I just want to give you one piece of advice when you want to write something that speaks: Write the book you want to read.
When I wrote Ancient Heroes I thought I understood the meaning of that sentence, but I only began to understand it when I started writing an original fiction novel called To Slay An Enemy of Light a couple of days ago.
I found that the books I wanted to read were the books that, irritatingly, nobody had ever written. Nobody had written a book telling the story in the bad guy’s point of view, nobody ever said why the bad guy wasn’t entirely bad in a story (and NOT just a single line to help justify it). It irked me to no end because I just wanted to see that these people weren’t defined as monsters, but just flawed.
You can see in my bio that I’m not like other writers because I don’t praise the good and curse the bad. I don’t say right and wrong. I say choices, no matter whether people agree with them or not.
And that’s the kind of book I want to read. I don’t want to read another high school au about the nerd who falls in love with the bad boy.
I just don’t.
So if that was any help at all, please let me know!! If it hasn’t come to you yet, don’t worry! It will one day, when your style becomes more defined.
I purple you,
-Tae