinion 2: not every well written protagonist must have an ark. They can be same person from start till the end.

@archlectoryarvi2873

Жыл бұрын

Agree with your second opinion. If the protagonist is already super interesting and the story occurs over a short timeframe, I'm perfectly fine with them not really changing at all. I especially like it when instead of an arc where they change, the focus is intead on getting the reader to understand what makes the character what they are; what makes them "tick" so to speak.

@epicmarschmallow5049

Жыл бұрын

Opinion 2 is just objectively correct. If anyone disagrees they probably haven't spent enough time thinking about it

The comment about overly flowery writing reminds me of the writing style of the old pulp stories - writers like Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Arthur Conan Doyle. They wrote very well, but they were also straight to the point.

Unpopular opinion : Long series of books can actually be really great ! I know most people likes the standalones or short series better because long series can be very discouraging...and I agree with that. But when I am invested in a story I love following the plot and characters during many books, I love the growth that you can see from the first to the last book. I feel so much more connected with the story when it last longer, the characters becomes like a second family. And that what I love about reading, finding another home in the book and another family in the characters ❤️

@robertgronewold3326

Жыл бұрын

I think with long series it depends on what sort of story it is. Say with Harry Potter, a long series but each book is sort of semi-self-contained. But when you get huge book series where it's just one single continuous tale, that can be irritating. Feels more like you're reading 400-page chapters than something more unique.

@the_bookish_took5348

Жыл бұрын

The bigger the book and longer the series the better! (At least when it's something that I'm enjoying obvs 😊)

@epicmarschmallow5049

Жыл бұрын

That's not really an unpopular opinion. Most long series are popular; if they weren't they wouldn't have gotten so long

in regards to the first comment: scar & darth vader (b4 the prequels) have been such amazing villains, no matter the lack of backstory. Sometimes less is more.

There's an interesting crossover idea between the concepts you discussed of "villains should be 3 dimensional" and "characters don't have to be relatable". As you pointed out, the villains you can relate to in some degree are far more memorable. Wouldn't the same apply to any other character? Now, there's the complaint that I've seen here and elsewhere that the character doesn't have to be exactly like you. And that's also true. But "relatable" doesn't mean "exactly like you." According to Oxford Dictionaries (I know that using dictionaries is an unpopular practice these days) it means "enabling a person to feel they can relate to someone or something" and relate means "feel sympathy with; identify with." So on the one side, I'd say that stories and characters need to be relatable in order to grab the reader's interest. But on the other side there is also the fact that people who too often can't "identify" with a character or story are simply expressing a weakness in themselves that they can't sympathize or identify unless something is exactly like them. So it's a kind of bigger subject really.

I love these videos. So much fun hearing people’s hot takes AND Merphy’s reactions to them.

As someone who makes maps for fantasy books, thank you for loving them!

Merphy: "One of my biggest pet peeves is talking animals." Also Merphy: "HxH's Chimera Ant arc is nearly flawless!" 😂

Merphy video to start the day 🔥

I think a trend that the first opinion is referring too is sometimes a tragic backstory feels shoehorned into the story because it's just expected to be there AND I think often times it's done in ways that try to make the villain more sympathetic, and there's nothing inherently wrong with sympathetic villains but you often get some dissonance if the villain has done some particularly heinous things but is still portrayed sympathetically, there are certain actions where I feel like no tragic backstory should be attempting to emotionally manipulate you into feeling sorry for someone so monstrous

The Joker in The Dark Knight is the perfect epitome of an unknown backstory for an infamous villain. All that needs to be said of him is “some men just want to watch the world burn,” and his lack of motivation ultimately teaches something to the protagonist. In Batman Begins, Bruce believes that criminals aren’t complicated, they are reduced to weak motivations of selfish desire. Whereas the joker is all about sending a message. He is the opposite symbol to the Batman, a lesson for him to learn, and the ultimate obstacle of the trilogy.

"No Adverbs" refers, I believe, to modifiers or descriptors attached to actions--carrying someone lovingly, or lifting an object tiredly. It's just clunkier prose a lot of times, so English teachers don't bother to teach a lot of kids the nuances of when to use it, and just go "none, until you're more experienced." The rule has a place, but it isn't perfect.

