Writing Tips and Reviews

Time and Skill

Everything takes time to learn, it's a misconception from little kids that being all that takes little time. That little practice gets big results. Unless you're a child prodigy, that's not going to happen. I have a girl in my sword practice who learns quickly. But here's the thing, some people are good at things naturally while others need time, either way, you can do what you don't know how to do. You can't play professional golf without knowing the correct the position to stand. 

I think what's sad, is the thought that five years is enough to be better than someone who has been training all their life and is three times older. Kids right? The same with characters, the more time they train, the stronger and better they are at what they do. Fate series, a Lancer servant is not going to be beaten by a little kid with two years of holding a spear. An Archer servant isn't going to be defeated by a half assed job at the bow and arrow.

In my series, mages and knights train for years, sometimes starting when they're children. A mage starting off right this second is not going to be as good or better than a mage who has been training for twenty years. "Unfortunately I had five years of street fighting, which means I'm better than you" to a man who had been training all his life, "I was trained to kill when I was 14" is 15. Really showing what you know about training. Yes, two years of training means your OC is better than a character who has been training all their life and is three times their age. Real smart kiddies. Real smart. I'm being extremely sarcastic.

No one is a big shot when they first start out. Ask the kid in my sword fighting class, act like a hot shot all you want and insult your peers when they make a mistake, but if you're doing worse, then you should shut up. If it applies to real life, it can also apply to writing.

What's an exception? Programming for robots, muscle memory and amnesia, child prodigies, not some loser who thinks they're better than everyone else because they were born. I'm reading too much r/entitledparents. If the character is actually a loser, then what's the point of building them up to be a big shot? This is the whole edgy character really being a whiny baby. A character can always be destroyed by their end result. Remember that. If the character is all talk no walk, then don't even try me, I know a badly written character when I see one. And I'm not biased, I also ask my friends for their opinion to get all the different views. But it still stands that, just because you did it once, you're not a professional. That's the real world.

Tip of the day: If you try to make your character really cool and edgy but comes off as a whiny little baby, then say it's a reflection of who you are, you've screwed yourself. Drinking and smoking is not "cool" and not okay kids, so don't add it in "because it's cool and I do it so that makes me better than everyone else". It makes you look like moron.