Under The Tartosan Sun
Table of contents: [ Spoiler ] Since this story has grown so much bigger than I ever imagined I feel like its time to borrow a page from some of my favorite SimLit writers and offer you a syn...
Forum Discussion
To show and not tell, I think a writer must know their audience well and I think that getting to know an audience takes time. Even in an environment as small as this forum, with people being from all over the world, it's hard to know what experiences people are familiar with. What’s preachy to some may be a completely new idea to others. When I started my legacy, I wasn't sure what readers would tolerate from me, so my posts were generally shorter and a lot less layered. Now, I feel more confident to subtly explore themes that interest me and trust that some of my readers will get it (and perhaps even enjoy it :D), while others will be there for some silliness or for the pictures.
@DaniRose2143 I like that you want to make your readers think. I think that's fun. Because of an experience that I had recently and because I like subtle slice-of-life things, I was thinking about what microaggressions or "benevolent" sexism Summer/Hannah may have experienced, especially given that Hannah is a fancy? chef or at least probably knows fancy chefs that work in fancy restaurants. I was at a "fancy" restaurant the other day - one of those places where they push your chair in, help you into your coat when you leave, and press elevator buttons for you. When the waiter came, he would always skip over the men and address the ladies first. It made me wonder if Summer or Hannah were running a fancy restaurant or if they had friends that did, would they do this sort of "manners/chivalry" thing (or would they skip over having something fancy completely and focus on creating a place where almost anyone can go and have a good meal). I think it's awkward if you're a strong, independent woman and you're at a restaurant trying to have a business meal or get a deal done and the waiter is well-meaning, but subtly undermining your authority by treating you like a delicate princess and not giving you the check and so on. Anyway, if you want to explore sexism and other issues, I think that there are a lot of ways that you can do it. There’s even a lot of space to say interesting things about the types of dishes people select to cook since your characters seem like they may have cooking shows (homecook vs. culinary chef from culinary school, poor people’s food vs. rich people’s food, food from different ethnicities…) .
Sorry for rambling, but I also agree with @luciusstorm and hope people write what makes them happy.
@DaniRose2143 I like that you want to make your readers think. I think that's fun. Because of an experience that I had recently and because I like subtle slice-of-life things, I was thinking about what microaggressions or "benevolent" sexism Summer/Hannah may have experienced, especially given that Hannah is a fancy? chef or at least probably knows fancy chefs that work in fancy restaurants. I was at a "fancy" restaurant the other day - one of those places where they push your chair in, help you into your coat when you leave, and press elevator buttons for you. When the waiter came, he would always skip over the men and address the ladies first. It made me wonder if Summer or Hannah were running a fancy restaurant or if they had friends that did, would they do this sort of "manners/chivalry" thing (or would they skip over having something fancy completely and focus on creating a place where almost anyone can go and have a good meal). I think it's awkward if you're a strong, independent woman and you're at a restaurant trying to have a business meal or get a deal done and the waiter is well-meaning, but subtly undermining your authority by treating you like a delicate princess and not giving you the check and so on. Anyway, if you want to explore sexism and other issues, I think that there are a lot of ways that you can do it. There’s even a lot of space to say interesting things about the types of dishes people select to cook since your characters seem like they may have cooking shows (homecook vs. culinary chef from culinary school, poor people’s food vs. rich people’s food, food from different ethnicities…) .
Sorry for rambling, but I also agree with @luciusstorm and hope people write what makes them happy.
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