MENTORS-Terrible Writing Advice

[@eatatjoes6751]

This is why mentorships are hard to come by. Where's the one cliche about how the mentor is "too old" for this?

[@absolite6]

Or even more rare "the prophecy foretold of a (insert special role here) but the protagonist was not the special everyone expected"

[@kayhaych05]

Imagine a story where the mentor trains the chosen one, but chosen one dies. Then the mentor has to go on a quest to continue the chosen one’s journey. And you get a whole “too old for this shit” POV character. Idk just a thought

[@sparrrorow]

@@kayhaych05 nah, that sounds actually creative and fun. too much work.

[@MrBenMcLean]

I believe that's covered under grumpiness

[@raztaz826]

Don't forget about practicing sword skills with sharp weapons instead of wooden ones.

[@ruggiebuggie3195]

The first Zelda game handled it quickly. Mentor: "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this." *throws sword on the ground* *Hero takes sword* *Mentor fades from existence*

[@justyoureverydayhuman4026]

My man wasn't gonna stick around to see what would happen to him lmfao

[@ShibuNub3305]

The dude just went, *”adios”* ✌️

[@user-mg7wh8zq6v]

I like to think he did that to everyone that met him

[@antoinelachapelle3405]

I mean, it's great mentoring, the game would be really hard without a sword 🤔

[@ttm3622]

And BOTW and totk is exactly that. Old man: Go find shrines Link: Ok *finds all the shrines* Link: I found the shrines Old man: take paraglider Link: Ok Old man: Adios

[@v4n1tyy]

TWA is my mentor, i try to write my stories exactly as he says and i must say, they're perfect.

[@gwalchgwynwlisc1706]

Depressive Rat, Chucky Cheese’s Unwanted Cousin sarcasm aside, i would totally read that book to experience it

[@agnetalykins7564]

Unironically: Somebody should write a story (or series, for maximum effect) following his advice *exactly*. It'd be glorious.

[@thisdobeanameinnit8019]

Me too! I've made a book "The adventures of Larry True" the Urban Legend fantasy with 5 AntiHero Friends 7 Dead Mentors, 90 Shallow Rivals 500 Gods, 10 Dark Lords 2000 Lore Stones 7 Billion Human Love Interests 9 Billion Paranormal Love Interests and much more! I'm also planning on 50 Sequels

[@popcornbag7897]

@@thisdobeanameinnit8019 Sounds perfect.

[@misterdewott8766]

TWA? Do you mean the Airport or "The Wide Ass?"

[@energeticcreeper7969]

i swear the reaper slowly growing in the background has more tension building then a lot of Hollywood films.

[@theflickchick9850]

My anxiety genuinely did not like that.

[@benjaminRitchey-e4q]

"im coming jp"...

[@Queen1001N]

Reaper: “I just LOVE the smell of fear!”

[@helpmereach690subscribers3]

MC: your like a father too me. Villain: w-what? *train comes out of nowhere and hits villain* MC: every time...

[@BonaparteBardithion]

In a shocking twist the -villian- *train* is your father.

[@kayhaych05]

Imagine a tv show where the set up for every episode is a run of the mill chosen one story but it’s a satirical take on each trope. So instead of it being characterised as a fantasy or Sci-fi show, every season can go over specific genres like romance, fantasy, sci-fi. And you can write scenes where the protagonist faces down with the villain and says something like, “you killed my brother” and the villain is just like, “Yeah ok kid. Listen I’ve killed plenty of brothers. Be a little more specific.”

[@BonaparteBardithion]

@@kayhaych05 All I can think is "You killed my father again!".

[@kayhaych05]

The Phantom I love it 😂

[@Nerobyrne]

@@kayhaych05 so, basically just remakes of "The Princess Bride"?

[@phyrexian_dude4645]

Bad writter: "Doesnt matter if the mentor is porly written, after all, no body cares about old people." Uncle Iroh: "Hold my tea..."

[@redleg1376]

Did you ever wonder why I am called "the dragon of the West?"

[@bumblingbureaucrat6110]

@@redleg1376 "I don't have time for your stories Uncle"

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

Bumbling Bureaucrat It’s more of a demonstration, really.

[@elli_senfsaat]

* cries in Stories of Ba Sing Se *

[@DPCP-h9u]

@@elli_senfsaat Leaves from the vine...

[@DestinyPhono]

*"it's time to go"* "was I a good mentor?" *"no."* *"I was told you were absolutely terrible"*

[@HxH2011DRA]

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@Nerobyrne]

very nice

[@ShibuNub3305]

Ayyy

[@cnppreactorno.4965]

Gandalf was literally one of the few good mentors

[@RequiemPoete]

@@cnppreactorno.4965 And Iroh.

[@TheManOfManyNames373]

Killing the mentor for no other reason than to further the main character’s story? Isn't that why we have love interests?

[@ericwolf9664]

No reason they couldn't be one and the same.

[@Ninjaananas]

@@ericwolf9664 Female mentor? Are you trying to be original here?!

[@ericwolf9664]

@@Ninjaananas This the twa comment section. Originality is not permitted! Under absolutely no circumstances could one think of any other reason for the mentor to be there than to info dump. how such a relationship might organically grow, especially under circumstances that tend to be isolated for extended lengths of time. Don't even touch anything under the greater LGBT umbrella as that could cause straight audiences to become uncomfortable which could effect the bottom line twofold. Largely because you'll be accused of both virtue signaling by including said pointless relationship after killing off the mentor and for dog whistling against said relationship type when you go back to a standard relationship for the normies.

[@Ninjaananas]

@@ericwolf9664 Good, you remembered the guidlines and thus have atoned your sin.

