Scribble Hub Forum

I agree, I'll never say "it'll get better", rather, "Yeah, the execution is wonky as fuck."

I always hated authors saying shit like "skip to chp x, it gets better from there."

No, you do better from 1 to x-1 then. The story is good (from the start)
But it can be better.

Now I am even more confused.

Same.

I just jumped into this with my own conclusion.

But after some rereads of the chain I am really confused.

You know what, previous assumption still sticks.

If bad at start, bad at heart. No BS on "it gets better later" will win back my watch.

I can't agree with it.

I think what Assur is trying to say is that when readers complain about the plot, the writer’s defense of ‘it’ll get better’ is a weak argument, instead of actually taking into account constructive feedback on earlier chapters.

But I’d say it’s not uncommon for stories with weak beginnings to actually find their footing later (one of my favorite TV shows ever has this issue).

@Rhaps
@TsuruI_am_a_bot
I agree with Tsuru here, just it is getting even better. It will get better is an admission that it is bad currently. That cannot stand.

@Cosmictapestry I agree that it is a weak defense, but at the same time, it can be true. More than that, sometimes you can't change earlier chapters. I'm talking about works that have been finished long ago, or it can happen because of the lack of time. If you pump out a chapter a day, it is hard to stop and focus on the beginning.

As for judgement, I am one who advocates the approach to judge a book by their cover.

There are times that I agree with you and there are times I really wish the story would as you said "gets better".

The most important thing is always when the plot lost me. Now the tricky question becomes should I stay committed and maybe get a happy end or leave the door now to save myself?

Did both former and latter from time to time.

Returning after the latter... for the lack of a better word, ain't worth it.

I think I did stuck with a work after leaving it and thought to myself "oh wow it got better!"

And then it shot itself in the face with a sawn off shotgun nearing the end.

That's where reviews come in handy. You can get a rough outline of what to expect. @NotaNuffian With your tastes it won't be as helpful, but for someone less extreme, it will. Personal example, Slam dunk. Couldn't figure out why it was called a masterpiece till I've finished it. And the beginning was meh, but it subverted my expectations in a nice way.

And without the so-so beginning, it would've not been possible.

I love Slam dunk from the first page though!

How extreme is @NotaNuffian’s taste? ?

Another example would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Season 1 was beyond bad, absolutely horrible. It got better and then became horse dung once again, but I still like it regardless.

@Cosmictapestry I liked it as well, then it got a little bit boring. Most importantly, I did not see a masterpiece. Everyone I trust said it was. I expected something groundbreaking from the get-go, but got a rather generic stuff. That's how I thought in the beginning.

If I am not mistaken, Nota likes reading machine translated chinese novels. I assume you can't easily trust reviews of those works. If I am wrong, he will correct me.

... I can read most of chinese characters just fine... enough for me to get the gist of things.

And most of my time I am spending to find that stoic MC who is still human to his loved ones but also enjoys making bloodbaths for those who oppose him.

And often in those works, the entire world opposes MC, kind of like nobody having better things to do.

I was mostly talking about how reviews of works you read aren't exactly trustworthy.