LET’S DEBATE: AuthorTube Is BAD😡 Books should be RATED!🚶‍♂️

You drop spicey takes on the fantasy genre, I SMACK them down with the force of like 1 or two suns.
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[@DanielGreeneReviews]

What topic would you like to focus on next time??

[@albertcespedes411]

Anime and videogames

[@leaodd]

Maybe an episode dedicated to non-english/American literature? Though I'm not so sure how well that'd fit in the "lets debate" format

[@alexm-e4910]

Most books can be more efficiently adapted into mini series than movies 🤔

[@bethanygreenwood8259]

I like the ambiguous theme... You never lack for true hot takes! 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@kerneywilliams632]

What authors do you cover and don't, for example Naomi Novik (two great Poland based novels and writes great sex scenes btw) and Seanan Macguire/Mira Grant are two you don't cover. I think it comes down to your taste, but you thinking about your taste would be interesting.

[@BirdMorphingOne]

Daniel Greene- “upvote controversial opinions, not ones you agree with” Daniel Greene in video- “I can’t believe hundreds of people agree with this statement”

[@southpaw612]

Ikr 😂

[@DeathBringerBecky]

i mean people seem to only half do that

[@maxcook3756]

I think what’s happened is Daniel accepted the like = agree, at the same time the fans took his advice. Funny that

[@fadedpages]

yeah i only upvoted the rewriting books one because it was spicy not because I agreed lol I feel misunderstood

[@RuthieDR89]

I actually had to go back to the post after i started watching the video thinking i had misunderstood it 😅

[@TheZak6969]

The one about rewriting books was seriously spicy. Made me put down my tools at work and think about it lol.

[@TheMetalHeadbangger]

Big Studios wont ever do something like that they gotta make money. In Order something new to Come it has to start out small. I dont know why but jojo comes to mind or berserk.

[@thebkg]

ZACHARY Get Back to Work ya Lazy Bum!! J/K dude. I couldn't help myself! 😂

[@bagelwbutter9605]

Zachary dude same. I came to the conclusion that authors should be able to freely criticize their own work. If In a future the author says he would of changed something, he should be able to, but as far as actually remaking or rewriting goes, not only is it hard to market, but idk it feels like your cheating the fans of letting the fans dictate your work. Idk, it’s like what Daniel said about the canvas. You can’t erase what’s on it.

[@vidarfe]

If an artist wants to create a new version of their work, they have all possible rights to do so.

[@willforlife_]

If it really needs a rewrite ya, malazan comes to mind, wheel of Time as well with what I hear of the slog

[@ram666zy]

Daniel Greene : "don't do a romance do familial" I think both is fine. * Sweet home Alabama starts playing *

[@Charistoph]

Well, a family has got to start from somewhere...

[@katastrophic3907]

Beat me to it!

[@ruthiecoltrane6640]

🤣

[@Skreenamesux]

Roll tide!

[@Brindlebrother]

* Where the skies are so bluueee *

[@brianwillson7373]

When an author writes a bad book in a series they should go back and revise it with a 2.0 release.

[@fancyskull1667]

Does that mean Terry Goodkind should rewrite his entire career?

[@willhowardlokoartyui]

@@fancyskull1667 Yes.

[@kze2076]

Fancy Skull That would imply he would improve it.

[@Jellybeansatdusk]

I definitely don’t like the idea of this because people get sooooooo mad when authors retcon things retroactively. Also, denouncing a book in a series that you as an author wrote can rub fans of that book the wrong way, as though you’re questioning their taste and thus their love of your writing. Furthermore, I think that shows admittance that you wrote something you think is bad. You wrote it, but decided to release it anyway. If you go back and rewrite it, that’s opening yourself up to tons of criticism in terms of why you allowed it to be written that way and then released without fixing the problems you had with it. If you weren’t proud of it, why did you release it? Money? Now you have millions of people calling you money-driven as though they don’t need to work to live.

[@lordblenkinsopp1537]

Yes, when people say “European Medieval fantasy is overdone” they tend to mean English and French inspired. I think a Medieval Era that is EXTREMELY underrepresented and that should be written more (with proper research) is Middle Eastern inspired Medieval fantasy. I’m both English and Egyptian, so I have a connection to both things. Also, thanks Daniel for putting in my hot take!

[@MagnaGresh]

Weeeeeellllll the middle east wasn't exactly nice to the Eastern Europe in the medieval period (see the Ottomans vs balkans, romanian prestates, hungary, serbia and so on.) so I can understand why writers with a drop of historical knowledge want to steer clear of that, but still... it would be nice to have some fantasy drawn from there as well.

[@lordblenkinsopp1537]

MikeK first off, those were Turks. The Ottomans, to be specific. Don’t say “the Middle East did that” as the Middle East isn’t a country. Secondly people seem to not realize that many people from the Balkans actually supported and fought alongside the Ottomans, especially the Serbs. Thirdly, how the hell do Ottoman actions in the Balkans cause writers to not want to write fantasy based on the Middle East? That is illogical. And lastly, though connected to my previous points, when I thought of Medieval Middle Eastern fantasy I was thinking more like Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine region

[@robertblume2951]

Dread Empire and Tyranny of Night by Glenn Cook both have Middle Eastern inspired settings.

[@SusanHorak]

I’m more interested in fantasy based off of Ancient Egypt preferably New Kingdom or earlier. Other than historical fiction I think I only found The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan with the Egyptian Gods interacting with modern times.

[@JamesCarter1998]

The Daeveabad trilogy is awesome and middle eastern inspired

[@sonnichjakobsen5329]

"You can't go back and take two a canvas" You can, and it's pretty normal. Mona Lisa is a take two (at least) on a canvas. It seems like the only artform were take two's are frowned upon have to do with storytelling.

[@evan-moore22]

Great point! In literature, it was very common through the ancient and medieval world for an author to re-write a work. The Odyssey was oral, and therefore slightly different every time it was performed. We don't even know if the version that got written was the best one! Haha. The medieval epic Vision of Piers Plowman has at least 3 totally different versions, and each of the 50 or so manuscripts that exist for it are slightly different in spelling and diction. Also Stephen King released an edited version of The Gunslinger and an uncut version of The Stand. There is plenty of precedent for having multiple versions of the same book.

[@whoreforlore4878]

I'm a year late but this reminds me of how a lot of Chinese novels (and a couple donghuas) I own are rewritten. Usually when such franchises are brought up in conversation, you are first asked "which edition do you like?" and from there it becomes its own topic of why you preferred that specific edition. It's not really thought of as cheating or taking away from the initial intent. A more familiar example would be how some animes will be redone in order to please the fans, the most prominant example being Fullmetal Alchemist and how most prefer Brotherhood while others prefer the original. I see it as no different than if a manga author wrote 35 chapters of a series then decided to redraw the first 10 chapters to update the art. Basically game remasters if you will.

[@bbthrashcan4857]

Regarding authors writing sex, as a person who tries to read a lot of romance I can safely say that the genre it's full of terrible sex scenes.

