Wayward Kitsune

How To Turn Writing Success Into A Failure? 

From the perspective of a very loyal fan 

• Write an awesome and original story- Like a dystopian world where people are divided into factions according to their virtues.

1. Ensure that the characters are badass but selfless and compassionate.  This is a very good recipe to make potential fans rally behind your characters.
3. It would also be good if the story put a  solid emphasis on female strength.
5. Complicate the story of each Main character by involving them in a to-die for and non-instalovey romance. You can even whip out a love triangle but a lot of fans are already tired of that so why not try for the good ol’ romance?
7. After your fans are fully controlled by the “I LOVE YOUR BOOK SO MUCH” serum and you are rolling on the greens, write a second book
8. .
9. Make sure that the plot of the second book is just going round and round. But you have to do it in a manner that wouldn’t be noticed by the fans. The greens aren’t yet enough so you can’t risk the fans hating you at an early stage! So what’re you gonna do? Throw in a lot of nonsensical action and romantic scenes.  Your loyal fans will just lap it up.
11. Write the 3^rd and last book.
13. Do not worry if you have a writer’s block. That’s what plot devices are for.  Just make another illogical storyline as you write along.
15. Do not make an effort to develop the secondary characters.
17. Attempt for a grand ending by pulling a crude J.K. Rowling or George RR Martin stunt.
19. Rejoice and make a snow angel on your greens.

If you are interested in my review of Allegiant, here it is…directly copied from Amazon.  Please note that the above tips are based upon the reactions of the Amazon reviewers. Though I may not share their views about the ending, I understand where they’re coming from, thus, the above post.

I just finished Allegiant and it is worse than book 2 (Insurgent). Sure, Veronica Roth gave a thorough explanation about what really happened in the past for the factions to rise. But it felt very draggy. And a plot device that had me eye rolling was suddenly thrown into the way in an attempt to keep this book interesting and longer. Where I expected to be mindblown with terrific revelations, I felt I was cheated because Allegiant didn’t rise from those tropes of trilogies that lost their firepower during the conclusion phase. Le sigh. I was literally asking myself, “Where was the series that I love? Where was the book that made me lose sleep for over a year? Am I reading the correct book? Maybe I bought a fanfiction or something…?”

 

I was just glad that with Allegiant, Veronica gave a thorough explanation about the factions, Chicago and most importantly, Divergence. It is also worth mentioning that the romance here developed in a way that is realistic and swoon worthy but ain’t cheesy. And yes,there’s also a slight development with Tris and Four’s characterization. However, some of the characters (especially the secondary ones) were neglected and only existed as props.

 

Perhaps, I will also have to credit Veronica’s world building. It surely is very believable and downright outstanding considering that she incorporated other cities into the whole story.

And I am not so sure whether the ending will work for you or not. As for me, I didn’t love or hate it. All I’m sure is that it was necessary to keep things more conceivable given the circumstances of the situation. I would really like to say about it more but I will risk ruining your reading experience.

 

All in all, I enjoyed this one but it didn’t hold the same magic as Divergent (book 1). Being the last installment, I actually expected more. I had wanted it to be more explosive than its predecessor. But alas, life isn’t always that easy. But don’t let this review stop you from reading Allegiant. Maybe, I am just the black sheep amongst the throng of fans that waited desperately for its release.  

 

Just think of my 3 stars as an early Christmas gift to Veronica. 

 

Verdict: Buy Allegiant only if you’re the type who wants a series closure or wants to complete the Divergent collection.( May I suggest for you to buy the e-book copy at Barnes and Noble because it only costs 6.99 $?) But if you aren’t, better borrow the book from the library.

And before I take my leave, this tweet might be helpful…