User blog:ArtisticLoner/How I'd Fix: Endless Summer

1) Have the relationships in more affect. I understand keeping all the characters together in Book 1, because the mystery was just beginning and they were mostly at the hotel. But other than some of the interactions, your relationship with the others never affects the plot. No one tries to stand up to you, have private conversations with you, or refuses to help you. My enemies are Raj, Craig, and Zahra, but they still tolerate you. Maybe in Book 2, you have to go on a mission and the people who come with you depend on your actions. If they like you, they said they were coming with you. If they were neutral towards you, you could either choose to bring them or not. If they dislike you, they say that you're on your own. Example (in my case):

-(Love Interest) Quinn: I love you too much to let you go on your own. We're in this together.

-(Friend) Jake: I couldn't call myself your friend if I didn't help you. I'm in.

-(Neutral) Michelle: I don't know. How can I believe we could make it?

-(Dislike) Raj: Like I'd want to spend more time with you.

-(Hate) Zahra: After everything, you expect me to stop you?! Go right on ahead! Like you ever helped.

Heck, if you have an enemy/someone who dislikes you the most, why not have a scene where they attempt to kill you? Think of how dramatic and incredible it could be. They could abandon you somewhere or try to leave you dead somewhere. You could decide on whether to kill them or not. And if you do, you could decide to tell the others or not. In the middle of book 3, have certain characters go on their own if they don't trust you or not. If that can be for Estela, why not your character. It is so freaking boring to have everyone like you, and I can't understand why people would want that. it could be like the end of "It Lives in the Woods" where certain actions will either save or kill a character. I'm not asking "Endless Summer" to be completely dark, I'm asking it to be somewhat intresting and dramatic.

2) Make the tone inappropriate: Lay off the forced adult angle. I don't mind there being drama in the series, but what I do mind is the writers' choices. There are moments where you are trying to fight off Cetus, but then Craig just goes "yeah, boi!". How the heck is that appropriate to the scene? When you are comforting Quinn after curing her, the next scene is all "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8rjEs8xMJY". And judging by the music and options, it never feels that your character is terrified or disturbed by what he/she just went through. When everyone thinks Zahra is dead, after its all" nah, I'm alive let's get drunk!". That scene was so insulting I couldn't believe it. It's never made clear that the characters are partying because they are too scared to depressed to handle the situation. With "It Lives in the Woods", even when the characters hang out, the situation they are in is much more tame and there is still an underlining creepy atmosphere. But aside from parts of the first book, where they were still figuring things out, there's none of that.

3) Improve the characters: I already mentioned this in another blog post, so I won't go into much here. Really, the only characters I really liked were Quinn, Estela, Jake, and Grace. But then there is the gay best friend, mean girl, frat dude, fat guy, etc...I don't mind certain characters tropes as long as you still make them interesting. If you're going to have an unlikable character, either make them a villain or give them a reason why they are like this. But there is no reason to like Craig, Zahra, or Aleister, who are very clear with how mean they are. If they're gonna be a jerk to me, then what reason is there to not act that way back. I swear, Quinn is the only reason I could get through the first two books.

4) Stop the forced young adult angle: "yolo, shizz, netflix and chill, boi, so presh, i just can't", that's all I get with the characters. Fortunately, this doesn't include the main character and the love interests, but it still gets annoying. Even "The Freshman/Sophmore", stories that are meant to be about a group of college students in a NORMAL WORLD, have more realistic and non-pandering dialogue. I wouldn't witness people fighting and say "OMG, #CRAYFIGHT!". And I still can't believe someone would reference the Lorax after seeing an actual burned down forest. I would go "start talking this seriously!". So glad that after we thought Zahra died, we just go "lets get somedrinks". I don't mind it for a few characters, but I wouldn't wanna be involved with that. I'm not gonna be that trendy adult who likes to drink and party and focus on fun. And I wouldn't wanna spend time with those type of people.