[@klop4228]

Hey, everyone lives to serve the protagonist. Every other good-aligned character (with possible exception of the love interest at the end) is fair game to kill off. That won't get repetitive

[@ThatGuy-te9wh]

How I would go against the mentor tropes: 1. Mentor actually teaches 2. Mentor sustains serious injury 3. Mentor can't really help anymore 4. Mentor returns home and keeps going on with his own life 5. Mentor continues to help the protagonist by keeping in contact with him. 6. Protagonist does his thang and returns home. Mentor is living a happy life.

[@conradojavier7547]

7. Mentor Tries to kill Student, but Student Destroys Dojo, & Reduce to a Joke Character

[@aspenpawarts9333]

Halt from rangers apprentice?

[@kriegscommissarmccraw4205]

Protagonist dies and mentor has to finish quest for him The thing I'm writing now

[@Debicus]

@@conradojavier7547 Why try to actually explore their newfound beliefs after tragedy when you can just blue ball the audience, leaving shitty video essays online to try and explain it instead!

[@popcornbag7897]

@@kriegscommissarmccraw4205 That actually sounds kinda cool. Do you post your stories anywhere for people to read or?

[@popstarchamp]

J.P. Is dead. But don’t worry. After an episode on time travel he’ll be back and better (or worse) than ever.😜

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Good opportunity. Been waiting for a time travel episode for a while.

[@Edramon53]

@@BonaparteBardithion Amusing if he's never covered it, given the plot of his own book.

[@ViscountAlexOfTheHorsePeople]

@@Edramon53 maybe that's why he hasn't.

[@Healermain15]

Eagerly awaiting the dramatic moustache reveal where JP turns out to be the villain all along.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@Ishmam Masud - Cuz I Can nah, death fake-out episode, turns out JP was on a completely identical ship that was right next to the exploding one...

[@koderandom3004]

See the real reason the runtime is padded is to hit the 10 minute mark.

[@roaringbeardragon4531]

an ingenious evil plot

[@backpug1228]

You mean now....8 minute mark?

[@revuman]

2 more you left out. -The other mentor love triangle, where a new younger hotter mentor comes with new ideas, and Sonny has to chose between his 2 mentors. He will chose the new one, only to fuck up and be save by the old mentor. - the grand mentor! After your mentor is dead you get mentored by your mentor's mentor.

[@CalLadyQED]

Yup

[@TwoDollarGararge]

Cough legend of corra

[@UmbraMan1]

Those really are surprisingly common

[@goldedrag111]

Yoda.

[@03.ximipa3ahmadrinofarosmu3]

Jiraiya

[@cristaltophat]

Sees Video isn't sponsored by Skillshare *"Thats a another one for, Apocalypse Bingo!!"*

[@skyblade7438]

At least it's not Raid: Shadow Legends.

[@Shenaldrac]

My 60+ year old parents respond to texts using mostly emoticons.There's another.

[@JoahTheThread5ive]

2020: Bingo!

[@stephenquinn7931]

@@JoahTheThread5ive oh no

[@seneca983]

Maybe JP could talk about tropes used in Raid: Shadow Legends!

[@succulentboi676]

Jokes aside, Uncle Iroh is probably one of the few good mentors.

[@Bilboswaggins2077]

The few who never actually died

[@billavanilla956]

Kakashi?

[@yawayisi3979]

Sadly, his first voice actor bought it

[@ZaxorVonSkyler]

Merlin from King Arthur?

[@ZaxorVonSkyler]

And Yoda?

[@jamkat7785]

*"It's dangerous to go alone, take this!"* Eh, Love-Triangle, Triforce, they're both pointy.

[@ahniandfriends123]

You haven't seen the Love Triforce. It has an inner circle of love interests surrounded by other love triangles.

[@Crath99]

@@ahniandfriends123 You mean the Denobulan Love Triangle?

[@kohammy]

@@Crath99 There's a word? Why is there a word?

[@Crath99]

@@kohammy I'm just kidding lol. It's a play on the Denobulans from Star Trek. The species's culture allows each one to have up to three spouses.

[@kohammy]

@@Crath99 Ah, I see. Never seen Star Trek before haha

[@thekaticorn99]

mentor: *dies* comic relief character: *Z A P P E R S*

[@Kevin_Theadore1]

Zappers bro

[@Speed_Zamaa]

In fact, zappers.

[@glumbortango7182]

Time for the ol' slapstick routine

[@Speed_Zamaa]

@@glumbortango7182 Wait is it me or your profile photo is moving? Xd

[@el_tdg]

Bazinga

[@cyanic3148]

I'll be mildly happy if JP stays a ghost for the next TWA, and then only returns to regular JP once the resurrection TWA comes out

[@barryallen2240]

That's probably the next one

[@DeathBringerBecky]

that or time travel

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Or fakeout tropes

[@krackencrusader403]

ah resurrection the coolest idea no one ever uses properly.

[@Reishadowen]

All according to plan!

[@kingdomrains]

On the next episode of Terrible Writing Advice: Faking One's Death

[@frankwest5388]

Rule NR 1. If there is a cliff nearby, use it. They are always a great and safe way to spend some time away from your family and make for great pranking material when jumping off

[@bluelie1719]

"Terrible Writing Advice!?" "YES! I AM!"

[@yiayfanaphmaufanpopularmmo5035]

D I d I h e a r l o k i?

[@forsenfan69]

you mean how to retroactively have yourself re-added into the story because your creator is a hack who can't stick with one idea

[@yiayfanaphmaufanpopularmmo5035]

Or just explain by saying *m a g i c*

[@suoods34]

"Oh no! I am a mentor and I outlived my usefulness! Guess I'll die then." - Every mentor character ever

[@Warriorette12]

Laughs in Uncle Iroh

[@geo4290]

Laughs on Joseph Joestar. Nothing can kill Joseph Joestar.