[@MagnaGresh]

Oh yes. "He plunged through her garden of purity, filling it to the brim." - Some romance novel published around 2018 whose title I forgot because it was that bad.

[@shahiranzaman2259]

MikeK I want that on my tombstone

[@titaniumtomato7247]

I’ve only ever read one sex scene that didn’t make me want to curl up and it was the end of The God of Small Things

[@inkterp5322]

this is why i will never ever include a sex scene in my book that i am trying and sometimes failing to write :)

[@alansmithee419]

I believe all of these should be cut off before they start. If two characters need to f*** it should be made clear that that's what they're about to do, and then it should move on to something else, only coming back to them afterwards/the next day or whatever. The scene itself is completely unneeded. An example of this is in Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (spoilers). It just says something like "She [Siri] knew what to do" and then the chapter ends. We don't see either character involved again until the next day. Though Susebron is incredibly sheltered, and doesn't seem to understand what's going on, so I'm not sure what that reflects in the way of Siri's morality.

[@alexanderwheeler3943]

Most people: We need more friendships and family-like relationships, not every relationship has to be romantic. Also most people any time two characters have a moment: I SHIP IT!

[@havewissmart9602]

Yah I seriously hate that a lot. This gets especially disgusting when they ship real life people who are friends when the individuals may already be MARRIED.

[@hcstubbs3290]

I feel like the term I ship it doesn't necassarily mean romantically. There's plenty of pairings where I say that and mean it platonically. I may just be weird though.

[@revpembroke3082]

*Cough cough Supernatural cough*

[@Cat-fz1uu]

The warning thing is especially weird because things like comics, manga, graphic novels, and fanfiction all say when there's explicit content (some even go as far as having content warnings) so why the heck don't books?

[@bubblewrapstargirl]

Cause its fucking dumb. Content warnings only serve to stop people from even giving the narrative a chance to surprise them. Lots of people say they were put off reading Prince of Thorns, cause of its dark af themes. But a lot of that is off screen, and those that eventually read it said they were pleasantly surprised. Me, I read it cause I wanted something dark af and it didn't disappoint.

[@Temaile]

@@bubblewrapstargirl You know serious phobias and PTSS exist, rght? Your comment is pretty ableist. If the quality of your story relies on unexpected dark themes or whatever or it's not longer "surprising" with a content warning then you're just a bad writer. People like being surprised yeah, but not with an unexpected panic attack.

[@JJJBunney001]

@@bubblewrapstargirl You definitely missed the point. Games and movies also have, actually legally need, ratings. So it makes sense for books. There's nothing wrong with letting people know what they're getting into

[@SI-fz1zv]

Some publishers do add a warning in the publishers note, indicating different things, Warhammer and some others will usually have Grimdark warnings, some will add more divisions going child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Explicit, Erotic. But the most common are probably the warnings for Horror. Note: not all publishers will do this but a few will

[@braydenmunro2385]

Probably because Comics and Manga are a more visual medium and so the gore and violence is more brutal then simply picturing

[@briandemarco5223]

As far as rewriting books goes, Stephen King basically rewrote The Gunslinger in 2003 to solve continuity errors with the rest of the series. Does that count?

[@jamesb7924]

It does, the original and the updated are very different!

[@robertblume2951]

Well in that case Tolkien rewrote the hobbit to fix continuity errors with LOTR.

[@MagusMarquillin]

Huh! That's good to know as I've been collecting the old Dark Tower volumes because of their great illustrations - did he keep those in the reissue? And did he do that with any other of his books? I know about the Stand, though I believe that's more of an extended cut.

[@MagusMarquillin]

I don't think it should be done lightly, better if you can make you sequels fit within what you've established - but it's hard for me to imagine the Hobbit without the changes he made - I wonder if fans who read it in the 30's and 40's were offended, or confused when they read Lord of the Rings. But Tolkien was rather brilliant with how he tied the old version of the book into the story, essentially as the lie Bilbo told everyone of how he got his precious ring!

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Well SK "revised and expanded" on the prose and scenes and didn't necessarily do a rewrite since if you read the early first iteration, you're still good to go to read the rest of Dark Tower series. As I understand it. What about expanded editions and author's preferred texts of say Neil Gaiman's American Gods? Or Expanded edition of Stephen King's The Stand? 😀 📚 ✒✏

[@bryanbaker6040]

There is a warning on every King book. They say Stephen King on them.

[@OldestPagans]

Well played good sir!

[@sakshipandit9666]

Hahahah

[@NekoMouser]

The first 98% of most Stephen King books is great. It's the endings he fails to stick over and over for me. Especially since he got sober. Carrie, Cujo, Salem's Lot...a lot of those were great, but his newer work like Under the Dome, Cell, 11/22/63, etc just builds and builds and fizzles out.

[@anonymousguy720]

NekoMouser this is a trademark of Stephan King almost all ending are depressing or poorly done

[@rosasutubechannel]

I read many as a teen and they were fine, but ... then I accidentally read one that messed me up, and I never read another of his books again.

[@vettethewarlock5448]

I would like to see some medieval Scandinavian inspired fantasy. Seems that fantasy writers think Scandinavia just disappeared after 1066

[@the_corvid97]

This is a mini tv series thing but have you heard of Arn The Crusader (?). About a swedish dude who gets involved in the Crusades and conflict back in Sweden.

[@vettethewarlock5448]

the_ corvid nope, but it sounds interesting

[@the_corvid97]

@@vettethewarlock5448 Not super high quality, but it's a thing, and I enjoyed it.

[@cccrystalclear2728]

In 2021 a norse fantasy book will be translated into english from norwegian. It’s called Odin’s child. Maybe that’s up your alley?

[@axelelmfeldt6085]

CCCrystalClear I love Odin’s child and was about to recommend it. Be carful though cause there’s more than 1 book named Odin’s child; the right one belongs to the raven rings series. LoT is also inspired by Nordic cultures (therefore most characteristics are spread around the entire fantasy genre)

[@corrinflakes9659]

Film professors instead of saying "never make 'it was all a dream' because that's dumb," should rather say "never make 'it was all a dream' as an explanation for impossible things alone and have no payoff or consequences of it being a dream because that's dumb." Because The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, despite being a relatively simple story, foreshadows it being a dream and builds up consequences for it being a dream. Koholint Island *will* cease to be when Link and the Wind Fish wake up, there's also some soft worldbuilding of how dreams work thrown in there for good measure. The payoff in the ending becomes more 'tragic' than 'unsatisfying', and yet is treated as one of the best stories in the Zelda series by fans.

[@billshears6062]

100%

[@Tinahgirl83]

You got the motivation behind my comment pretty well. I don’t have any objection to stories where people come from messed up families. I just would like to see more variety. I come from a family where my parents, and several of my aunts and uncles have been happily married for 30-40 plus years. I almost never see this in books. There are people who come from broken homes or are orphaned due to illnesses or something that are perfectly fine and don’t secretly want revenge. I just don’t want it to be the character’s main motivation all the time. “He/she is going on this quest to avenge their family’s lost honor/property/financial security/life. I think there are more ways to create motivation and drama (in every genre) than just a lousy upbringing. Thank you for responding to it!!! 😊😊

[@MrGreyseptember]

Totally agree with you. Sometimes I get the impression that 2/3 of the books (especially in the YA genre) start with the statement: "They killed her family, and now she is going to take revenge." (It seems a common thing to female protagonists, but I can be wrong). So I simply stopped reading books that are based on the protagonist's desire to avenge the death of his/her/their family. It seems to me that this theme is overdone, and authors need to find a new motivation for their main characters.

