Varun Vasudevan

Digital marketer by day. Fantasy writer & heavy metal music creator by night. Former football analyst (used to run @thedevilsdna & GetFootball tactics pod).

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@falyrionient @SKBalstrup Thanks I'll check these two out. Any recomms on the blogs? I read a lot of blogs too. If I ever do start writing about the books I read or craft stuff I would mostly run a blog I think.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@falyrionient I mean any example of a good review. That shows What you think a review should do.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@boycereads Yeah i finished S1 but it's very clear how much this suffers from the adaptation. The changed things make it worse logic wise.

[Skryvener @sarahs_sky]

AI has only proven what we already knew; that, generally, most people's ideas are generic and dull. When given the power to do ANYTHING, with no limitations (theoretically... AI output is garbage, but let's just pretend), it turns out, most people have little of value to offer. Not one person has risen up as some master storyteller, master artistic mind, enabled by AI. Not one. Why? They quibble and say it's because of bias. People just out-of-hand hate AI, the meanies 😠 but it's really because of two things.

1) the first thought you have as an artist is never that great. The ability, then, to instantly capitalize on that thought just cuts off the process of what makes something good; work. AI has no way to comprehend or match the vast permutations of thought that go into the artistic choices made over months and years as an artist builds their piece. The different considerations, the impact of different headspaces, the way personal events change how they do their work, layering together over and over and over; there's just no way to fake that richness. And audiences don't want mundane; they want things that are well-made, and well-told, and reflect the passion of the artist. They only tolerate mundane because so much of what surrounds them is mundane. But they still flock to great stories and beautiful art when it comes along.

2) people don't want completely atomized experiences; storytelling is meant to be communal. AI is the final horseman of a complete social breakdown. Real stories and actual artistry are (should be) agents of social cohesion. People *want* the latter, even as we are constantly attacked by forces of the former.

It's not that complex at the end of the day.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

There's a difference between "I know the rules & why I'm breaking one for a desired effect" vs "I'm gonna do whatever coz there are no rules to this." While I'm against the rampant writing "coaching" experts all over social media, making excuses to not learn the craft is worse.

[Possum Reviews @ReviewsPossum]

Every piece of writing advice I hear is violated by the classics.

Frankenstein isn't introduced until something like fifteen pages in, and he doesn't make the monster until the fiftieth page, a quarter of the way through.

The entire first chapter of The Lord of the Rings is just explaining what hobbits are before there's even a hint of plot or stakes.

Dune just throws a bunch of in-universe jargon at you and expects you to figure it out.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@Pitolheart Beautiful cover.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@falyrionient Yeah i made this mistake earlier of giving a 1st draft for feedback. It was a waste of time for everyone involved and I realised I need to finish draft & revise 1-2 times for it to be worth constructive feedback. Else you're lost in basic stuff you can & should correct yourself.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@ZB_Steele All the best. Take care.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@falyrionient Ah nice. Have that series in my TBR. Currently doing Robin Hobb first trilogy and LOTM side by side.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@MalazofWesteros @falyrionient @triempery Wow. So wholesome. Happy for both of you. And it's kinda deserved too. I'm sure authors wish for fans like you.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

My advice to most people when suggesting Steins Gate, 13 reasons why, Code Geass, Psycho pass, FLCL and so many other works is to just stick to the original story that wraps up nicely and not see the franchise-growing additions.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

Not that I agree with the take below but in general I'm wary of sequels or franchise extensions. I can always see where the initial setting & idea was born & ended & where a forceful extension to milk the property began. I understand its for business logic but rarely works for me

[Nim @AnchorStill]

The fall of Avatar should be part of every animation and film school curriculum

>Create arguably the greatest animation ever with loveable characters who each have their own development arcs, a perfect plot, and a captivating world
>Produce a live action adaptation which ends up being one the worst movies ever made in general
>Sequel series with an unlovable MC, incoherent romance, and fuck up the entire world
>Go back to live action and try to make it more adult but just end up with endless exposition and awkward scenes, add in new details which contradict original animation for good measure
>Go back to animation for a new movie featuring original characters, mediocre plot but ruin the characters' voices and then have it leaked months before it was to be released
>Create new sequel series but retcon the entire world and story because Korra fucked everything up so bad the story simply could not continue

What the fuck was their problem.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

Incredible. I have my own gripes about the ending but this speaks to me. I sense the same tension between true freedom vs being tied down to what the narrative wants both in the author & in Eren. In a way the question that the work keeps asking "What really is freedom?" goes meta

[trash @trash_M12]

WOW WOW WOW WOW

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

Really nice commentary on batman villains. When done right comics & IP based on comics have the ability to show a mirror to society esp for kids & young adults. I think the 70s & 80s DC comics & the 90s TAS series were a lot deeper & profound than given credit for.

[Alex Grand @Comichistorians]

#DCComics #Batman editor #DennyONeil breaks down the #darkknight’s villains, #TwoFace, #Catwoman, #RasAlGhul and distingushing them all from the #Joker in 1995

[Marcelo Millicay @millicay95]

Decades of Batman discourse about if Ra's Al Ghul is pronounced "Raz" or "Raish".

Only for Dennis O'Neil, the man who literally created Ra's, finding a completely new way of pronouncing it and confusing the fanbase even further in a 30-year-old interview:

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@JoeBerne1 Tbf I like spiderman & batman & I think they're more popular globally. A large part of it is them being almost powerless but saving the day with wit, intelligence, heart & courage. Superman's best moments are when he isn't doing super stuff & is being a warm & hopeful person.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@jmgwritten What changes lives is so subjective tho. Like there are loads of people who'll post an image or quote of a really cool guy and say "you've changed my life" without irony. In a way it can be said any art changes a consumers life. In some small way.

[Varun Vasudevan @VarunTheV]

@jmgwritten This is another classic example of social media having no nuance. Everything is either "peak" or "trash" and currently Sanderson is enjoying the latter distinction. Reality is he's in between & pretty good at some things & good for readers who value that. But nuance is forbidden.