On Beginnings (Craft Post)

Recently read a book in the Gamelit genre and have been thinking about it a lot. I've decided not to write a public blog post since people get grumpy when you review a book and aren't giving it 5 stars. 

However, the book highlighted something that has been repeatedly voiced in my reading about craft recently. I am ot going to name the book, but I'm going to offer a few details.

The Book

I found the book via  post in the Gamelit Society group. Decent cover, interesting premise, I decided to read it. Soon enough, I realised it was a YA dystopian fantasy crossed with Gamelit. Plucky young heroine fighting against her 'destiny', gets an AI to help her improve. Sure, I can get behind that.

First few chapters, I was pleasantly surprised. Good writing, easy to read, no major grammar errors, a touch more descriptive than I personally like, but much better than leaving me hanging. So, writing wise, this is in the top tier of Gamelit books.

The Problem 

As I said, first few chapters I was happy. But as I kept reading, I started getting more and more impatient. Where was the AI? Where was the stat screens?

It didn't really start arriving till 1/3 of the book in, well past the point where I would have dropped it if it wasn't for the good writing. And even then, as you can see, I'm still a bit dissatisfied with the book.

After the AI was added, it was decent, but it soured my impression of the series. I am not likely going to pick up the remaining books.

The Beginning

One of the biggest recommendations on writing a book is making sure you start with the right beginning. What's the right beginning for a book?

- When a major change in the life of the protagonist occurs.

(Many people also suggest starting with 'action', but that depends on the genre you're writing in to some extent). 

Oh, you can start with a small introduction about the everyday life, but you want to be very close to the beginning of your story / plot. 

Did they do that? Sort of. It's a pretty good start for a YA book.

Expectations

See, they started the book during the period of transition for the protagonist. Which is correct and well done. It didn't start too late or anything.

BUT.

My expectation with a Gamelit is that the AI would come in much sooner. Like the first couple of chapters. I expected the AI, the status screen, the 'game' to make a more fundamental difference, and it does. Sort of.

But it comes in too late. My expectation of the genre meant that I expected the Gamelit to start much earlier. 

If I were writing the book, I would almost start a chapter or so before the AI got introduced, then backfill everything else that she put in for the character development. Because I'm writing for Gamelit. 

Whereas, she was writing dystopia YA. And her book is fine if it was targetted / marketed / found that way.

But... it wasn't. And so, I went away unhappy.

Now, again, nothing wrong with the book. But expectations of the genre changed where I expected the beginning to start. 

Something to think about if you're a writer.