[@Tinahgirl83]

Alice Sunflower I agree with everything you’re saying!

[@jaisandhu4966]

There are quite a lot of Indian authors that are writing in English. India has the second largest English speaking population after US.

[@overlorde7526]

Is that relative to India’s size or directly population vs population?

[@jaisandhu4966]

Direct Population. India has about 125 million English speaking people.

[@anonymousp4774]

So as FILIPINOS, WE have a population of 145 million and mostly are fluent in English. 😃

[@begejekan1244]

@@anonymousp4774 I don't know if that's more sad or cool

[@overlorde7526]

begejekan why would it be sad?

[@isabelbard853]

10:43 What's funny about a type of tagging system that you mentioned is that I read fanfiction for fun, but I wouldn't be able to without the tagging systems on Archive of Our Own. It simply would be impossible to wade through all the crazy, bad stuff I don't want to let into my mind. The tagging system is a godsend! So of course commercial books should have a tagging system! I can't believe I've never thought about it before.

[@sagephil]

"Don't do a romance, do familial. I think both is fine." Ah, familial romance then.

[@moriahboring6789]

Not what he meant, also the don’t romance your family members was so funny and true to me

[@angellover02171]

Royal family romance.

[@hushushfie3730]

For Indian Mythology books you can try : - Anand Neelakantan. AsuraTale of the Vanquished - Anand Neelakantan. Rise of Kali

[@sierrajane5593]

Amen to the content warnings on books, I have a friend who has me read stuff before they do to check for things that they find triggering... that shouldn't need to be the case! People should be able to just pick something up and read it knowing it's not going to cause serious problems for them!

[@theflickchick9850]

Agree!!!! I read “The Kite Runner” in school and it triggered me SO many times. I still can’t think about it without feeling sick. My teachers luckily started warning me of stuff after the r*pe scene destroyed me. Okay- I can’t even keep talking about it- eeuuuhghh

[@Slechy_Lesh]

Yes, and I want that too because it makes it easier for me to find

[@Neeks]

I did mean discovering things about themselves as a character. Excuse me while I die from being too vague and actually having my comment read 😑. But yeah, I just think that adults find new stuff out about themselves all the time in regards to wants/needs versus moral developments.

[@persephone3892]

The problem is not being too vague, its people making assumptions

[@alienet18]

On the rewriting of art: I come at this from a slightly different perspective, but as a classical musician I play a lot of works by contemporary (ie living) composers. It is VERY common for composers to rewrite sections after it has been performed, and to even change things after publication because they simply don’t think it’s working. I do recognize that music is a performance based genre, and those changes have a lot to do with the feedback from the performers, so it is different with books. However, if something truly isn’t working and the author changes their mind later on, it makes sense to me to give them that freedom over their work. (I do realize this comes with a fair amount of problems and the two genres are not a perfect parallel, but yeah).

[@john80944]

To have some other related input. I find those extremely long literary works, like Stormlight or web serials/fiction, always have some performative aspect to it. Part of the reason is that, if you're published online, it's hard to write 10,000 words per week and your works will be counted as final print. Because there's always a certain ratio of readers only read web serial once and doesn't care about the edited, more fine tuned version. Like Wildbow's Parahuman series' Ward. He changed the bigger context of the story later on based on viewer's feedback. This kind situation isn't uncommon in web fiction. But, works like Stormlight Archive have enough resources to handle the editing to publishing market level before they're published. So, it might be just depend on how certain creators work, I guess.

[@anonymous71207]

@@john80944 very true, was thinking about Worm/Ward before you mentioned it... I love Worm, but if that full edit ever goes through I think it'll be very very different. Which is totally okay.. especially considering how fast Wildbow writes (it makes my hands ache thinking about it). Still making my way through Ward, but its slow going. Those books are sooo long

[@titaniumtomato7247]

Well, you’ve convinced me

[@katw5592]

Re: Authortubers: I agree with you, that some authortubers tend to insist on their way is the only way. That's why I like Kate Cavanaugh so much - she likes to try things out and just takes us on the ride with her. It's more of a dialogue, not a monologue. And yes, laying on your back and holding up your book is definitely the most dangerous position to read a book in. Totally didn't hit myself with my eReader once. Never happened.

[@haleyspence]

Kate Cavanaugh is so lovely. There's so much more of authortube that's like her going on too. You'd really be surprised!

[@katw5592]

@@haleyspence In know, I found a lot of people through the World Writeathon last weekend, still need to check them all out. But Kate came to mind when Daniel was talking about Authortube because she is the exact opposite (or pretty much the opposite at least) to the Hot Take. Also, I can think of some authortubers that fit said hot take... Not sure if Daniel had them in mind, but it is a certain possibility.

[@hobbiras6555]

Kate Cavanaugh is so wholesome! I love that she doesn't push any advice on us but instead takes us on a journey.

[@egoalter1276]

I have dropped many a tome.on my head. Its part of the experience.

[@allisonlangbroek159]

I really agree with the fact that books should have content warnings on it. I got into reading pretty young and there were a couple books I picked up in my preteen years that were not appropriate for my age (including one book with a pretty graphic sexual assault scene). But because my parents aren’t readers they thought it was great that I read and that all books were good books.

[@AHealthyDoseofFran]

I totally agree about the explicit warning. There is now a website called Book Trigger Warnings that does actually layout all possible triggers for books. It’s not a completed/complex list so far but I’ve found it incredibly useful

[@julzbehr6696]

Siblings are a an infinit source of drama (squabbling, shouting matches, annoyance) siblings can look like they HATE each other but they love each other deeply. They would never forgive themselves if anything happened to the other. I know this because I have a brother, he’s the worst, but also the best.

[@50thunder05]

For medieval Russian inspired there's the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden And I believe Guy Gavriel Kay's Lions of Al-Rassan is inspired by Moorish Spain

[@sy.kepler]

Yes, G.G. Kay is great at exploring different European cultures, from Spain , France, Scandinavia to Byzantium.

[@robertblume2951]

It's basically his retelling of the epic of El Cid.

[@moonlightboiii]

Winternight Trilogy sounds terrific. Adding it to my read list. Thanks!

[@Kim_Traveling_in_Books]

I second the Winternight trilogy. Arden is a fantastic writer.

[@jills9758]

I'm reading Lions right now! It's good 👍

[@dylanmoon780]

Tolkien re-released "The Hobbit". Totally rewrote Riddles in the Dark for the sake of LOTR.

[@timrosswood4259]

Really? Is that true?