@saadamansayyed

Жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@AnyMEmdq

Жыл бұрын

That sucks

@15nicinho

Жыл бұрын

She also used adjectives in her examples lol

@kenfreeman845

Жыл бұрын

A lot of times the problem lies in that the chosen adverb adds nothing to the sentence. "Quickly ran" is unnecessary as the "quickly" can be inferred. If you say "clumsily ran", the addition of "clumsily" adds more context to the sentence and is pefectly acceptable.

@TheRenegade...

Жыл бұрын

@@kenfreeman845 There's also the factor of using a word that means running but quicker, like sprint

7:52 I agree with this up to a point. I read a review of way of kings where they were complaining that not all their questions about the magic system or spren and stuff where awnsered. Or they wanted Fabrials to play a bigger role. Had they continued reading they would've gotten their awnsers. I dont think its fair to complain about unsolved mysteries in a 10 book series when you stop at the first book.

I feel like relatability is more about relating to some aspects of a character's life, struggles, ambitions, thoughts, fears, morals, emotions... even if they are completely different from you, seeing some part of the human experience we all share in the characters we read than it is about seeing yourself in them.

@mekinot

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely agree with you definition of relatability, but I wonder if the person who wrote the unpopular opinion was talking about the "blank slate" characters that some authors make so readers can identify themselves with the character. I hate those, but I think that's a different can of worms from relatability.

@xXSamir44Xx

Жыл бұрын

I would still disagree. Characters I have very little or absolutely nothing in common with often turn out to be the most interesting.

I wish authors would diversify their subplots. Most authors SEEM TO always go to a romantic subplot, which often takes over the entire narrative, but there are so many that could be utilized instead. The Haunting of Hill house show and the Danganronpa games and shows are great examples that use other types of subplots to complement the narrative. They were less conventional and less predictable, and I enjoyed the media far more as a result.

@Frogface91

Жыл бұрын

What were the subplots in the examples you mentioned?

@samkathryn4825

Жыл бұрын

@@Frogface91 The Haunting of Hill House show is a horror show about a family coping with having lived in a haunted house while they were younger. The episodes switch back and forth. I’m about half of them, the horror and mystery are the main plot while the present day family drama is the subplot , while in others it is reversed. Generally, the siblings’ relationships with people other than each other are subplots. Steven had a subplot with his estranged wife, with the reason for their imminent separation hinted at throughout the season while often in the background. Shirley’s husband is keeping a secret, etc. Each sibling had a different subplot that worked well with their character (their individual episodes were kind of sub genres of horror). Danganronpa is a whodunnit with smaller mysteries leading up to the main one. Each “chapter” has a different subplot. They focus most heavily on the murder, but there are other elements and side plots. For the first one, chapter one has a romantic subplot, chapter two is more slice of life with the main character witnessing the other characters forming friendships and rivalries, the third chapter’s subplot is kind of science fiction with a heavy focus on the trauma of the characters. Chapter four is a tragedy, with the subplots being the protagonist’s closest friend/love interest icing him out and the tentative friendship and peace of the other students fracturing. Chapter five is a mystery with a thriller-like subplot. Chapter Sux completely focuses on the mystery. Each game follows a similar formula while switching up the subplots.

@Frogface91

Жыл бұрын

@@samkathryn4825 Thanks for replying!

Honestly, the fact that the ending of a book can make me love a story I hated or hate a story I loved tells me it must matter more to me than the actual story. An ending can really change EVERYTHING. When a book I was really enjoying has a terrible ending I won't recommend it, even if the ending was a few pages out of hundreds. 😬

@grace4683

Жыл бұрын

Same!!

❤️❤️❤️ here for the awesome content and golden replies from Merph about unpopular opinions. 👌 love it

Gosh dang it missed out again!!! Kidding I'm not fussed lol awesome video, hope all is well.