[@DaidriveCJ]

Silvers Rayleigh from One Piece would have words with thee...at least for now...

[@zacharygilmore1075]

Laughs in Chiron from Percy Jackson.

[@ChaosRayZero]

🤷Might as well join in. **Laughs in Master Shifu** **Laughs in Blinky Galadrigal** **Laughs in Master Roshi**

[@adolphaselrah9506]

Remember, the fish may swim upstream, but the leaf flows downwind. I’m sure that will help you somehow, JP!

[@fantasyshadows3207]

People who are leaves learn to go with the flow, people who are the fish learn to swim against the odds, it’s fine to be the leaf and you’re not always the fish, You are never always the one in control and don’t always have to fight against the current, but everyone every now and then must fight the current, being an active character in the story They mustn’t always let the current define them, they sometimes have to change the course of the story, even when life is tough and you are both a leaf and a fish

[@ekuabrew4547]

I was looking for you!! Lol. I laughed so hard.

[@lilyme3]

Are these leaves from the vine? Or do I need to be the leaf?

[@andrewgreeb916]

It would take a lot of work, but it would be funny if they misinterpreted the wisdom yet somehow succeeded anyways

[@fidelski2019]

I’d love to see a story with a mentor who is some random dude that lies about all of his skills and frequently avoids apprenticeship out of a yearning to escape his inevitable demise.

[@johnny_my_penls_is_small_but]

So basically just Reigen from Mob Psycho 100

[@TheRezro]

@@johnny_my_penls_is_small_but Yup. Those are cliches on they own.

[@energeticcreeper7969]

So if king from one punch man was a mentor.

[@johnny_my_penls_is_small_but]

@@energeticcreeper7969 What do you mean? Clearly King is the strongest human on Earth! He's the one who destroyed the alien spaceship too!

[@scottmantooth8785]

*mentor lives a comfortable life in seclusion but clones himself (via magic) to "mentor" Chosen Ones™, Mary Sues™ and sometimes the Comic Relief™ to confuse the Dark lord Antagonist™ into dropping their defenses and thwart their E-vil™ plans to the Kingdom*

[@GorgutsFan1998]

When I realized that all i cared about was lore and exposition, I stopped writing fiction and became a history major.

[@connorschultz380]

My god. What development!

[@connorschultz380]

But really is that real

[@GorgutsFan1998]

@@connorschultz380 Yeah, no degree yet though.

[@andrewgreeb916]

Reality is stranger than fiction

[@colorpg152]

i definitely empatyse with that feeling

[@bound_5p]

TWA can’t die, because he’s a half dragon, half prince, half angel, half devil, half mentor, half god, and half raptor, oh, and half vulture, don’t know why he’s worried for death, we could always resurrect him later. Edit: WHATS WITH ALL THE LIKES... but the replies are fun to read so KEEP EM COMIN

[@barryallen2240]

He died because he was to good for this world

[@SorowFame]

Those halves add up to four which proves that they are four times specialer than everyone else.

[@succulentboi676]

His party just needs to go find a mcguffin

[@RJLbwb]

Mary Stu will just resurrect JP with a kiss.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@Hans Hanzo yep, we need Rise of Palpatine levels of fake death scenes!

[@bloodysimile4893]

JP: "if I'm stuck down, I will be even more terrible then you can possibly imagine."

[@skyblade7438]

There aren't any teachers left in the world because they all counted as mentors. Edit: I meant in the fictional world of TWA, I worded that very poorly, lol.

[@RWAsur]

This was funny until I realized it might be true by next year....

[@ryopoto55]

Its okay. Some if them are classified as antagonists in a school setting. Also some are parent figure archetype, but those teachers destined with the same fate as mentor.

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@@ryopoto55 nah, they just have to inexplicably move schools every year in such an order that they never meet the potential protagonists again, thus safely filling the absentee parent archetype.

[@absolite6]

@@ryopoto55 Koro-Sensei from Assassanation Classroom would fit your second point.

[@saintfisuto1072]

No they didn't.

[@Galimeer5]

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've finally realized why TWA's sponsorship messages are so entertaining: He's a writer

[@alexanderchristopher6237]

You don’t say...

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Oh. I didn't realize that either lol No shame m'dude

[@vadifadoms]

Viewers: Who gives writing advice at 1 in the morning? TWA: Oh boy, 1 AM!

[@remixtheidiot5771]

That is such a perfect mispelling I refuse to believe it as an accident thanks to what it morbidly could imply.

[@parthinaxe]

Remix The Idiot writhing advice: remember to scream your lungs raw for added *spice*

[@huhthatsinteresting1644]

I mean, it's 7 am here

[@vadifadoms]

@@remixtheidiot5771 Man, it's 1 in the morning you really thingk I give a damn about spelling

[@meme-yu3zp]

@@huhthatsinteresting1644 eyyyy It was 8am when it came out at my place!

[@unigon794]

Thank you I’ll make the protagonist be in a steamy love triangle with her mentor and the brooding anti-hero/rival/childhood friend throughout the entire story. So that way I can have hot and flirty exposition and nothing else.

[@scottmantooth8785]

@TJ ONeill *we can play environmentalist later*

[@unigon794]

Scott Mantooth This world's history isn't the only thing I'll go deep into ;)

[@circa134]

And another love thingie with the big bad evil guy and his generals or smth. Ma rysue is a sorta gender neutral name. They can be any gender.

[@Maryam-qx9kp]

Uncle Iroh: * laughs in perfect mentor *

[@ezelfrancisco1349]

JP, look. Death is behind yo- OH NO, HE'S WEARING AIRPODS! Edit: I didn't pay attention to the sponsor at the beginning, so i didn't realize until i got to the end

[@ryopoto55]

Underrated.