[@dylanmoon780]

@@timrosswood4259 Yes. In the original 1937 edition Gollum was just a funny little creature Bilbo won the Ring from fair and square, and they parted ways as friends. In the lead up to LOTR, The Hobbit was revised in 1951 to show Gollum as a corrupted and evil creature who wanted to kill Bilbo for taking the Ring. The Ring was just a fun magical plot device in the ‘37 text. It wasn’t until Tolkien began thinking about the sequel that he decided the Ring should be more important, and dangerous. The really cool part is the original ‘37 text is still “canon”. Tolkien decided that the original story of Bilbo and Gollum parting as friends was a lie Bilbo told Gandalf. It wasn’t until Gandalf interrogated Gollum decades later in LOTR that Gandalf learned the true story, the 1951 version of events. Tolkien was brilliant.

[@timrosswood4259]

@@dylanmoon780 pretty clever way to do a retcon.

[@emeryltekutsu4357]

@@dylanmoon780 That is a really smart way to do a retcon. Good on him! He actually had it add more to the story.

[@elrilmoonweaver4723]

Iactually would really like to read a re-written Inheritence Cycle. I mean just imagine the boost in quality if Paolini wrote the story again, same story beats, different way of getting there.

[@rayven5534]

Ooo interesting concept

[@Churchgrimm]

Since Paolini himself will working on the Disney+ adaption I wonder if he'll take that opportunity to rework things.

[@senorbe]

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” (Tolstoy,)

[@lilliemucha6419]

The hot take in this case is that nuclear families can be unhappy and non-nuclear families can be happy

[@senorbe]

@@lilliemucha6419 I agree with you, but I don't know if Tolstoy was into hot takes.

[@logansmith2703]

About the books needing warnings thing. Webnovels already do this on most of the big sites you can find them on. They have tags to show hey this is this genre or hey this has gore.

[@Khepriem]

Next hot take video suggestion: What's a popular book that you think is garbage and why do you feel it's overrated?

[@leaodd]

This is a pretty good one. Though I hope people wouldn't go for the low hanging fruit of "LoTR because it's boring!" since we've seen people posting this since the first time Daniel made a hot takes video

[@ce2araybara226]

Ooh this will be spicy

[@cathalobrien7678]

Way of kings

[@Khepriem]

@@cathalobrien7678 So much emotion you've brought up in me with so few words!

[@cathalobrien7678]

Zᴇᴩʜyʀᴜꜱ Aᴜʀᴏɴ ahahaha that’s usually what ends up happening when I say that

[@theargyleathenaeum3222]

More families in fantasy? AMEN! A stable family is starting to be underrepresented in media today. And you're right Daniel, it's super low hanging fruit to make a broken family to provoke drama and scars.

[@TheRoark]

Yeah I agree! I also thought it was odd that Daniel thought he was disagreeing by saying he wants representation, when representation is exactly what the commenter wanted.

[@laurakindle5356]

Some adult authors that I read will put content warnings in the front of their books if they contain potentially upsetting topics/ content. It's something that I really appreciate because those things are rarely ever mentioned in book summaries.

[@elizabethheady8447]

If you keep forgiving a screwed up sibling, I accept that more than forgiving a screwed up love interest.

[@TimRG]

Part of the problem with Authortube is that they are trying to have an author platform because that is what they are supposed to do. There is nothing wrong with being passionate convinced your way to write is the best way. However, if Authortuber does not at least acknowledge that their way will not work for everyone. The best example is so many Authortubers say writing every day is bad advice. Solely because they do not do it. Wow! That's bold. It's fine if it doesn't work for you, but to say it is bad and instead say you do not do it doesn't mean it won't work for others.

[@ellendixon8362]

Totally agree about the warning labels. The amount of times I have been really enjoying a good book then something very triggering for me happens then it's too late I put the book down but it's already there in my brain. I try look up content warnings but if it's not a popular book there not usually stuff out there . Would totally get behind a warning system.

[@DrEllert]

"But you know, the internet is full of people who're gonna be angry at stuff, no matter what." Words to the wise.

[@Mhidraum]

I agree that the concept of playing up the mature themes in Avatar sounds very interesting. I don't want them to just slap boobs and swearing on it for no reason, but playing up the mature themes (mass murder, war, bloodbending, abuse, etc.) could work very well in the hands of a good cast and crew.

[@joanacasaca6922]

I think that the main problem is that this is netflix, and there is a big chance they won't focus on all the good aspects you mentioned, instead choosing to age up the characters so they can bang, making a riverdaleesque show.

[@Mhidraum]

@@joanacasaca6922 Netflix has also made several great shows, and they're not as gratuitous with their sexual content as HBO. Even their R-rated shows don't have that many (compared to show like GoT or True Blood). I doubt they'll make Avatar hard R though... You can get away with a lot with a PG13 rating, and I think that would make more sense for an action/adventure show like Avatar.

[@royalteacompany]

Literary agents are the worst thing to happen to the publishing industry. They don't necessarily have any qualifications to tell you/publishers what good writing is or isn't, and they have a fast-track for their own books which are often formulaic nonsense crafted to be easy sells to publishers. But the worst thing is when they post online about the books they "would like to see" or use "manuscript wishlist". By doing this, they influence writers to write what they think will get them an agent, as opposed to telling a good story. There needs to be a way for publishers to sort through submissions, yes, and agents fill that need, but they are a terrible solution and it needs to change. When agents do anything besides reading through submissions and pitching the good ones to publishers, I lose that much more respect for them. Stop making cheap money by putting out "submission tips" or "how you should craft your story" because you're not a writing teacher, you're not a good author, you're an agent who is simply telling me how to water down my story to make your job easier.

[@MagnaGresh]

"please summarize your 130k words novel you put your heart and soul into, in 2 sentences because just a 2sentence summary can tell me if the book is good or not and I have the attention span of a 3-year-old."

[@kavyasolanki8564]

You don't need to pick up translations, there are plenty of Indian authors who originally write in English language about stories related to Indian mythology. Amish tripathy, Ashwin Sanghai and Kiran Nagarkar are a few of the many examples.

[@drlc6051]

I would actually be interested in reading some if you have any books in mind?

[@kavyasolanki8564]

@@drlc6051 for introduction to Indian mythology the palace of illusions and the forest of enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathy For thrillers - Krishna's key and Chanakya's chant by Ashwin Sanghai And cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar is also amazing, though it's based more on political intrigue and historical fiction than fantasy and mythology

[@khfanboy666]

Plots that resolve by revealing that a character (be it the Hero or one of his allies) had a super-secret plan all along that the audience wasn't told about are annoying. They almost always take me out of a story, not because they don't make sense, but because I end up feeling like I was worried over nothing. Or worse, if I' predict that the story might go this way, then I feel less invested in what's happening in the moment because part of me is waiting for "The reveal" to happen. The hero wasn't in as much danger as the author was leading me to believe he was because there was always some intricate plan in place to save him, and because I'm not told about the details of the plan until after I know it works, I'm not invited to feel the tension of worrying about if the plan will come together and what could go wrong. There are exceptions, and some series give the trope some additional context to make it work (Mistborn Book 1 and specifically Harry's plans in the Dresden Files come to mind), but on the whole, I'd much rather know a decent amount about a hero's plan ahead of time so I can worry about whether it will work or not.