The ONLY thing that bothers me about DNF reviews is when the reviewer complains that the author never explains this or that character or plot point. In most instances I’ve seen, the author did, the reviewer just didn’t get to that point. DNFing and then telling others why you DNFed is fine, up until you end up misrepresenting the book because you just didn’t read far enough. (Thinking of one instance in particular where the person gave a one star review, every single criticism was “the author never explains such and such,” and then when rightfully confused people pushed back and said “wait, all those questions were answered, did you actually read it?” The person finally added a comment that they DNFed.) Basically, it comes down to the review not feeling like fair criticism because the criticism they have is factually inaccurate.

@octo448

Жыл бұрын

This. I think a DNF review is fine, even giving it a low star is fine, as long as you don't make assertions about the part you didn't read. The beginning is part of the book too and if it was bad enough or uninteresting enough to DNF then I think a rating is fair, but you should be up front that you DNF and should speak only from the perspective you actually have.

@Chofer944

Жыл бұрын

I do agree that a reviewer should state straight-up if they DNF’d, though to this particular point I would potentially argue that the author did not do a good enough job of foreshadowing or promising answers. Mystery is good and should drive the reader to want to know more, but mystery for mystery’s sake leads to frustration. However, each to their own, and different readers have different thresholds for how much mystery is too much.

I need to see the bad guys win and the story ends there

@lolroflundxd

Жыл бұрын

Is that actually something you want, or do you just think you want it? :D So have you put it to the test? Is there a book or film where that's the case and you enjoyed it?

@kagisoserala5861

Жыл бұрын

@@lolroflundxd 😂 I've never seen it happen but I would like to experience it at least once, ryt now I'm reading Attack on Titan and I want my boy Eran to win... will that make me happy ? I think so. Will that finish off the manga well ? Nah.

I liked this, and you did this for several, it but I think a great addition is to give examples that prove the point (when possible - and the opinion-giver might already be thinking of these) but also examples that are exceptions (when possible).

I love looking at the maps in a book!! They are so interesting!!

"Dont judge a book by its cover" !! This is something I live by. Its wild that people actually do judge. Some of my favorite books I ever read were just random pickups I made at the library. Totally just a weird book with a worn off cover but inside...it was a treasure.

@setitheredcap2677

Жыл бұрын

A lot of new, self published authors, create their own awful covers, and it gives the impression the writing inside will be as equally unrefined.

@robertgronewold3326

Жыл бұрын

There is a difference between a 'bland' cover and a truly atrocious one.

While the Chimera Ant arc is great, I can see why some people take issue with it. It’s quite a deviation from the arcs beforehand. It kind of exemplifies Togashi’s ability to just kinda say “Okay I’m gonna do this now and I’ll figure out how to tie it into the other stuff” And, despite it being a master-crafted story, it takes practically a third to a half of the series. Which I feel like led to some things being given a little less than they could have

Love the opinion that it's okay to read spoilers, then decide one way or another on finishing something. Yes!

I feel so offended by your LACK of sarcasm. 😁😁😁😉 Love your videos. Keep up the good work!!

If I’m well into a book when I get bored with it (and especially if it seems predictable) I might turn to the back and read the last chapter. If it surprises me I may go back and finish the book just to see how the author got there. I’m 72. Life is too short to finish things you aren’t enjoying.

@Yohannai

Жыл бұрын

I've done something similar since I was a kid. I usually read the last page and if that makes me curious I'll either continue reading backwards until I'm convinced to continue the story, or satisfied to know the ending and not care enough to continue the book. Only very rarely have I been burned by this, and usually it gives me a twist ending because I didn't actually understand understand what happened at the end, so I go through it expecting one outcome and see it spun on its heels. There's only so much time any of us has to read, may as well spend it with a book that's worth it for you.

Regarding spoilers: I avoid them like the plague! Yet I reread books all the time and usually enjoy them most on the later readings 😂😂 Why am I like this?

