Fic Feedback

The community's meeting spot to discuss anything surrounding the stories posted here.
mcpa1597
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Re: Fic Feedback

Post by mcpa1597 »

@sinfulwords
in my opinion your summary needs a major overhaul. It’s too verbose. I’d 86 telling folks this is ur first fic (u can put details like that in the authors notes section), the summary should be a couple of cryptic sentences about the broad strokes of ur story.
I see it now. I'll edit that.
Now as far as tags go, they’re the opposite of everything I just told u about the summary ☠️ USE LOTS OF TAGS!
I actually added some tags after I posted the OG post.
I'm honestly trying to put criticism into consideration, one of the reasons I waited so long is I wanted my writing to be good, but I stand by my choice to use 2nd person POV. I did it to emulate the narrator for the game. I'm writing this as a BG3 campaign, just with a twist on the protagonist.
I guess the story is in some way catered to fans of Jason Todd or Batman in general. Would kinda risk a lockout for readers.
I'd be happy to DM you for questions.
It should be noted that this is kinda like when Baldur's Gate 3 did an early access for the game, then they changed it in the final release.
mcpa1597
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Re: Fic Feedback

Post by mcpa1597 »

@sinfulwords
Changed the summary.
Jason Todd has already died once.
He came to another world for an ending. Faerûn gives him a beginning instead.
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sinfulwords
Pillar of the Community
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Re: Fic Feedback

Post by sinfulwords »

@mcpa1597
mcpa1597 wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 3:38 am I actually added some tags after I posted the OG post.
I'm honestly trying to put criticism into consideration, one of the reasons I waited so long is I wanted my writing to be good, but I stand by my choice to use 2nd person POV. I did it to emulate the narrator for the game. I'm writing this as a BG3 campaign, just with a twist on the protagonist.
I guess the story is in some way catered to fans of Jason Todd or Batman in general. Would kinda risk a lockout for readers.

That’s fair, when it comes to YOUR art all criticism should be taken as suggestions anyway 🫶 u do u bb. Good writing is totally subjective too! What’s awesome about our shared hobby of writing is, generally, the more u do it the better u become whether you’re aiming to improve or not 😂 practice makes perfect as they say 🤪
mcpa1597 wrote: Sun May 31, 2026 3:38 am Jason Todd has already died once.
He came to another world for an ending. Faerûn gives him a beginning instead.
BEAUTIFUL! Now that’s a tidy and concise summary right there! Well done friend 🤗
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Claire
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Re: Fic Feedback

Post by Claire »

@mcpa1597 I did indeed slightly misunderstand what you said in your PM. I thought you were in the planning stage for a story and might have questions on how to write a story. But it doesn't matter. I think it's perfectly fine to create this topic in the book club and ask for feedback. :)

After you mentioned that you wanted to take over the narrator from the Baldur's Gate game, I watched the intro and a few minutes of gameplay on YouTube and now a lot of things make more sense to me. I see now how the story mimics the opening of the game. :)

But I want to talk some more about the narrator. This is a case where it makes sense to think about why the game chooses 2nd person narration and why that might not be the ideal choice for your story.

Baldur's Gate is a game that like D&D let's you create your own character. And the second person narration mimics how a game master would narrate the story to you. The character you created is an avatar of yourself, a blank slate that you design. The narrative of the story necessarily can't depend in detail on who the main character is because you are free to create the character however you want.

Compare that to RPGs like Final Fantasy where you have zero control over design, appearance, backstory, etc of your main character(s). These games usually don't have a narrator that addresses the player as "you" because the character(s) you control are not meant to be understood as avatars of yourself. I don't know whether you ever played Final Fantasy 10, but the main character Tidus famously tells most of the story in retrospect and serves as a first person narrator. The point being that the game tells you his story specifically. It never tries to make you think that you yourself might be Tidus.

Now if you look at your own story, what is that one more like? Do you offer a blank slate protagonist that the reader is meant to project themselves onto like in Baldur's Gate? Then choosing second person narration makes sense. Or is your story more like Final Fantasy 10 where the story itself is highly dependent on who your main character is? Then first or third person narration would be the more natural choice.

Based on what I read, it feels essential to your narrative that this is the story of Jason Todd and how he deals with his past failures. By choosing 2nd person narration, you copied a feature of the game whose setting your using, but the 2nd person narration is a mismatch for the story you're trying to tell. The second person narrator can't serve the same function as in the game because your main character is not a blank slate.

So my recommendation would be: Use third person limited or first person for the story. That would align better with the kind of character focused story you're telling.
My stories: Claire's Cesspool of Sin. I'm always happy to receive a comment on my stories, even more so on an older one!
mcpa1597
Sophomore
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2025 1:14 pm

Re: Fic Feedback

Post by mcpa1597 »

@Claire

I do acknowledge your point about the POV narration. I am considering your critiques about 2nd POV, especially since I looked up why it's so rare. Constantly saying "You" can be tedious and I have been bending over backwards to prevent it from being unbearable. The challenge is actually somewhat stimulating.

I do want to point out that the 2nd person POV isn't limited to Tav (the default name of the blank slate protagonist) or the Dark Urge (fully customizable in race, name, etc., but with an established backstory), but to the Origin characters that act as the supporting characters. Characters like Astarion or Shadowheart, despite also having zero control over the design, appearance, and backstory of the character, still have their playthroughs narrated in 2nd person POV.

And while Jason Todd does have an established backstory, like many characters in DC Comics, his writing and characterization can be wildly inconsistent, depending on the writer, hence his divisive reputation. My own Jason will attempt to be more emotionally numb and traumatized than the Jason in canon (sometimes).