[@milenacosta4136]

man i wish books were rated and had trigger warnings because the trauma i got from reading captive prince as a 13yo is awful

[@spencerpalmer2918]

@9:38 100% agree! We were just talking about this a couple days ago. There are websites like Common Sense Media, but it would be nice to be able to pick up a book and see a rating and why it was rated that. It needs to start somewhere. Movies weren't rated for a long time, but now it's a common thing. How do we start this?

[@NekoMouser]

I would also love to see MCU branch out. I'd love to see more 'genre' movies with superpowers. Like a heist movie with a super-powered 'Ocean's 11' type team. They kinda pretended Ant-Man was a "heist movie" (and advertised it as such early on), but it really wasn't. Even some one-off heroes would be great. You could make a heist team part of the MCU and even have them have some real global impact, even if we only ever see them once. I think there is a lot the MCU can do with darker stories and other formats they aren't exploring just yet. I think there's a lot of life left in the MCU, but only if they start varying from their tried and true formula. That worked well leading up to Endgame, but now it needs to evolve or become stale.

[@Mike-ct4nx]

Hot take: I don't think it's always necessary to strictly adhere to author's descriptions of characters/places when you visualize a story. I think there is added joy and potential depth by making a story your own. For example, I only started reading The Dark Tower after they cast Idris Elba, so my Roland has always been black and with a British accent. Or my Geralt has a lot more lupine features than any description or depiction.

[@werelemur1138]

I don't know that it's even a conscious thing. And writers who do want to enforce it (how?) tend to get mocked online for it.

[@jakerockznoodles]

I agree with the warning one too, and I don't even see why it's contentious for a lot of people. Other mediums have been doing content warnings for many decades, like this isn't a new phenomenon. Like if it isn't clear from the blurb that a book contains certain comment, maybe stick a disclaimer on the inside cover.

[@crazybookcanary8941]

I agree too, to a point. It's contentious because people don't like that everything has to be rated, that you have rate books in the first place, that it pushes readers to pick books by a rating system. Others argue because a warning system would lead to what writers fear, that readers or others around them, including parents, faith or country based readers would not be allowed tp purchase said book because of the warning, think fifty shades of gray in Egypt. Of course authors fear warnings because it pushes readers to accept a system in which it takes away the discovery of a book, of a story, one they may have never even read or one that may help them in their own lives if readers judged based solely on warnings and wishing to avoid unpleasant and ugly topics, and of course triggers. Readers of course are entitled to knowing about triggers because not everyone has overcome the trauma they have endured. Some authors and readers love warnings because it helps them avoid everything they want too or make an informed choice about a book. Now sticking it inside the cover is a brilliant idea, but keeping it short, and making sure to ensure disclaimer but not the spoil the book itself would work.

[@augustus3024]

“No, reality is not grimdark. I had a good day today, I eat some cheetos, I had a good poo and then I napped.” I just had to save that quote, man

[@powerplace21]

I recently started reading Foul is Far by Hannah Capin and it included a content warning at the front of the book and a website link for a more explicit description of the book's potentially upsetting content. I think this new generation of writers might be the ones to make content warnings prevalent in their books.

[@Gdach]

I really wish books had a website similar to mangaupdates or novelupdates where they list what content you may come across with spoiler section added. I had really bad experience while reading generic, but somewhat lighthearted fantasy and the author in the end of book 2 decided to include really gruesome rape of one female protagonist and it was so out of tone I just hated it and now it's stuck in my memories forever. fish all books now have warning that includes rape.

[@TheHexedLibrary]

I use the website Goodreads to check for trigger warnings with books. usually in the first few reviews on the book page you'll find one that has a list of warnings.

[@Gdach]

The problem was I also used goodreads, none of the reviewers mentioned that, but it was years ago maybe it got better

[@ankushnishad1165]

About the binge vs weekly thing, I feel like the people who want to binge things can do that after the full season is out and not lose anything while the reverse is not true. Also Netflix's obsession with full season drops is pretty stupid, as an anime viewer it's especially frustrating. We even have a term for it, the Netflix jail, since they don't release the anime they license sometimes for months after they fully finish airing.

[@tanglecat6478]

Spoilers. Spoilers exist and I’ve heard people say that if you haven’t seen such and such in this time frame, you can’t complain about spoilers

[@ankushnishad1165]

@@tanglecat6478 That's true and I thought about it but didn't mention it because it's a little more complicated than what I want to get into. And I would argue it is more of a general problem than specific to a format and the fault lies more with the people spoiling things.

[@tanglecat6478]

Ankush nishad Fair.

[@annelooney1090]

Curse of the Chalion is inspired by medieval Spain, as is Lions of al-Rassan (as people have pointed out). Guy Gavriel Kay in general has written a lot of fantasy in specific/nonstandard settings. Naomi Novik has written stories set in Poland and Eastern Europe. Also it's YA and debatably less fantasy than alt-history, but the And I Darken series is set in medieval Romania and the Ottoman Empire.

[@levelling2]

For medieval spain during the reconquista try Lions of al Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay.

[@abbys9934]

I came here to say this and you beat me to it! Amazing book!

[@pipitameruje]

Is it good? Because that historical period is one I'm fairly intimate with, since I'm Portuguese and the Moors played quite the role in our common history with Spain, and if they've butchered us, culturally or historically speaking, in said book, I'll be pissed.

[@levelling2]

@@pipitameruje Tigana and Lions of Al-Rassan are usually the go to recommendations when it comes to Kay. I don't know enough of the actual history to tell sorry, but history only inspired the setting and characters. You'll be able to tell that Rodrigo is supposed to be some variation on El Cid, but otherwise he's completely Kay's own invention for example.

[@pipitameruje]

@@levelling2 Thanks for the feedback. A retelling of El Cid might be pretty cool. I'll check it out

[@elizamb5280]

I deffinetly agree that books should have warnings for explicit stuff - I read 'The Pillars of the Earth' when I was 11! Let me just say that was NOT the right age for that book - there where some scenes that scared me so much that I didn't pick up a single book without DEEP research for YEARS.

[@alexisemmanuelkeesbahl5509]

Imo, the problem with reality being both grimdark and noblebright is that it's hard to represent both extremes without sacrificing the cohesiveness of the tone (at least partly). If a book starts off grimdark, I think I would be put off if I suddenly came across a noblebright chapter/part/ending/etc (and viceversa). While the tone may vary throughout the book, I think the overall tone should be coherent (thus, closer to one extreme or the other).

[@coffeeloveandbooks5423]

Daniel: "Up-vote the comments that are controversial not the ones you agree with" Also Daniel: "547 likes? I thought this would be more controversial!"

[@juditjakim1660]

Explicit content... yes please. At 19 I was traumatized by the flood of rapescenes that are in Ken Follett's Cathedral series. I put the second book down for 9 years! I would have chosen to be warned and not be curious about the rest of the story. I would have preferred to miss the whole series if someone told me how much assult is included.

