Lit Savvy by S.K. Salazar

There, I said it. I know it sounds incredibly harsh. It’s especially unfair because writing is something so personal. We desperately want people to care about what we have to say; especially our loved ones. But sometimes, your loved ones will be the harshest critics you’ll have. In my case, both parents, my significant other and several aunties were absolutely appalled by the subject matter of my debut novel, Paradise in Flames. One parent took umbrage to me writing a character who suffered childhood abuse because they took it as a reflection on how they parented me. That same parent told me that I should write something different, something more pleasant. My other parent, who offered to give me feedback on my story, delayed in doing so, being too busy instead with personal pursuits and work. (Which is fine, but no one should ever offer to give a writer feedback if they’re too busy. It’s hard enough finding beta readers as it is and it helps to not give us hope.) My significant other...

⚠️ WARNING! Spoilers ahead ⚠️ | | | | | | | | | | | I’m serious. You’re playing yourself if you go past this point without having watched the movie. | | | | | | | | | | | Okaaaaay. Last warning... | | | | | | | | | | | 1.) In the opening scene with Clint, after his family disappeared, I would’ve preferred it to be a still shot. I get that these kinds of shots are an artistic way of putting the audience into the action. But to me, the running is shaky and incredibly uncomfortable to watch. It reminds me that this is indeed just a film. 2.) I get that the film deals with trauma and grief, hence why the colors and lighting were so dark. But my God, everything in the film was so dark. Even the lighthearted moments had low lighting and muted colors. Maybe it was just the theater I was at, but it was distracting. If it wasn’t, I would’ve mixed up the color scheme and the composition so that it doesn’t seem so omin...