when you said "backup your work"- i swear. my body seized up. i sat there for a good five minutes just yelling the word "NO" over and over and over, every time getting louder and more desperate. my heart calls for you, Mik, im am so so sorry this happened to you. i could feel the anguish in every fibre of my body, and i am *sure* it still does not come close to how you felt. ...for the first time in my life im actually glad i write on wattpad lmao

Thanks for being sooooo real! 🤍

💚I've learned about so many tropes! What a fun video. Can't wait for the podcast 🎤

I've been binging your content since yesterday 😂 your girl is turning 31 next month and I've always been a hobbyist writer, but I've been loving your content cause you have all the college knowledge and it's pretty fabulous 🤩

8:57 yessss!!! i know hallmark movies are cheesy but watching them makes me so happy and nostalgic, especially around christmas! I'M HOLLERING 10:56 CALL HIM JIM LOL okay i'm done, this was such a fun video to watch (^: enjoyed it!!

"Never say Mate to me again"... me, an Australian: you're gonna hate me, mate.

this is so helpful!! i've been wanting to work more on my sub plots because i only had vague ideas of what they're going to be (especially in the fun and games section... i also struggle with that one so so much), but i didn't really know how to go about it. your video makes it seem super manageable tho! i'm really excited to go work on my project now :)

yes!! i think the tropification of books just grossly oversimplified them. i read Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart because it was recommended by another book content creator i enjoy. however, after reading the book (which i quite enjoyed) i looked it up again for some discussion and saw it was being recommended by others as a “gay romeo and juliet/forbidden lovers”. i was bewildered that that was what it kept getting called. there is a queer romance in the story, but it did not feel like the main focus of it at all. it was very much about a sensitive boy who doesn’t fit in to his surroundings amid scottish class struggles and religious tensions following thatcherism. the MC is definitely living a queer kid/self discovery experience in 90s Scotland, but i thought that was more of focus than the romance that occurs. also, sexual assault/domestic violence/violation of young people is very prevalent in this story too, which was not being noted by these “forbidden love” recommendations. bogging down such a nuanced story into “gay forbidden love” is sooo misleading and completely ignores what i felt, as a queer person, were the more important parts of the story and what it was saying. tldr; the kid navigating his queer awakening and identity is important and adds to the story, but i didn’t feel like Young Mungo could be neatly classified as a gay forbidden love story.

I love dumb tropes that lead into other tropes. You could have insta love, but then just as quickly separate them. Set them on life changing journeys, with both still thinking about the other through it all. Bring them back together with their new experiences and perspectives and the possibilities are endless. Enemies to lover? Friends to lover? love triangle? slow burn? There's nothing you can't do with it.

Looking forward to the podcast x

You being a Grishaverse fan really shines through. Love that.

Since listening to your video a week ago, I have developed a complete plot which I had never done before! The program you use also really helped me structure my ideas! Now, I just need to create a writing routine and I feel like for the first time I'm going to be able to write my novel! A huge thank you!🤍 I am truly grateful! I'm looking forward to reading your novel! 🤗

This was really fun to watch but our reading taste are soooo different lmao 😭

Oh I am putting a notification in my calendar for the 23rd! I cant wait! Loved the video, mik 🤍

not you waving at your FBI agent 😭 (I also worry sometimes at my google searches)

the funniest thing to me about many of these romantic tropes is they're literally just fanfiction tags.

💚

💚 Mik that’s so awesome, I cannot wait to listen! And also thank you so much for saying it, fated mates 👎 haha I love some Maas but man I hate that trope!

💚so excited for the special project!! you have such a nice voice too so it's perfect :)

💚 congratulations on your upcoming project!! I’m so excited! (I joined your channel last month, and I’m already liking it so much 👌🏼) As for the tropes, the story I’m writing now (still draft1, but did most of the outline 🙏🏼), has these tropes, while I’m still trying to figure out how to nail them right, (who did this to you, Revenge, Found family, grumpyXsunshine, royal, friends to lovers -not so sure if that’s how mine would call 🤣-)

Omg a podcast?!? I’m so excited!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE PODCAST! ❤

Finally, a trope ranking and trope overview video I actually 100% agree with. 👍🏼 Also, sooo excited for the podcast!

💚 I am so excited about this new project 🎉 I can’t wait 😊

just a fun lil video on ranking tropes 🥰 enjoy! don't forget to stay until the end for the special announcement about the super secret project 👀👀👀

I so agree with you when you said because tropes are so used now in marketing that they try to fit the books into them even when it doesn't work. One example of that for me would be Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. People talk about it as if it's rivals to lovers, but it really isn't? In my opinion, of course. They are work rivals in that they're competing for the same position, and thus the title makes sense, but I wouldn't include that book under that trope because when I think of rivals to lovers, I think of two characters who try to one-up each other constantly and compete with some regularity. So when I read that book and they were just a bit snarky to each other I definitely felt like people had deceived me a bit :P (still liked the book, though). Not everything has to fit into a trope and that's okay.

Another great deep dive, Mik! ❤

I hope that you do this again! I had to miss only because I had a big Costco run planned with someone else today, but most days being a SAHM this time would be great for me to get a couple of sprints in lol I usually miss lives in the evenings because it’s dinner time/bedtime! And we are the same, I have a whole Milanote set up for my story and characters and it looks so good but I always use my little thin notebooks for everything. I have to write everything down. I also have a big 11 x 16 hardback sketchbook that I write my outline and timeline on and just prop it up on my desk so that I can see it all the time.

I watched the video by Sam too

New subscriber! You won me over with your Q&A. I relate so much to your answers. Sometimes I wish I didn’t want it so bad. But here we are writers, with a passion to write. 😊 Can’t stop. Won’t stop. 😂

you always know what videos i need 😌i'm on the fence about making my debut novel into a series, but this is exactly what i need to decide. thank you professor mik ✨

This encouraged me to sit my ass down and get writing my dogshit first draft

Omg Mik this was amazing!! I took so many valuable notes and takeaways. I saved this video til I had the time and tools to take proper notes on it, which was sadly only now. Your effort and thought that goes into each video is really appreciated, and I always can't wait to click on a video when I see it's yours <3

Good video, but I disagree on your 4 book structure. The three act structure clean divides into 4 quarters. So, the a quartet-series would have this structure: Book 1 (Act 1), Book 2 (Act 2A), Book 3 (Act 2B), and Book 4 (Act 3). Each quarter has it's own "flavor" so it doesn't make sense that Book 2 would straddle both Act 1 & 2 when it doesn't have to. It can be much better divided cleanly down the quarter line.

My series is 20+ books long and I’m stressssssed lmao I wish I had a huge empty wall because I would put it all up there

Using this, How would you organize a seven book series like Harry Potter or 12 book series or 20 book series??

hey mik! could you make a video in the same style, but covering series of books that deal with different couples? I'm afraid of writing a series like this and not being consistent with the timeline or conflicts, even individual ones. I'm afraid, because I've read several series like this and I've been disappointed throughout the books, because previous characters (who already have their books) don't seem to act in accordance with the personality previously imposed on them.

There’s also the option of more standalone style series, like most romance and cozy mystery series, where there’s not really an overarching story but all these little stories happen in a larger universe.