[@applepopapplerancher3211]

Now with our mentor dead, *we must write the perfect story using the knowledge he shared...* Oh and watch as he returns a literal episode later.

[@joeb8935]

I think you this videos sponsor RAYCONS!

[@Person-rz1ur]

OH NO HE’S WEARING RAYCONS!!!

[@louisduarte8763]

Oh, no! He's dead! You should FEEL bad!

[@asuspiciousavocado3317]

"We know that the mentor is killed off to advance the protagonist's character development..." *[Laughs in Sullivan from the Uncharted series]*

[@SleeperJauffre]

Joel in One definitely did not get the Sully treatment.

[@asuspiciousavocado3317]

@@SleeperJauffre To be fair, most people saw his death coming from the very first trailer. (He literally walks out of a tunnel of light).

[@ssik9460]

*cries in dumbeldore*

[@wisemankugelmemicus1701]

@@ssik9460 Dumbledore died to advance the story. Obi-Wan however....

[@exammole4545]

A Suspicious Avocado You are very suspicious

[@Kami74159]

Idea: A story where instead of the mentor dying, the hero he has been passing his knowledge onto is killed, and the aging mentor comes back to stop the villain.

[@theultimatememelord5494]

That sounds epic. I would read that!

[@circa134]

Or like the mentor kept trying to train heros but they kept dying so the mentor was like f*ck this sh*t I’ll deal with this myself

[@andrewgreeb916]

@@circa134 it'd be a shame when that mentor dies as nobody will be able to fill his shoes and his work will ultimately be for nothing

[@BlueGhostofSeaside]

@@circa134 Is this just Ozpin from RWBY?

[@circa134]

@@BlueGhostofSeaside probably not idk who that is. I don’t even know who I was referring to a year ago.

[@rj8563]

Lol Imagine living This post was made by mentor gang

[@HxH2011DRA]

MENTOR GANG MENTOR GANG MENTOR GANG!

[@klop4228]

Hey I'd like to join. Anyone wanna teach me? I need a lot of hands-on help, I propbably need a mentor. Any takers?

[@SorowFame]

@@klop4228 sure, I’ve already got a deathwish.

[@JesseGolo]

Broke: JP extending the video to avoid death. Woke: JP extending the video for more watch time Enlightened: JP setting up for a video on character death.

[@ShibuNub3305]

That or time travel plots

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Or resurrection and fakeout tropes

[@kimifw58]

This is pretty standard, actually.

[@JesseGolo]

FUCKING CALLED IT!

[@aptspire]

Imagine if the mentor character was actually dispensing wisdom to the rival/opponent of the main character? Crazy, I know.

[@TheRezro]

Evil student is another cliche alongside mentor being actually the villain.

[@gliscorpropagandaaccount1764]

Uncle Iroh, I love you-

[@f.i.r.e.5119]

"Zuko... you have to look within yourself, to save yourself from your other self. Only then, will your true self reveal itself..."

[@user-nw3ol7fk1i]

@@f.i.r.e.5119 * frog sounds *

[@f.i.r.e.5119]

@@user-nw3ol7fk1i Even when I'm talking for him, I can't figure out what the f*** he's saying...

[@pg3384]

So it turns out that J.P. pulled a Palpatine and managed to survive into the sequel behind the scenes for no reason!

[@meloneatingwolf1882]

Character death episode: somehow, JP returned.

[@Superkid33]

LOL

[@gwalchgwynwlisc1706]

My story is so well planned out, the mentor dies before the story even begins! Now i can have my protagonist ask burning questions regarding his goal and destiny to a corpse. Thankfully i put all the exposition on his gravestone.

[@BonaparteBardithion]

In the sequel, will they dig up his corpse for a suddenly needed reveal? Edit: Shoot. That's FMA, isn't it.

[@scottmantooth8785]

*the entire quest is related in the same way that Memento was...only with more dynamic magic based michael bay explosions and dark creatures emerging from other dimensions which totally ruins the property values throughout the kingdom*

[@Dark_Peace]

Now that you're dead you HAVE TO make an épisode about time travel. It's obviously the only way to bring you back from death.

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Mmm... Resurrection tropes and fakeouts are two that come to mind as well

[@scottmantooth8785]

*alternate time lines and self-perpetuating paradoxes and the problem with the butterfly effects and how it complicates dating your future ancestors*

[@Dark_Peace]

@@scottmantooth8785 actually, astro physicists just found out, thanks to a quantum computer, that butterfly effect and the chaos theory don't affect time travel. So...

[@scottmantooth8785]

@@Dark_Peace *as if i'm going to trust the validity of the calculations and motivations of a computer connected to Skynet*

[@Dark_Peace]

@@kianasheibani1708 www.google.com/amp/s/www.sciencealert.com/time-travel-through-a-quantum-world-has-nothing-to-fear-from-the-butterfly-effect/amp it's theorical. But it's a step forward in that direction.

[@GT-wj3gl]

Also, the mentor will never teach the protagonist their best techniques, even though the protagonist is supposed to save the world or whatever. And the mentor will only bust out that technique if it somehow causes their own death.

[@lindsey7544]

yes and they also are the villain

[@lunasmith9367]

Don’t forget the mentor having the main character do really menial tasks which somehow teaches the main character an important life lesson or makes them do something really cool later down the line

[@feralfernweh6091]

Personal favorite mentor trope: middle aged sass master with a legit interesting past (ex: Grunkle Stan, Eraserhead or Eda the Owl Lady)

[@nixxdra]

Grunkle Stan is hands down the best mentor.

[@travissmith2848]

They didn't explore the mentor side as much as they could have, but what about Jolee Bindo?

[@feralfernweh6091]

@@travissmith2848 ooh I dont know who that is. What're they from?