[@3dchick]

That turned me off Follett, too. Just so horrifying. I'm all for warnings.

[@heidsterzsoups2133]

Dude, your writing advice videos literally saved my writing! I had next to no story until I started listening to your Dear Authors videos and breaking down the bare basics of my world and story.

[@blacksmithwolf]

The sheer amount of description given to the various bosoms, buttons and fabric in wheel of time will never not be funny to me. I understand it actually put some people off the books but I refuse to see it as a flaw.

[@utkarshdubey3435]

Hey Daniel try "Immortals of Meluha" by Amish he writes in both English and Hindi so you won't have that translation problems. PS- thanks😊 since this my first time being in a YT video even indirectly.

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

Capitalism: The Fantasy Show. Synopsis: A Sitcom where fantasy creatures are stuck in a dead end dying buisness and they have to think of ways to revive it

[@fasdaVT]

Vampire and zombie are hanging around, but unlike the others aren't trying hard to find work they say its cyclical and it will be fine.

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

@@fasdaVT "Kev, we need you to put on this suit and attract customers" "I can't mate, I'll burn to ashes" "Bullshit Kevin, stop relying on your stereotype. We've had no fucking sales in 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS. If you want to enjoy your garlic and blood Martini's like you do, every other hour instead of working. PUT. ON. THE. SUIT" "Why can't you do it?" "I'm literally I corpse"

[@Waffletimewarp]

We could sell blood! Vampire: SELL blood?!

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

@@Waffletimewarp Vampire: everyone here is undead

[@HeadCannon19]

So BoJack Horseman with fantasy characters?

[@matthewbergman6803]

19:00 I think the best formula was Invincible's, where they released the first 3 episodes all at once, and then put out the rest weekly. The lively discussions of those episodes in the weeks between ep. 3-8 were amazing.

[@iceTime999]

I also don't get authortube videos like "Your ... is awful cause ...", "Agents reject your books cause of ..." or "Best way to write ...". Those kind of videos (video titles already) just seem one dimensional, offensive and narrow minded to me. You could talk about all those subjects, but don't pretend you obviously have the answer and maybe focus more on the opportunities, styles and fun of writing.

[@haleyspence]

That's in the vlogs and streams and stuff. The "advice" videos are just the kinda things the algorithm prefers. It took a really long time before I even realized there was a whole community there.

[@ducky36F]

Yeah I like that Merphy states her Dear Authors “is coming from a readers perspective” and that Tim (Hello Future Me) and even OSP kind of just analyse certain writing topics rather than trying to give definitive advice in the way those other video titles imply. Not that I’m a writer though, I just enjoy the discussion, so who knows if any of that is actually helpful to writers.

[@iceTime999]

@@ducky36F I don't know OSP but I definitely agree on Merphy and Tim. I enjoy their videos. Murphy gives her perspective to duiscuss and Tim provides guidlines you can use to analyse your work (which you can adopt, change or reject). And I always get the feeling their videos are also meant for people like you who just like the discussion. It's just fun to think about and analyse the art, even from a readers perspective.

[@thelightningking8772]

Every time Daniel taps his phone with the knife, I lose years off my life.

[@Rinzler.14]

Next hot take will Daniel crack his phone by tapping his knife on it?

[@nealhoffman7518]

Something you may not know about Dresden. In original versions up until Small Favor, Harry would get junk mail from Circuit City. I was hoping after they went out of business, I was hoping for a nod that Harry had finally beaten their marketing department. Instead, in subsequent reprints they changed Circuit City to Best Buy.... I was heartbroken

[@jacquig1939]

I agree with rating systems. Reading Fanfics the sites require warnings. It's not really censorship it's just giving awareness. There's a few things I don't want to read and it can ruin an otherwise good read.

[@woahitscorrina]

I'm studying Creative Writing at uni (college), and can confirm that author tube is only useful (in my experience) if you're very much an amateur

[@calin6327]

Lol no.

[@woahitscorrina]

@@calin6327 I'm sure there are exceptions. But so many just repeat the same things. "Read a lot, read as a writer, show don't tell" That's day 0 stuff

[@hannahseling1513]

Yeah, I remember this one video by Jenna Moreci. The advice was something like: Don't overuse words. Be careful with homonyms like they're/their/there. Just pretty self-evident. On the other spectrum, you have stuff like Hello Future Me who provides very interesting points of consideration and in-depth analyses on writing. I guess varying levels of quality are to be expected when it comes to advice. What annoys me, however, is when people state their opinions as if they were hard and fast rules.

[@asharablack]

I pretty much agree, though there are exceptions. I really recommend Ellen Brock, she has tons of videos where she goes into specifics and offers advice that's helpful for more experienced writers as well. Though I'm not sure if she counts as author tube, 'cause she's a professional editor, not an author. (Which imo makes her a lot more qualified to be giving advice anyway.)

[@SengokuTheGouda]

I enjoy Kate Cavanaugh as her series where she tries various authors ways of writing is really interesting. She doesn’t really give specific advice ever, just talks about what works for her.

[@SereneDancer]

I absolutely agree that we should put content warnings on books. Just so you can go into with a heads up.

[@thedopdeity]

The first person falls into the camp of online people who seem to think their vocal circle or their own personal opinion reflects the masses. Every single online group in every fanbase and community believe they know what's best. Would I like to see Marvel do different types of even genres, like Winter Soldier? Yes. But obviously the majority wouldn't. The majority are perfectly fine with constant retreads an adaptations and reboots and etc. People desperately *need* to stop thinking they're speaking for the larger masses and that they know what's best. It feels better when you accept your position.

[@brynnaandersen7739]

To add on to the labeling graphic books argument: I love stephen king, and his first book was one I read was in high school (on a list for a book report), "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon." But I gotta admit, it messed me up for a little bit, and I had a hard time falling asleep for weeks (I thought it'd be more like "Hatchet" and be more on the DL when it came to creepiness, but I did not know I would be reading a book like that - I was pretty sheltered and sensitive, especially to swearing, allusions to rape, etc). I had a hard time forgetting that book, and I wished I was warned before picking that book for my book report, otherwise I would have read it when I was mature enough to handle it.

[@greysonjones5429]

I think you should have hot takes on uses of magic in fantasy besides the obligatory war mage, the mentor wizard, and the scholar wizard. Think of Pro bending in Korra, as well as their other used of it in the Avatar Universe.

[@FlyingFocs]

That's actually a really good idea. I'll try to remember that when I'm writing. Thank you, stranger.

[@NapaCat]

Heck, I'd not be suprised if often ATLA chefs are firebenders since they could adjust the flame temp just right or metalbenders (moving a knife precisely) in universe

[@TheSuperRatt]

On the subject of outlining your work. I do plan and create the broad strokes plots, arcs, and events I want to show up, from beginning to end. Though I do leave plenty of room for me to explore what happens in between those events, how I get there, etc. I'm also not afraid to revise my plan based on new inspirations from what happens during those exploratory moments.

