Hm... I'd like to comment on this topic since I love the many different writing styles we have here in the community, and each of you deserves to know that you're doing a great job at what you do while bringing something personal and unique to the table that no one else can do!
I think dubiousdisc's suggested questions to format this are great (and that optional question is so interesting!), but I seem to have great trouble with phrasing and structuring feedback strictly according to it (as in how to separate the first three questions and not being repetitive), so I hope it's okay if I just post free-form while referring to those questions as a guide! /o\ I also sometimes mix content and actual writing style because I can't cleanly keep them apart, or because I don't have much to say on the writing style alone, I'M SORRY. D: OMG I HOPE I DIDN'T DO THIS THE WRONG WAY. D: ... DID I DO THIS THE WRONG WAY???
Crystal wrote:This sounds like fun. I'm in!
Crystal's writing is always easy to read and follow: The tone is casual and the content is concise. When I visit a shrine of Crystal's, I know that I can trust her to introduce me to the subject in a manner that gives me a good overview, sprinkled with her own warm opinions on it and her love for it, something which permeates her shrines as a whole. Overall, the way she writes and structures her shrines makes it very easy to jump in (without putting it off for various reasons), because the tone and the length of the pages are very inviting, leaving plenty of room for you to explore if you decide to experience the subject matter for yourself!
Expansion idea: Crystal's really passionate about specific things that warrant entire individual pages on her network, and knows a lot about them - I think it'd be fun to see more pages that create links between them, for example (and some of this is already planned, I know): comparing different incarnations of the same character across a series, comparing similar characters from different games within the same series, etc. Because Crystal is so great at introducing things and catching other people's interest, I think that'd be a great way to make people check out related things without having to write too much! (For example, people looking to experience other LoZ or FE titles.)
Larissa wrote:Neat idea. I'm in.
Everything dubiousdisc said lmao. Larissa's shrines feature some of my favourite writing: There's personality, there's humour, there's messing around and deep eye-opening analysis both - it just never gets monotonous (it's highly entertaining actually). For analysis, I especially love it when the "same" thing is examined from multiple different angles, broken down into different facets. THE DREAM.
It's also always striking how much Larissa's shrines pack in terms of observation and background knowledge/research, including some really
technical stuff, info on the creation process of a thing, obscure trivia and adjacent subjects. JUST SUPER THOROUGH AND METICULOUS PAGES OK. And those technical things aren't even boring to read when they come from Larissa, because it's never just a table of data or numbers and terms thrown around, but commentary on said things. It's not being technical for its own sake, but integrating the technical aspects to further personal appreciation. ... Writing this makes me realize it's something very special to have on a shrine, since you don't see that stuff much!
Expansion idea: ... Just give me more shrines that I can get lost in (bury me in Larissa's shrines forever). 8Da Larissa's domain is heavy on video game shrines, but I'm smitten by her manga shrines as well, and would love to see more... So much insight. Also, shrines for minor characters, minor subjects and obscure things are always fascinating to see, and Larissa has pulled those off splendidly, so I'd definitely be interested in more of that too.
Robin wrote:I'm in! :D
Robin's shrines always have a great lead-up to what she wants to talk about, making it easy for those unfamiliar with the subject to start reading. There are recurring elements in her shrine that, if you've seen Robin around for a while, you recognize as being dear to her as a person: It's not that these elements are necessarily part of what she's shrining, but they establish a personal link between the respective subject and herself - music and creativity most of all! Robin also has a great grasp on rhythm on her shrines: Things build up, get deeper, then fade out into quieter reflections that conclude the shrine.
Expansion idea: Robin always comes up with a wide variety of site ideas, including non-shrines. There isn't much for me to "request", because I feel whatever Robin comes up with is gold lol. I like it when Robin covers subjects from media I'm not as familiar with though (Western comics as an example), because they're great windows into things I'd otherwise not get to experience at all.
Megan wrote:I'm in!
Megan's recent shrines that I've read always strongly emphasize the "sharing" aspect of shrines: There's energy and a lot of strong personal feelings behind what she has to say about her favourite subjects, and I feel that she presents it in a "here's how I think about it! what do you think?" way, inviting the reader to think about her opinion and their own as they browse her shrines. I also adore the trivia on her shrines and how she gets passionate about those too ("look what an interesting association this is; look what I've stumbled upon while researching! let me tell you all about it!"). Coupled with her writing that is easy to understand and follow, her shrines make for a great introduction into various subjects, not just limited to fiction and media.
Expansion idea: I wonder what a new series shrine by Megan would read like, especially if it goes beyond basics and facts and also includes the kind of trivia and different associations she includes on her character shrines.
Destinie wrote:Pick me!
I see Destinie as a collector of things, perhaps due to her monster collective, her Tsum Tsum site and the merchandise display on her shrines. This, I feel, also applies to her shrine content, as in the range of subjects she covers: The pages that make up her shrines read like an accumulation of different shiny things that she presents to the reader in a "look, look!" tone. I love it when she breaks down topics into smaller parts to examine them (including analysis on a character's apparel!), and the analysis/symbolism parts that offer something new (especially by way of another special topic). Overall, Destinie always does an amazing job at presenting various background elements that may have gone into a character's design and backstory: mythology and history in the actual story, real-world mythology, name and colour analysis, and so on. Her tone while doing so is also always engaging, never dry. Her being a lover of all kinds of creatures really comes across!
Expansion idea: I bet even more shrines to major and minor characters within a story that have mythological or animal design elements to them would be interesting (like Cooro and Ur), or shrines where an entire species as a whole along with its habits is covered, or subjects that allow for a comparison of similar different species that may have their origins in different, but related myths hm...!
dubiousdisc wrote:I'm in too
dubiousdisc's writing is as diverse as the subjects and mood of her shrines (and the presentation, and the graphics, and the content featured in any given shrine, and everything). Her writing is engaging and... fearless: She side-eyes what deserves to be side-eyed, she calls things out on their flaws, she doesn't hesitate to get lost in things that she considers quirky and amusing... I think that if you've talked to dubiousdisc, you'll see just how much her shrines really are a reflection of her, particularly in the "this random thing is of no consequence, but super interesting! let's hold a one-hour conversation about it!". Her shrines are dynamic, engaging, entertaining and powerful (like the creator behind them tbh /coughs).
Expansion idea: I like seeing how dubiousdisc goes about shrining different media, so I think seeing an anime or manga series covered in her style would be interesting! Her shrines so far are all really distinct from each other though, so I feel as though a new shrine from a yet to be covered medium wouldn't necessarily primarily set itself apart by virtue of being a different medium, but because all of dubiousdisc's creations set themselves apart, hm.
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If I didn't manage to leave input on your writing, it means I haven't read anything from you recently or haven't read enough shrines of yours to form an opinion - sorry! /o\ Might post again later once I've reread some shrines!
Aaaand I'm in too...! /o\