Just understanding the principle of "show it, don't tell it" doesn't always translate implementing it precisely according to the narrative needs of a chapter.
The emotional impact of fiction is considered successful if it meets the expectations of its genre.
Comedy fiction makes you laugh. Tragedy fiction makes you sad. SoL fiction makes you feel relaxed. And dark fantasy fiction makes you ponder what it means to be human in a dark world.
What's absurd is giving a low rating for deviant expectations.
Respect others' privacy as we respect our own. Don't get too involved in other people's affairs unless absolutely asked. That's at least basic social etiquette to create a more peace and comfortable social environment.
What do you think about a children's fairy tale with dark fantasy undertones as an interlude chapter?
For example, a mother tells her little daughter a bedtime story about a wolf, a rabbit, and a princess rose. This story sounds sweet to her daugher.
But, as a reader, you might interpret this story not as a fairy tale but as a dark reality that the mother or other characters in the story might have experienced.
14 out of 17 respondents (currently) agree that character emotions need to be narrated through showing, rather than telling by mentioning raw emotions (sad, anxiety, etc).
Authors can narrate emotions organically (by showing) through body language, psychological reactions (tears, nausea, etc), action, dialogue, and atmosphere in a scene.
The goal is to make the reader experience the emotion with the character.
Hmm... I'm seeing a pattern. Thread replies that don't address the topic or are provocative are automatically deleted. Does SHF have a mechanism for checking answer relevance, or are they simply deleted by moderators?
Rewriting old chapters rarely provides instant engagement. But, rewriting old chapters is also an effective learning tool to improve narrative skills.
You're forced to read the old chapter, analyze its narrative structure, evaluate it, and write concrete solutions. You will understand the gaps between your previous writing and the current one.
You'll be able to see tangible changes in your narrative competence.
I haven't released a new chapter for 10 days, not because I don't have a new draft. But the last time I released a new chapter, I received a low rating from random readers who happened to be passing by.
Well, my new chapter is indeed entering the dark peak of the story... and it will get darker. Sensitive readers won't be suitable.
IRL, when the name of someone you know is mentioned, your mind tends to conjure up a whole person with appearance, personality, background, and relationships.
But when a stranger's name is mentioned, you tend to tilt your head, without thinking of a specific person.
Similarly, in a fictional narrative, without character introduction, names are just random strings of letters in the reader's mind.
Speaking of this, it reminded me of this shoujo manga i tried months ago (the sole thing female-oriented i read for years)
fmc is a maid, blablabla basically cinderella plot, and fmc has prophecy powers
ML is mindreader prince.
Its so dumb, like xianxia spectators lvl.

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