I LIKE info dumps sometimes. Especially about the history of a magical or sci-fi world

The rage and ranges of your voice when you read that map comment LOL I couldn't agree more Merphy

I wonder whether the relatable part is a mix up with being unable to get invested in a character for some reason and calling it unrelatable? I cannot relate to a dragon rider or a soldier with PTSD, but get invested. Still, there are certainly personality traits that will make it impossible for me get invested in a MC and as a result drop the book. For example, there are very few MCs with anger issues that I can get invested in and I have dropped books because of it even when I can actually relate to and empathize with the anger issues

@ashleymartin8093

Жыл бұрын

What about anger issues makes you dislike a book/character? I'm writing a book with one such character so I'm curious :)

@pietersleijpen3662

Жыл бұрын

@@ashleymartin8093 Mostly personal taste, but it is not helped by the fact that it is often used as an easy way to make a character appear flawed. It is relatively easy to recognize situations that would irritate somebody and an exaggerated angry reaction is also easy to spot by the reader. So it often feels like lazy writing.

@ashleymartin8093

Жыл бұрын

@@pietersleijpen3662 that makes sense. My character's anger issues are rooted in trying to bottle up her emotions and keep people at a distance so it mostly stems from frustration and not really knowing how to express herself. I didn't like my character at first cause she felt too one-dimensional like anger was her only trait but I feel like she's a lot better now. What would make you more invested in a character with anger issues? :)

I agree with the commenter about the HxH Chimera Ant arc. I didn't like so many of the characters in that arc and I felt it drag on. I greatly prefer the Yorknew and Greed Island arcs.

Lol Merphy flipping back to the map to figure out where people are going is literally me; currently working on the Wheel of Time and I can spend a good five minutes trying to find some random city on the map

In Star Wars, Emperor Palpatine is a great villain. I never needed to know his back story.

I thought I liked simple prose because I hated flowery writings. But then I read Sanderson and I found the prose somewhat lacking. So, in the end, I'm just a really picky reader who wants simple but still pretty prose.

@user-rq7jn9ce9i

Жыл бұрын

Short, to the point, but meaningful and impactful at the same time.

"I just want to read a book where someone rides a dragon." Actually I don't think I've read one of those since Pern/Eragon in grade school and Temeraire six years ago, so I think I would like to know about more books involving cool dragons (riding or otherwise).

I came to this channel a while ago because I wanted to get into fantasy and needed some recommendations. I've found that your recommendations suit me pretty well, I've loved first law. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you loved one piece and hunter x hunter, two series that I've been following for the last 7 years or so. I want to recommend the manga goodnight punpun. I finished it about two years ago and I felt like my heart was thrown into a washing machine, there's really nothing like it.

my opinions (don't know if they're unpopular but whatever): 1. I actually enjoy books with the "chosen one" trope. They can be really interesting if done correctly. I know its really overdone, but still I find it cool to see all the powers and abilities of the protagonist. 2. I like it when my favorite characters die or suffer, because then I share the trauma and grief of the other characters and can grow closer to them because of that. 3. Show don't tell is a really good tip, but authors don't always have to show. Some stories do good with a lot of purposeful telling to convey that the characters aren't exactly telling the truth about their abilities. It also makes things so much less complicated if you tell a little while still having plenty of showing. 4. If the first few books aren't my favorites but are bearable I'll keep reading. I did that with The Unwanteds and the last three books were amazing the others were fine just a little boring. But I consider it one of my favorite series just for those last three books 5. Okay I'm kinda scared to write this, because this is REALLY contreversial and I'm sure so many people are going to hate me but here goes (also this isn't a book unpopular opinion, its a show one): Avatar The Last Airbender is slightly overrated in my eyes. Don't get me wrong, its still really good. But I had trouble getting through it because it had a lot of filler episodes and it was a little young in my opinion. Still an amazing show with amazing characters but it didn't capture my interest as much as The Dragon Prince or Arcane

I definitely agree with the "tell, don't show" person. Just tell me the thing you want to tell me. Don't make me decipher your meaning from five pages worth of poetry.

@benjaminwatt2436

Жыл бұрын

Everyone agrees with it, it is the most regurgitated comment in the reading community right now. how did it end up on the list

@jeanlucas2592

Жыл бұрын

I only agree if it's something that's not THAT important, so there's no need to dwell on it so hard

@billyalarie929

Жыл бұрын

I don’t know if it’s so much about poetry or flowery language, it’s more when you’re describing the way something feels, looks, etc., in such a granular way that I have no idea what you’re talking about. OR if it’s something I’ve never heard of bc I haven’t read up on that much historical nonfiction do I don’t know what that weapon is, or I’ve never been to this country so the analogue to represent the thing in your fictional land goes way over my head. What is a “cairn”?????? Can’t you just say it like we do today please. :(

@mr.e7541

Жыл бұрын

Show don't tell, means describe, paint a picture in their mind. Don't just tell them.

