“Now you’re ready for battle, noble warrior,” she said, entering the makeshift shower. “I’ll clean myself under the waterfall. And then I will show you the secrets of my tribe. Terms and conditions apply.”
I was reviewing a scene that had strong sexual undertones. Yes, the book contains sex scenes, as does the world.
In any case, for a moment, I felt very pleased with myself for coming up with the “Terms and conditions” part.
It’s no secret that I touch on themes of late-stage capitalism, commoditization, and other big words that say “life is getting harder for most people”.
I ended up scrapping the line, because it didn’t really work in the scene, but the feeling of having it there still lingers.
It brought back memories of youtubers pausing mid-essay, asking me to “please like, subscribe, and hit that bell icon”, hurting immersion and reminding me that, behind the façade, most things are revenue-driven.
To some extent, it reminded me of maintaining a website, blog, and budding Social Media presence so that I can promote my book, sell it, and hopefully afford to write more.
So please follow me on the platforms of your choice, share my content with friends, and stay tuned for updates. This is all very meta.