So, despite being a man of a certain age, I do NOT find myself thinking about Rome more.
I do enjoy this though.
There are times where it seems the verisimilitude (pretentious? Moi?) overtakes the story, and I am genuinely conflicted. I love the worldbuilding and authenticity, but its a lot to hold in your head when you're trying to work out where the plot is going. Is Cursor's client/patron relations colour or central to the plot? Does the bathouse scene add background, or will there be a fight there later? Its a lot! Amusingly, my biggest hangups have actually been the changes in language use. Its only in this post for example did I realise that Cursor being an 'equites' mean he is an 'equestrian' which in my mind, meant he looked after horses...
These are great notes, thanks for leaving them. I ask myself all the time if the historical detail is too much, particularly with stuff like the client/patron mechanics which I do have plans for, but right now is largely more thematic/color.
As you say, it’s a lot for folks who showed up for something a little different, a more pastoral Iron Age fantasy world and the game elements. I’m glad you’re soldiering through, and we’ll be back to Anwen, Padrig and Vahid soon!
I'm happy with the pace so far, and the slow reveal of the supernatural feels right. I don't know your intended length for the piece. If it's 40,000 words, then maybe the reveal should be accelerated. If it's 120,000 words, you have room to take your time.
(As an aside, I have a knee-jerk dislike of the current generative LLM/AIs. I understand many people find them useful tools, but I viscerally regard them as a means for the rich and powerful to get more rich and more powerful, often at the cost of artists and other creatives. I hope you get value out of Claude but do be sure to check your sources.)
I think it's closer to 120k than 40k -- I've never been able to write quite as short as I'd like. So, in that case, it seems like we're on track!
Re: LLMs, I do double-check things by digging into the citations Claude provides or by doing my own searches and comparing notes. So far, I've found its error rate to be better than mine, certainly. The broader questions about AI and creative work are real and worth taking seriously — I don't have easy answers there. But I'm glad the research is landing on the page.
Terror often is in the mind,:not based in reality. The glimeses mere hints are about correct...i suspect more blood shed before the spoor gets clearer to track. Something than kills a lion..kills a group of hard men...without seeming to be hurt itself...what...animal...is that? Our trackers assumed at first a beast from...Africaus...but then one isnt so sure anymore. Duty sworn oaths drives him forward.
So, despite being a man of a certain age, I do NOT find myself thinking about Rome more.
I do enjoy this though.
There are times where it seems the verisimilitude (pretentious? Moi?) overtakes the story, and I am genuinely conflicted. I love the worldbuilding and authenticity, but its a lot to hold in your head when you're trying to work out where the plot is going. Is Cursor's client/patron relations colour or central to the plot? Does the bathouse scene add background, or will there be a fight there later? Its a lot! Amusingly, my biggest hangups have actually been the changes in language use. Its only in this post for example did I realise that Cursor being an 'equites' mean he is an 'equestrian' which in my mind, meant he looked after horses...
These are great notes, thanks for leaving them. I ask myself all the time if the historical detail is too much, particularly with stuff like the client/patron mechanics which I do have plans for, but right now is largely more thematic/color.
As you say, it’s a lot for folks who showed up for something a little different, a more pastoral Iron Age fantasy world and the game elements. I’m glad you’re soldiering through, and we’ll be back to Anwen, Padrig and Vahid soon!
I'm happy with the pace so far, and the slow reveal of the supernatural feels right. I don't know your intended length for the piece. If it's 40,000 words, then maybe the reveal should be accelerated. If it's 120,000 words, you have room to take your time.
(As an aside, I have a knee-jerk dislike of the current generative LLM/AIs. I understand many people find them useful tools, but I viscerally regard them as a means for the rich and powerful to get more rich and more powerful, often at the cost of artists and other creatives. I hope you get value out of Claude but do be sure to check your sources.)
I think it's closer to 120k than 40k -- I've never been able to write quite as short as I'd like. So, in that case, it seems like we're on track!
Re: LLMs, I do double-check things by digging into the citations Claude provides or by doing my own searches and comparing notes. So far, I've found its error rate to be better than mine, certainly. The broader questions about AI and creative work are real and worth taking seriously — I don't have easy answers there. But I'm glad the research is landing on the page.
Terror often is in the mind,:not based in reality. The glimeses mere hints are about correct...i suspect more blood shed before the spoor gets clearer to track. Something than kills a lion..kills a group of hard men...without seeming to be hurt itself...what...animal...is that? Our trackers assumed at first a beast from...Africaus...but then one isnt so sure anymore. Duty sworn oaths drives him forward.