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Seeking constructive criticism for fiction based on Indian myths

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In Review My Blog

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SS Kuruganti
from Gurgaon |

I blog about utterly random things, among them: reviews of books, manga, anime, Kdrama, tv shows and movies. I also blog recipes I've tried, tested and loved for things like cupcakes, tarts, zebra cakes, etc.

I'm also working on flash fiction based on Indian mythology.

This is my attempt at fantasy based on Indo-centric/Asian themes, instead of the Judeo-Christian or Greek/Roman myths we generally see in most speculative fiction.

Mostly, this grew out of a lingering dissatisfaction with the 5th season Supernatural episode, (‘Hammer of the Gods’), and the way Indian mythology/religion (or indeed, non Judeo-Christian religion/myth) was treated in the overall story arc (Seasons 1-5).

And, well, one piece of writing advice I keep seeing is: write what you would like to read.

Currently, I'm working on a set of 52 prompts, and will be updating my site with a new story every Friday. All constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. As are comments, compliments, general squee, and linkage. =)

Edited
Reason: Needed to add some information. No replies to the topic yet, anyway.

Replies 1 to 6 of 6

Deepa Duraisamy
from Mumbai |

Hello SSK!

First off, I love your title. Very unique and nice! From a feedback perspective, here's my thought. The post at the top of the page is a little distracting. Because I personally couldnt make out that its a post. Also, the recipes and fiction seem to be a mishmash on the home page itself so its a little confusing to understand what your blog is about. Its very nice that you blog about a variety of stuff, I admire people who can blog about so many different things. I dont have a resolution idea to this yet, but is there a way you could separate out the two? The tabs at the top which classify them into fiction and recipes are really helpful but maybe if there's a way to do it on the mainpage too? I do like your whole side bar stuff, very few people talk about what they're reading or watching currently. Happy blogging!

Deepa Duraisamy
from Mumbai |

Ooh, by the way, under the Indiblogger badge you talk about copyright @ CCK, your profile here is SSK. How come?

SS Kuruganti
from Gurgaon |

Thank you, Deepa! =) The name comes from a song I really like, You're So Vain, by Carly Simon. The line goes, 'I had some dreams/they were clouds in my coffee/clouds in my coffee', and I liked the image.

The post at the top of the page is a little distracting. Because I personally couldnt make out that its a post.

Hah, that was actually one of the things I was vacillating about! I wasn't too sure if anyone except really understood that it was a separate post, so thanks for pointing it out! I've changed it now to reflect the latest (featured) post seen at the top.

Also, the recipes and fiction seem to be a mishmash on the home page itself so its a little confusing to understand what your blog is about.

Hmm, that is a problem. The thing was, like you said, I wanted to highlight the three niches I write in (other than personal randomness!), which are original fiction, recipes, and reviews. My thought behind structuring the theme this way was to give every reader something to do on the main page - in the sense, if they weren't interested in fiction, they could try reading recipes, or the blog roll, etc. Perhaps it is too confusing, I'll have to see what I can do to work on that.

I do like your whole side bar stuff, very few people talk about what they're reading or watching currently.

Thank you, glad you liked! =)

under the Indiblogger badge you talk about copyright @ CCK, your profile here is SSK. How come?

Um, um, no it isn't? I actually did a panicky check of my blog after I read your comment, wondering how I could have made such a b****er - but it shows up (to me, at least) as SSK. Don't see how it could be a browser issue or whatnot, so I'm a little confused now. :/

Thanks for taking the time to review, it was very helpful! =)

SS Kuruganti
from Gurgaon |

Wow, had no idea the word b.l.u.n.d.e.r could be censored! o_0

SS Kuruganti
from Gurgaon |

Purshothaman, thanks so much for your kind words. =)

SS Kuruganti
from Gurgaon |

Rahul, first off, thanks so much for your kind words! Flattery will get you far, btw. ;)

I'm glad you liked the layout, it was one of the things I was wondering about. 

I'm glad you liked the writing style, I'm working on improving my skills and style, so it was good to hear it was readable! =)

Can I ask what you mean by the font mismatch? I use the fonts these way because they have been optimised for SEO.

I would have liked more on the about me page

That's actually one of the things I've been struggling with, not sure really what to write about myself. Guess I'm not narcisstic enough! :P

Again, thanks for taking the time to read and review, I really appreciate it. Please keep reading and commenting, I'll be coming out with a new story every Friday, and a new recipe every other Monday.

I've left a comment on your fiction, should be reading more soon. I hope you don't mind my bluntness, I've made some suggestions in the spirit of constructive criticism. =)