[@leaodd]

Daniel: Please like unpopular opinions Also Daniel: Ooooh lots of people liked this so lots of people agree with it (I really like your content but this bugged me severely for some reason)

[@or9422]

I know right? After giving us shit for it for like 3 videos straight he just forgets how it works? The hell?

[@Khepriem]

Nah this is consistent. Not once, not a single time, is there a comment with hundreds of likes that is an actual hot take. People still just like what they like and he knows it.

[@leaodd]

@@Khepriem What? Are you implying people on the internet are unable to follow simple instructions? Impossible! But yeah that's plain to see. It's just funny how Daniel has somehow given in to it instead of pushing back like he usually does

[@robertblume2951]

@@Khepriem like what they agree with. Who wants Daniels opinion of something we think is wrong? It's hard to find comments you both agree with and think are unpopular. I think most people without contrary evidence think their opinion is the majority.

[@Khepriem]

@@robertblume2951 Who wants to see Daniel talk about something they disagree with...? That's kind of the whole point behind the unpopular opinions series. It's always fun to be challenged and sometimes even change your mind on a particular topic! Unpopular opinions are fun to engage with and are pretty uncommon and even less commonly spoken out loud. At least that's my opinion, haha.

[@JJJBunney001]

One series that did a pretty good job with using more than Fantasy France and England was Rangers Apprentice. It is YA and i haven't read it since I was a kid but from remember it basically covered Fantasy or Semi historical versions of England, France, Spain, Scandinavia, The Middle East, Japan and Rome. The settings changed with every book and there was great world building. But as I said, I was a kid so it might not hold up

[@skalliedA]

The only good advice on writing I have seen on YT comes from Hello Future Me. He does this radical thing where he takes a certaint topic, formulates a hypothesis about how to write these things best, and then shows several, often very different examples of the thing done well. Y'know, instead of jsut sitting down in fron of your camera and rambling about what you do or do not like in your media. That's not writing advice, that's making a wishlist so authors can cater to your interests. And, yes, I think Murphy's Dear Authors... videos are of the later sort. She just crowdsourced it. In fact, it's pretty much the exact same thing as this very video series Daniel is doing, just more focused.

[@drlc6051]

I like the way Merphy does it, but I don't think it's actually intended as "how to" writing advice, and just more what people like and don't like seeing

[@skalliedA]

@@drlc6051 I agree, I enjoy those videos myself. I thought Daniel said that she was giving writing advice. Maybe I misheard; if so, nevermind that part of the comment.

[@mattsprague1171]

Juniper recently raised their prices! I was saving up for the WOT jackets and now they are a lot more expensive. Now I'll probably have to pass or wait longer before I consider getting them.

[@archlectoryarvi2873]

I'm all for a darker ATLA. I love the cartoon but the lengths the writers went to avoid lethal injuries of any kind are absurd. I mean there's a scene in the finale where Piandao (sokka's sword mentor) charges towards some fire nation soldiers and instead of cutting them down (this being a war and all), he cuts their spears and just dashes off. Like WTF?!!

[@jailyngonzalez2700]

OK, so, I just got into your videos a few days ago, mainly since I'm trying to get back to reading more and am interested in reading more fantasy books. I really like your content, and find that you tend to be quite objective, or at least actively try to be, when reviewing books or talking about entire genres, like with your YA video. I also enjoy how your videos seem to be more of you having an actual discussion with your audience, rather than you just trying to market yourself or trying to be as *quirky* as possible. HOWEVER, despite all of that, I just need you to know that what really got me to subscribe to your channel is this line right here: "I'm not gonna call it a tiddy. I'mma call it a jiggly mountain in the w- Stop it! It's a tiddy. Call it a tiddy."

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

I’m all about authors fixing up their old books as they improve. I’ve read some versions like this, and enjoy them so much more! Song writers and performers do it all the time! 😊🐢🐌

[@phoebewickliffe5145]

I love your writing comment. I'm working on a novel right now and have watched many videos that were just like, "Nope, there's no way that would ever work for me." Just like I don't think my method would work for most people either. Writing is one of the few fields were it's more a method of lots of important principles, no hard methods of accomplishing the goal.

[@junechevalier]

There's usually some vids on youtube like "If you don't do this, then your dialogue sucks" or smth like that, and when I see it, I'm more encouraged to break the rules and prove that it can be done well too

[@exosproudmamabear558]

Fanfic writers rate their stories. Most of us put the which triggers we will put in the series at the start of the story then at the start of the chapter. Maybe even separate the R-rated chapters. It makes me laugh why this doesn't have in the normal books. Because most people really look for the disclaimers and even ask if there isn't.

[@forloveofthepage2361]

I would really like more fairy tales and folk lore in books. They do such a good job of setting tone and giving the reader insight into what a society values. When I do see it my heart swoons. Even if its very basic, I love it.

[@k-majik]

You could read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, focuses on the partition of India, although it's magical realism rather than fantasy. Great book either way.

[@jarltrippin]

12:54 Hard agree with this one. I'm from England and I love you Americans but a lot of you seem to talk about Europe as though it's a country.

[@Tinahgirl83]

It’s the same with Africa. And Asia apparently consists only of Japan and China.😂

[@Rogue_VI]

Part of that may be because the U.S. is just about the same size as Europe. Our one nation is almost as big as your entire continent. And while the U.S. may seem like it's one big monolithic entity, it isn't. We have 50 states (plus some territories) that are all fairly distinctive. Plus, the E.U. does kinda make it seem like Europe is one big country.

[@MagnaGresh]

Nay mate you're just New York, Chicago and Texas. Or at least that's what the books say. On a more serious note, we really are a diverse bunch, and we have an Eastern part too.

[@Rogue_VI]

@@MagnaGresh You forgot California. We're practically a nation all by ourselves.

[@robertblume2951]

@@Rogue_VI all of Texas wishes you were

[@margaritazak2251]

Daniel, I really love your "Let's Debate" videos. I just have one thing I would like you to do is to give more examples. Like you are saying that there are many representations of traditional family, we would like to know what to read ☺️

[@FlagrantVagrant]

ThorPoint's thing feels messed up because there's an implication there hanging in the air that authors will be shamed by the most vocal entitled people in their fan-base to rewrite their work where the authors themselves do not agree there was any problem, e.g. campaigns to create a new Star Wars 8 or whatever. A pandora's box for temper tantrums.

[@carmineknight9123]

The thing that really feeds binge culture is the pressure to consume everything that's there because of spoilers flying around everywhere, so even if you prefer to take it slower, and even if you also believe that binge culture results in less overall ability to discuss and marinate on certain shows, you may end up just sucking it all down immediately _anyway_ because the pace of the zeitgeist revolves around those who consume it faster anyway. It's difficult and there's more to it than that, but even though I LIKE binging shows, i think it's overall better for our relationship with media to take it slower and actually appreciate things like each individual episode. The big example that comes to mind is Bojack Horseman, which ran completely on the Netflix binge release style, and while it was well received and talked about in general terms, i feel like it was a lot less discussion than each episode individually really deserved. I think it harms the staying power of shows after they end. It's also a valid criticism that services releasing things more staggered out are actively trying to get people to stay subscribed for longer, sure. Totally valid. Pros and cons to both on either side.

