I Read a Lot, and I Have Opinions

I have been an avid reader all my life. I could almost always be found with a book in my hand, dreaming of one day having a library full of all my favorite stories. While other kids were getting in trouble for talking in class or being on their phones, I was getting in trouble for reading during lessons—that’s how much I loved it.

For me, reading was about falling into another world. The words created imagery in my head that could sometimes rival any movie I had seen. Characters were loved and hated in equal measure and took on lives of their own in my imagination, which eventually drew me into the world of fanfiction and amateur writing.

I am by no means an expert in writing, but when you read a lot—both professionally published books and amateur stories—you start to notice patterns. You notice what works, what doesn’t, and what quietly pulls you out of a story. For me, that has led to more than a few rants over the years: the difference between a hero and a villain, how perspective can completely change a story, why the dead don’t talk (please don’t write letters from characters about events that happened after they died), and so much more.

When you read enough stories, certain patterns start to repeat themselves. You begin to recognize familiar setups, character roles, and narrative shortcuts appearing again and again. Some of these patterns work beautifully when handled well—but others start to stand out for all the wrong reasons.

There are countless tropes in storytelling. Some are overused, some underdeveloped, and some simply misunderstood. Take the “damsel in distress,” for example. I understand the role—but when a character never grows beyond it, never gains agency, and never changes, the dynamic becomes stale. The interaction between them and their savior becomes repetitive and ultimately useless to the plot. Stories thrive on growth. Even side characters need to evolve in some way for a story to feel believable and engaging.

There also has to be realism in a character’s background, even in fantasy. It shouldn’t be so extreme that it breaks believability. Whether the genre is fantasy, mystery, or anything in between, characters need to feel relatable to draw readers in and keep them there. Fantasy characters can still face problems rooted in real-world emotions and experiences. Whether they’re an elf, vampire, fairy, or human, struggles should still make sense.

That said, you can’t have a character experience something that would realistically kill them and simply brush it off with “they’re supernatural” or “they got help in time” without showing where that help came from or acknowledging lasting consequences like injuries. Even magic needs rules.

Readers also need to feel what your characters feel. They need to be able to love who they love, hate who they hate, and mourn when they mourn. Evoking emotion is extremely important if you want readers to stay invested—not just for one story, but for years or entire series to come.

I’ve ranted, haven’t I?

These are just a few of the thoughts I’ve carried with me over the years, and now that I have a blog, I finally have a place to put them. Hopefully, writing them down will stop them from keeping me awake at night—I like sleep, thank you very much.

In the future, I’d love to dive deeper into topics like what truly separates a hero from a villain, the role of the mentor, character development, story planning, and many other ideas that have either stuck with me or challenged me along the way. Writing is its own form of art, and while most of my work these days is physical and covered in paint, stories and books will always be my first love—and a constant presence in my life.