[@fightingmedialounge519]

I wouldn't call grunkel stand middle age.

[@thechipkid5554]

haymitch?

[@jasonblalock4429]

One thing I genuinely love about Star Wars is how it first embraced these tropes, then subverted them. In the original movie, Obi-Wan is almost totally lacking personality (aside from a vague sense of being haunted by the past) and dispenses a lot of exposition that seems like it's just a textbook lore dump. Yet by the time the Prequels were finished, Obi-Wan in ANH was radically transformed, because damn near everything he said turned out to be revisionist, rose-tinted, or outright bullshit. Thus a stock character becomes interesting, almost by accident.

[@TheRezro]

That is one of few good things about prequels. Though for the note OT was always written as propaganda movie.

[@theflickchick9850]

Yeah, I love Star Wars and it was revolutionary for a lot of reasons but the original movie is just good. I feel too that Obi-Wan sort of has a personality in the OT simply because Alec Guinness gave him one. He created a personality with barely a script.

[@daraghokane4236]

We learned that in episode 6 Luke you said vador he killed my dad, um well he changed the old him died so in a round about way im right. Him lying was clear

[@f.i.r.e.5119]

"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." I could spend _days_ ripping apart this alone. Especially since it's an absolute...

[@TheRezro]

@@daraghokane4236 Well, "It is truth, from a certain point of view". So not as much lie as manipulation and Obi Wan basically admit that. Difference is semantic.

[@aspenpawarts9333]

Drinking game: Take a shot time JP talks about the mentor dying, or has the reaper hover over him.

[@mckaylamarille8630]

What'd my liver ever do to you?

[@haillobster7154]

A goth grandpa in a black hoodie and a bladed stick started following me after the 9th glass!! Please send help!!

[@williamgeorge3111]

Farewell, liver.

[@geofff.3343]

I think the problem with mentor death is that people conflate what is actually supposed to happen with mentors in stories and real life: The mentored (be he or she a hero or villain) is supposed to outgrow the mentor. People just see it and say, "Free kill!" But trust me. If you're planning on killing the mentor. Kill him. Do not go back on it. I read Brent Week's Night Angel Trilogy and he thought he was being clever by having the student kill his master, and the resurrect said master. He only managed to accomplish two things. First, he established the mentor as the more engaging character than his own protagonist. Second, said protagonist entered a state of arrested development and spent the entirety of book two of three doing nothing. I'm not kidding. He spent most of the run time not advancing the plot. Arguably not even being the protagonist anymore. It was like his development as a character was totally arrested and he never recovered.

[@jshadowhunter]

"The Mentor" sounds like "Dementor" when you say it so fast.

[@swanandab2484]

What if the mantor was a D E M E N T O R.....?

[@LanieMae]

Dementia

[@WarmLusamine]

No, don't. You'll actually make Harry Potter interesting and not about a noiseless ghoul.

[@yunaneomi]

@@WarmLusamine I legit want that fanfic lmao. Why does the fandom come up with better stuff than JK?

[@crystalcrusader711]

TWA: “Don’t get attached to the mentor they always die.” Me, turning the main character into the villain and their mentor into the hero: “Ho Ho Ho! Wanta bet?”

[@u.g.3298]

One of my friends told me a story like that, about an old cowboy who taught a guy how to shoot to avenge his family. The student learned almost everything from him and fulfilled his revenge, but then got empty inside and became a villain with the awesome shooting skills he had. People asked the mentor to stop the guy because he trained him, and he proceeded to do it because there was one thing he didn't taught him, and that made the only difference between master and student.

[@KaiHung-wv3ul]

"You were my brother Anakin! I loved you!" "Wait! But you were the mentor, how did you not die?! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!-----"

[@arm4146]

Literally revenge of the sith

[@Astroga159]

The sponsored segments are probably one of the most entertaining on YT as a whole

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

9:19 Seeing that poorly animated cartoon character with the 1980s hair detracted from the carefully crafted realism of the rest of the video. 😉

[@dew-it8744]

Nooooooo! JP! You didn’t have to die, You could have come back as a even stronger JP

[@ryopoto55]

Don't forget to sport new fashion, like wearing white... Wait that's used by alter ego already.

[@dew-it8744]

@@ryopoto55 saurman has white robes and Gandalf had grey robes then white. Wait a minute...

[@Enoonb]

Terrible Writing Advice can't die because he is A GOD. Why? Because PLOT REASONS. Gods can like resurrect or some shit so bring him back.

[@SomeNerdyRando]

At the risk of getting absolutely incinerated: Pretty sure you could follow this guide step-by-step, and you would end up with Obi-Wan from original Star Wars trilogy. They only real contradiction I notice is that Obi-Wan isn't particularly grouchy. He is an old war vet following a prophecy whose last student, and the main villain, turned evil. Who then dies to progress the protag's character development. The ghost bit at the end kind of makes it feel like maybe Obi-Wan was an inspiration for this video. Also pretty sure that protag resume is just a photocopy of Luke Skywalker's.

[@michaela4143]

Not here to incinerate you. As the saying goes, tropes are tools and yes, Obi-Wan follows many of them. However he is before all a character written as such, rather than a collection of plot points. If you write a story following TWA, the plot may make some sense but it will feel like a slideshow (see TWA about plotting a story).

[@meridaskywalker7816]

I think people started copying Star Wars after it became popular and created lots of cliches.

[@suf1an658]

Even if he does fit the trope exactly it doesn't make the trope bad. TWA doesn't actually say how using these tropes and ideas is bad writing. There's nothing actually wrong with a mentor being killed for character development, the only real criticism of these techniques TWA gives is that it's been done a million times

[@dilophosaurussk4333]

JP discovers his mortality for 10 minutes straight.