[@becklebooks]

I'm here for trigger warnings, add them on a page before the prologue or something! People can choose to read it or not. Let's protect people from trauma with a warning system, pls. On writing, V E Schwab has a youtube series of interviewing authors! All of them have varying ways of writing and it's super cool to hear if you have things in common with them or not. So many different kinds of processes, I love it. :) You're so right about prudishness in fantasy? It's so frustrating. Especially when characters finally have sex and then one of them dies in the following battle. Can we... can we just have characters that enjoy sex? Why is it so taboo? Or punishable by the character dying shortly after? Sex ain't a pinnacle that you should use as a life achievement, it's part of everyday life. I think that's what fantasy just... doesn't include. Or at least, that's definitely my opinion haha!

[@dayenoms6011]

Love your stuff Mr.Greene*. I just wanted to add, I've seen and read a bit of indie publishing and in my experience they are labeled with potential triggers more often than traditionally published books, I believe this is related to mental health. Potentially traditional publishes are less inclined to put a potentially negative label on a work they are backing, maybe it might somehow make them libel in a way indie / self pub are not due to their financial status usually being healthier than indie/self pub. Stay Healthy and be safe my friend!

[@JonathanPerez-ef2ut]

If you're looking for a series that incorporates a variety of family structures well, definitely check out Becky Chamber's sci-fi series The Wayfarers. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. More character and world focused with the plot serving more as a frame for personal stories, but if that's something you're interested in, it's done damn well.

[@nishant7430]

For Fantasy written by Indian authors, I would suggest Gameworld Trilogy by Samit Basu and The Devourers by Indra Das.

[@grayscribe1342]

Medieval Europe As Shad has pointed out, the medieval period went on for about 500 years, give or take and just because Europe looks so small on the map, doesn’t mean everything was the same. I heard Spain? Which one? Pre-Muslim Spain? Muslim Spain? Post-Muslim Spain? The time of the Conquistadors? Colonial Spain? And that was just one Country. The technological development, or the lack thereof isn‘t included. Yes, the mighty Spanish Armada got wrecked by a storm. Still, while a minor factor the Armada‘s strategy was firing one broadside while closing in for a boarding action. Those ‚cowardly‘ English kept firing and held their distance. Maybe a minor factor, but then again the Spanish had to follow the English. Would the Armada have come close to the storm if both went for boarding action? Probably not, but the Armada could have used their numerical superiority to completely wipe out the English fleet.

[@evangelinecantlemere6266]

Hi, European here. Medieval period here went on for about 1000 years. Although there are certain parts where it took even more or less, with only some parts of Eastern Europe where it took that 500 years, but those are just singular countries.

[@MagnaGresh]

European Here as well. How about we use Easter Europe AKA Hungary and Romania (Wallachia, Moldova, and Occupied Transylvania at that time) or the Ottoman Occupied Balkan area. Or hell, even the Kievan Duchy. I'd die for a book with those settings. Not everything has to be drawn from the West.

[@Charistoph]

For some peoples in Europe, the medieval period was an upgrade over the one-step-above-hunter-gatherer-barbarian tribes that existed before. Not everyone was drinking from Rome's kool-aid in Europe.

[@MissMokate]

all this plus the replies, seriously. I understand the shorthand of "european fantasy setting" but as a pole/eastern european it's painful to endure. I'd love to see something set in Kievan Duchy or the Balkans under the Ottoman Empire, but also for it not to be a paintover one scrape away from revealing the bland wall (by which I mean I want the setting to actually matter in the story).

[@gunesturkmen]

6th century is very underappreciated

[@Wuffskers]

I have to agree on the Avatar thing, I love animation and think it's a great medium on it's own, and I don't think "the same story but live action" is a good justification for something's existence, I actually feel like it carries this implication that animation is lesser or not the complete pinnacle of what the story could be and making it live action will achieve that which I could not disagree with more. If you're going to remake a story in any capacity, you should do something to differentiate it from the original and make it worth it, and live action is not interesting enough to accomplish that, if I wanted to watch the original I would just do that, I don't care to have a shot for shot remake of something that doesn't bring anything new or interesting to the table. Also I wonder if a hybrid binge and weekly release would be a good idea? like maybe release the first half of a season all at once then the second half later or do weekly releases but release two episodes a week or something.

[@zirezerimar3725]

Hot take: Most readers are just exagerating when they complain about flashbacks. Flashbacks are great story telling tools (see: Lost S01)

[@Rogue_VI]

Yeah, I don't get the flashback hate. It's a great way to fill in details about a character.

[@margaritazak2251]

I LOVE flashbacks!! I didn't know that some people don't 😲

[@aderyn7600]

Fuck I love flashbacks...

[@mindayapandapatan8467]

Flashbacks in the Stormlight Archive are essential

[@bubblewrapstargirl]

I often skip flashbacks in fanfiction cause they're fucking terrible. In published works they tend to be better, but sometimes they feel useless. The backstory of a character can be implied or mysterious too! I dont always need to see the incident that started them on their path to villainy or w/e

[@meonlydanielle]

I wished you had covered the criticism of BookTube comment. Comparing it to the Film or Video Game analysis KZbin. I love the 30-60 min content with deep dives into theme's and styles of Films. Why don't we have that on BookTube? Is it the audiences fault for not supporting, or looking for it? (Like reviewing unpopular books) Does anyone know of BookTubers that do this, or recommendations? I feel like we only get some deep dives on the extremely popular series (WOT, Sanderson, Mazatlan).

[@ramonarobot]

Not “William” in 1984, but Winston 😆

[@ninakobito3618]

Just a thought here, but I think that there should be more animated adaptations of fantasy books, including adult fantasy. Animation is such a rich and creative media that allows the creator to make litteral magic happen on screen much easier (and sometimes better) than in a live action, that is limited by physic and the set limitations. It's sad that animation is a media that is looked down upon, when really it's such a great and creative way of telling stories

[@luthientinuviel3883]

Yes! Animation is much, much more appealing to me than live action, especially in fantasy, because you can literally do anything you want with it. Animation is an art form that deserves all the respect.

[@coldermusic2729]

I would like a warning before starting to read a book where in the first chapter the character gets raped. No... seriously. I was like 13 when I borrowed a random book in my school library because it had a cool title, but when I went to read it, I realised that it was rape. It was too much for my innocent brain. If there was a warning at the start (something like: contains heavy sexual interaction, or something) it would have made my innocent brain last a little longer ☹️

[@Rogue_VI]

The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant has the protagonist rape someone very early in the book, either in chapter one or two. Even though it didn't happen again, that made it very difficult to get through the rest of it.

[@Malkav65]

Imagine releasing a book in a series and then realizing in a later entry that you have written yourself into a corner. If you can rewrite some stuff, you can continue your series and be satisfied with the work you have created