Ron Toland
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  • A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

    Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Nominated it for a Hugo as soon as I read the last page.

    Three things it taught me about writing:

    • Keeping chapters short not only gives you an excuse to read "just one more," it also lets you do abrupt transitions between place and mood.
    • Characters grumbling to each other (or in their heads) can give you a very compact and fun way to explain aspects of the world that are unfamiliar to the reader.
    • By shifting the metaphors used to describe a scene, you can sustain a difference of mood between locations. For instance, in a place of death and white, describing a series of building supports as "arched ribs" echoes the feeling you want to convey.
    → 6:00 AM, Mar 30
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