[@shostysboo]

OMG!!! I was waiting for another episode but I can’t believe it actually came out!! Love the content

[@wdcain1]

Kanan Jarrus from _Star Wars: Rebels_ was a neat take on the mentor trope. He's only a few lessons ahead of his student and isn't the real leader of the good guys, his girlfriend is. Plus he's got a lot of PTSD of his own that he needs help moving through, finally becoming a full fledged Jedi. He was so good that the show would have been better if it was more about him than Ezra Bridges.

[@skalessibbons7349]

And his death was sad.

[@Superkid33]

Kanan is honestly a great character!

[@vocalcalibration8033]

Currently, I'm working on a story with two equally yet oppositely damaged character traveling across the continent. The plot will sort of have the two mentoring each other in various ways. He's a soldier who's basically had all of his individuality beaten out of him since he was a child making him a basically a perfect canon fodder soldier who always follows orders, and she is a descendent of a thought to be dead race which can manipulate people's thoughts and actions to varying degrees. Very simplified there, just sayin'. Regardless over the course of the plot he learns how to actually be himself, partially at least, and she learns to think about other people. Again, very simplified. I'm about 8000 words in so far, and... need to motivate myself to get back to it. ON a different note, I really like the idea of setting up a main character and a mentor and all that, and then killing the student after firmly establishing their bond in order to further the mentors plot as he takes on the starring role. A grizzled but kind old soldier going off for vengeance as a kid he saw so much potential in has their life taken away far too early.

[@WolfyAteUrSocks]

You got this, keep writing! ;)

[@hanhong2267]

An actually creative and intriuging story? Get outta here, this is Terrible Writing Advice, not Good Writing Advice! All jokes aside though, I like the premise a lot, I hope you have fun writing it!

[@builder5008]

Would like to check it out sometime when you are finished

[@scottmantooth8785]

*sounds like a great beginning... follow your pancreas...because the heart is a daydreaming....SQUIRREL!!!!*

[@vocalcalibration8033]

@@scottmantooth8785 My heart is a daydreaming squirrel. It's nice to have that confirmed.

[@mrman5517]

it's okay if the mentor dies, because no one's ever really gone... or perhaps have the hero simply *think* the mentor is dead, quickly undergo a training montage, then proceed upon an epic journey of righteous vengeance! when the evil doers are done for and the dust settles, have the mentor reappear, maybe with coffee, asking "what did i miss?" [cue audience laughter]

[@Randoman590]

Anyone else in the process of writing or brainstorming their own story and going through all the TWA videos, checking to make sure you're not falling into any of these pitfalls yourself and sighing a breath of relief when you're not?

[@MsHydna]

I didn't buy the headphones but I was thoroughly entertained by the ad. I would like to Express my appreciation for how consistently well scripted the ads are

[@artsiguy]

Don't forget that when the protagonist is in real trouble, the mentor is usually absolutely useless.

[@Jessie_Helms]

Imagine if he made a collab with someone where they took over once JP “died”

[@drakeredwingofficial]

OverlySarcasticProductions would be a good alternate host.

[@annadavis6679]

Yeah and JP’s ghost is just there telling them to stop giving them good advice

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Those two ideas combined would be amazing holy mother of love dodecahedrons

[@Bismuth83X]

Would be cool if you did an episode on works with anthro animals. Some of the things you could look at: •The oversaturation of anthro amniotes (mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles (and they're always the same types of animals: foxes, wolves, big cats, rabbits, deer, hawks, housecats, etc.) ) and lack of amphibians, fish, or invertebrates despite the fact that doing so would allow for more creativity (How would eusocial animals like bees, termites, or naked mole rats function in a multi-species society with advanced technology? What'd puberty be like for a species that goes through radical shifts in body shape like butterflies or frogs? How would the omnipresence of electricity in a high-tech world affect the electromagnetic senses of animals like sharks and rays?) and the fact that some invertebrates (most notably cephalopods) are on the same intellectual level as some amniotes •Poor handling of "race relations" (overfocusing on the "predator/prey" or "carnivore/herbivore" conflict while ignoring things like omnivores, scavengers, decomposers, the fact that food chains/webs are multi-leveled and thus a predator can also be prey, and that's just talking about diets; they almost never focus on things like symbiosis, commensalism, parasitism, and competition. Beastars (a manga/anime series set in a world of anthro amniotes that, like Zootopia, is supposed to use its animal characters as a metaphor for IRL race relations) is pretty bad about this; I couldn't tell if the carnivores were supposed to represent racial minorities or racial majorities and vice versa and the whole thing seemed to flip-flop on whether or not segregation between herbivores and carnivores was good, bad, or would work/not work on a case-by-case basis) based on ecological dynamics if those exist • Biological inaccuracies (the classic "alpha-beta-omega" thing with wolves, inaccuracies with regards to classification (portraying hyenas as canids (they're actually more closely related to cats), not distinguishing between seals and sea lions (sea lions have external ears, seals don't, and that's just one difference), etc.), having oviparous species go through pregnancy, either because they have a fetish or because they're too lazy to explain how an anthropomorphic animal with jobs, school, hobbies, friends, etc. would deal with keeping a developing egg safe, treating carnivorous species as being unilaterally tougher than herbivores (in fact, herbivores can be just as tough as, if not tougher than, the species that prey on them (case in point: deer, bovids, elephants, rhinos, hippos, swans, geese, ostriches, a lot of herbivorous dinosaurs, turtles, stag beetles, etc.)) not to mention the fact that they treat physical strength as the only thing that matters in survival (you also have things such as speed, camouflage, coordination, numbers, size, intelligence, special abilities like ink, color changing (in fact, the broadclub cuttlefish can use this ability to hypnotize the animals it eats), flight, etc. to consider), etc.)