@Colaman112

Жыл бұрын

@@mr.e7541 I prefer just simply being told that a guy was angry instead of reading a paragraph about them stomping their feet or a description of the shade of red their face is.

I never really understood why some stories clicked with me while others didn't, that was until I watched Act Man's Halo Reach videos. Halo Reach is one of my favorite stories of all time and it was hard to put into words why, but he did it perfectly. Reach is a plot and setting-driven story. We don't spend 10 hours learning the favorite colors and deep emotional backstory of each character, instead we get the bare bones of who they are through their designs and introduction dialogue, and then we're off to the races! The main cast is on the back foot through the entire story, just reacting to the ever-changing situation, and we get all of the characterization we need through how they react. All of this goes to say that I am not a fan of many character-driven stories. If you leave a character in isolation they will be very unlikely to really "do" anything for a very long time. This is why I've dropped The Blade Itself three times already. The characters are fine, but there's no big hook for me to latch onto, only a vague threat of an invasion happening at some point in the future. To add to something else mentioned in this video, I would have dropped the Stormlight Archive almost immediately if we DIDN'T have the prologue with Gavilar's murder. The inciting incident gave me something to latch onto immediately and provided context for why everything was already in chaos when the book proper begins.

18:15 Merphy: …but other than that, just give me a good- Commercial: Raguúúúúúúú! I am entertained by the simple things.

...but Sauron is memorable. Wanting to know more about him is the hook.

See, the Villains that stick with me are the ones who completely go against everything I relate to and/or understand. So hard disagree. I am far more fascinated with what I don’t understand than what is “relatable” or “complex” as you put it.

There are many great morally grey characters in Arcane!

popular opinion: Merphy, i freakin love you!! and love your videos!

The prologue to Wheel of Time is one of the greatest chapters ever written. Even as i read it first and didnt fully understand it, the ending of lews therin killing himself just seemed so cool to me.

Griffith alone proves Merphy’s point about villains to me

Hisoka is a relatively simple villain. We get to know about so many of the other characters and yet nothing of his backstory. But we all know his goal. And its to do anything to get into *that* next battle. And yet I argue he’s one of the most entertaining characters. He’s a good example of how a character can be written entertainingly enough to not need a complicated backstory or much of one at all. Similar to the joker even tho he’s since then had noncanon ones. Plus Hisoka may get one in the near future which excites meZ

i'm just here to spread love for the dinosaur stickers

Could not agree more with the first one and the relatability one!

'Snowy' and 'cloudy' are adjectives, not adverbs. I have heard a "rule" that says not to use adjectives, but I've never understood its rationale. I've never heard a rule not to use adverbs, but there's probably also a rule that says not to use nouns.

@henrywayne5724

Жыл бұрын

How do you NOT use nouns?!😂

@benjaminwatt2436

Жыл бұрын

The rule for adjectives is do not use them in excess, not do not use them at all. it can be annoying like consider: the bubbly, giggly, funny, silly girl walked in the room. too many adjectives, just one of those would get the point across

@michaelsommers2356

Жыл бұрын

@@henrywayne5724 It was a joke. Although I understand that classical Chinese didn't use them.

Maps: they're the best thing in a fantasy book, come on! Romance subs: I actually like them, it is part of life afterall, so why shouldn't these characters get some too Simple villains: sometimes people are just assholes, you know, and that's fine I think Prologues: I actually agree with the person who dislikes them, they bore me and usually I don't care

I agree with the map comment. Sometimes I just want to read a story instead of trying to puzzle out where they currently on the map, the roads they are traveling on, etc.

The thing that got me the most excited about during the latest One Piece chapter was the addition of a compass with the picture of Wano and surrounding islands. This led to the discovery of how the world is set, what directions the Grand Line is going, and let some people (who are much smarter than I am) make a rudimentary world map for the series. Either give me maps for every series, or make the map reveal a big point. I love maps and I want more.