[@sodaftpm185]

That would be a great TWA; Don't forget about the obligatory animal mascot in any anime or 90s kids show.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

Yep! And another essential: The obligatory & annoying animal sidekick in any movie from the Disney/Dreamworks stable... Generally one acting way out of character for its species too (doglike horses/donkeys seem to be all the rage for some weird reason!)

[@iliansarigo1969]

Oh, the wizard, my FAVORITE kind of mentor! He knows more than you could possibly imagine, he's lived longer than you could possibly comprehend, and he can't tell you what to do because the situation is more complicated than you could possibly comprehend! And of course none of this is elaborated on because it's TOO GREAT FOR THE READER'S PUNY MORTAL BRAIN TO UNDERSTAND. Some real good storytelling right there! Seeing these wonderfully fleshed out, totally unobnoxious characters has to be my favorite thing about all those middle grade fantasy books I read.

[@NinjaMan47]

I love the idea of using the Love Triangle as the narrative equivalent to the Nuclear Option. "Get back or I swear to God I will unload a new romantic interest upon the protagonist! The plot will never recover!"

[@Brush421]

1:18 "Which is most DEATH-initely not dying off in order to advance the protagonists character development."

[@bluelightstudios6191]

to be honest, Gandalf may be seen as a generic wizard mentor but he actually is the best written wizard mentor, he actually serves a vital role in the plot, he is useful and grants actual wisdom and knowledge, he lives long enough and his death was saddening but him being resurrected kind of ruined that. The only old and wise mentor that was actually done right was TLA's Uncle Iroh who does all of this, manages to live and has an interesting personality and character ark who also serves a very vital role in the tv show.

[@nenmaster5218]

May seem random to some but this video made me wanna recommend Atomic Shrimp, Sci Man Dan, Professor Dave and maybe-more-if-you-want, cause they cover $cams and i dont want people to fal for ‚em.

[@TheManFromWaco]

The Image Comics series “The Mice Templar” has one the best mentors I’ve ever seen. The Templar Master Cassius actually has flaws, a character arc, a distinct worldview, a complex web of relationships that help drive the plot, and a dynamic with the Protagonist that naturally evolves from ‘Teacher & Student’ to ‘Bother In Arms’ as the latter grows in strength and wisdom. Also, his solo chapter “Solitaire” is the best in the series.

[@scottmantooth8785]

*agreed that was an exceptionally awesome series*

[@ladytalksalot4097]

I actually squealed with delight when I got the notification. Let the mentor-killing commence!

[@becuaseimbored3481]

You forgot about "the ex-hero doesn't want to be a mentor, but needs to be reminded of what it meant to be a hero, or something "

[@schmoe5869]

So Luke in The Last Jedi

[@becuaseimbored3481]

@@schmoe5869 its not just him, it happens alot in media

[@misterzygarde6431]

What would an episode on Crossovers be like? I could see a suggestion to make one side look bad while shilling the other side

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Make sure you give equal amounts of time to both so marketing doesn't scream and include as many fan-favorites as possible. What? Substantial plot? Nah, we don't got time for that. The equivalent snarky scientists need to have a snark-off!

[@BlackCover95]

It’d have to be an actual crossover, ft. a guest KZbinr. 🤞 OSP 🤞

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

@@BlackCover95 Yes. This. But JP is still a ghost, Red's giving good advice, and ghost JP is constantly trying to get her to stop but he's a ghost and she doesn't know

[@scottmantooth8785]

*not just a crossover...but a MUSICAL Crossover with interpretive Dance..on ICE....that's what we need right now*

[@trailguidealex5010]

I just realised alot of mentor characters were part of love triangles with BBEG. Shredder and splinter, lord garmadon, kakashi and obit.

[@ThatGuy-te9wh]

Great time of day to upload. You should always upload at 1:35 AM!

[@Moepowerplant]

I still remember that episode where *ground-up widows* and *pure evil* was mentioned in the same voice as this one's *very important opinions.*

[@lorddevilfish5868]

I know I suggested this one a couple of years ago but could you do a terrible writing advice on Multiverses and mythical realms? Having different planes of existence can be very interesting if given enough investment and creativity, giving a sense of otherworldliness and true fantasy in any setting. But will either be a cheap reskin of the normal world or unknowingly become so convoluted that it can ruin any sense of accessibility to a normal audience.

[@ChaosRayZero]

AND you can pull off both of the latter options in *_the same series!_* At least, _I think_ that's where characters like Scourge The Hedgehog and Zonic originated from in the Sonic Archie comics... as far as I can tell from the wikis, anyway. I'm part of the _audience that lost accessibility because I've only read 4 or 5 random issues (that those characters weren't even part of) and I wasn't there from the beginning._ =^p

[@circa134]

Gravity falls has the nightmare realm and there’s the owl house

[@Doctorgeo7]

You must always start with an exposition dump! Characters, side characters, villains, worlds and mentors must all start with one!

[@spacewarsfight281]

The mentor is always one of my favorite characters in any media there Infanite wisdom is always appreciated great video as always

[@bassforhire555]

It hurts how much this describes one of my favorite mentors, Bron. Like Damn.

[@gabrielrussell5531]

Since we got sci-fi weapons could we also have a video on fantasy weapons? Spoiler alert: despite being a secondary weapon to be used only if you didn't have your real weapon available, it's only swords. Two-handed swords will also be oddly prominent in spite of basically only having existed for dick-measuring. Polearms? Only for faceless mooks. Axes? Only for bandits. Bows? Used by the scrawniest characters in spite of actual war-bows having draw-weights of 100+ pounds. Armor? Only as effective as the plot-importance of the person wearing it.

[@SL2797]

Good points!

[@bobrbw1202]

This channel actually helps me a lot when it comes to avoiding cliches.

[@SuperStar-ss1pn]

I'd like to see any sort of tropes related to trauma like that joke in he appology video

[@hupla2185]

JP is the best mentor, without you I wouldn’t know how to make the perfect story.

[@luismoralesacevedo3100]

Bruh, it’s 1:30am, what a time to upload

[@aspenpawarts9333]

I was currently writing out the plot of mine, and developing the main character mentor relationship, so this is perfect!

[@wamlythecrabgod2199]

I'm sure as hell first, I sure ain't last, Cause when I see a TWA notification You bet I click fast

[@lives2872]

Youre 19th

[@annoyingdictionary1501]

1:25 I legitimately started hyper-ventilating when I sow The Great Wall Of Text Too many good stories became inaccessible due to the wall's evil power to ... drain my patience for a random internet comment

[@purplehaze2358]

I’m genuinely surprised you haven’t done this topic earlier.

[@TigerXGame]

This is like the fourth channel I'm subscribed to promoting Raycon. I'm sure this is because it is such an amazing product that everyone happily promotes it, and not because the paycheck this mediocre company offers is too big to pass up.

[@stuffmorestuff6647]

How could you forget the 'Small annoying animal' mentor? I feel betrayed. 2:43

[@ciphergacha9100]

I don’t know how to tell you this but

[@JMarcosArt]

Good to see you're back, man

[@seamus2059]

I am just waiting to hear" This video is sponsored by Raid Shadow Legends"

[@BonaparteBardithion]

When he started into Raycon I wasn't sure if it was legit or parody. Raycon is the new Raid Shadow Legends.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

@@BonaparteBardithion They're not as annoying, though.

[@BonaparteBardithion]

@@andrewgwilliam4831 Definitely. For one thing, Raycon is a lot less restrictive in how the ad is presented. It's fun seeing all the different ways content creators come up with to shill the same product. Raid always requires the exact same video and script. It was monotonous.

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Then the Knights of Artistic integrity tackle him, it cuts out, and he's being held hostage and says, "Hey, uh, new plan guys..."

[@greentiger332]

Props to Uncle Iroh and Izumi Crutis for escaping the Mentor Death curse. You are legends.

[@BRLink1]

When will you cover the love triangle? I don't care if you already did it, we need at least a trilogy on the love triangle

[@plucas1]

Mentors are allowed to live if they're also the comic relief. Ex. Master Roshi, Uncle Iroh So I guess the next video will be on resurrecting dead characters?

[@conradojavier7547]

What if the Former Protagonist grows into the Mentor role like Luke.

[@BonaparteBardithion]

That's classic Next Gen strategy. Kill off (or otherwise fridge) the former heroes. That way you get the starpower cameo without making the audience wonder why they don't just solve the conflict themselves. Plus you get to make the audience care about the death of a character that's been onscreen for four whole minutes. (Intended reaction not guaranteed.)

[@conradojavier7547]

@@BonaparteBardithion also Humiliating & Embarassing the Former Protag into a Joke, The Death of a Cinematic Universe, when they could have used him into a Nick Fury-type role.

[@alexanderchristopher6237]

Conrado Javier well, that’s just poor writing. Good potential, but poor execution. Though I don’t think it’s best to use Luke as a Nick Fury or throw him further into the galactic war that’s happening. Luke being a Ben Kenobi kind of mentor or even a Yoda one is already nice and shows more wisdom in his old age compared to his more brash youth. It also wouldn’t distract audience too much from the next gen characters, which is the main purpose of these movies anyway.

[@conradojavier7547]

@@alexanderchristopher6237 Fans want Luke to be EU Accurate.

[@andrewlance3898]

Young Justice does this, with each season introducing a new generation to The Team. It allows the writers to highlight the first gen's character development by showing how they teach someone struggling with similar issues, and they can use new gen as a foil to first gen while simultaneously expanding the cast.

[@shadestrider1033]

Kakashi Hatake is actually a pretty good mentor. He’s not strong enough to carry the plot, but he still remains useful throughout the entirety of the show. He also passed everything from his tragic backstory down to his students. He actively participates in actually training... Sasuke. That might be why Naruto is constantly on his back. He kinda showed Sasuke a bit too much favoritism. But he did participate in teaching Naruto how to use Wind Style, so that counts. Even when he admits that Naruto surpassed him, he still remains useful throughout the entirety of the show. He died once, and I still don't approve of the "Pain bringing back everyone so nothing bad ever happened". But I still appreciate Kakashi as a character and as a great mentor (When he actually teaches his students).

[@waltz9533]

Book 1: Classic Adventure story where mc gains powers and defeats evil Book 2: After defeating evil dudes mc retires and becomes the mentor of some other guy with similar powers Book 3: Kill off mc and and make the new guy the new mc Step 4: follow steps 1, 2, and 3 all over again. Step 5: Profit?

[@aguywithalotofopinions412]

The mentor/mentee relationship has always been one of my favorites

[@alphonmoller9486]

Hey wait a minute, if anything we just need to wish him back with the dragonballs...no one's ever really gone.

[@saucefreakystyle]

I see it now; J.P, as the mentor figure, couldn't bring himself to deviate from the mentor's death trope, a conflict which caused a growth in character in a futile attempt to fight against the tried and true laws of creative writing. He learns that not all tropes benefit the writer, but still falls to his vices in his ghost form, thus prolonging the inevitable realization of his flawed ideology. Brilliant.

[@Metalseadraking]

Next on Terrible Writing Adcive "How to Revive a character"

[@scottmantooth8785]

*it's called Plot Convenience™ and Suspension of Disbelief™...or Cynical Cash Grab Plot Writing Scenario™*

[@Maalstrom]

In my current wip, I have two mentors who outlive their charges and one becomes an anti hero.