>>14774627>>14774624>>14774614Only the bad authors do that. They have these horrid things happening, because they see the good stories that do it, but there's no causation, no fault, they just happen. They're acts of God, sheer fate, things that just come out of nowhere to go GRIM.
The good authors don't have bad things; they have -consequences-. There's a very important difference, and one that is both very subtle to read but distinctly noticeable. All the good BL authors have these grand consequences, that come about from decisions, mistakes, omissions, or simply not being good enough. And that makes it all the more powerful.
I think that's what made the Eisenhorn series so good. Not that bad things happen, but that you can always see why, and that it's usually because of somethign someone did. One of my favourite moments in the book, where Eisenhorn is forced to confront and shoot Fischig, the only friend from his past he has left, is great because of this. If Fischig died, it would be bland. But instead Fischig dies because of a reckless decision decades ago and a trivial midjudgment not long past, and it is all the more emotionally powerful for it.
Also, the better authors have much more convincing writing. Bad authors, you see the things that happen. The good ones, you FEEL what happens. You're absorbed by it, taken into the story. The things that happen genuinely mean something to you. To pull from
Eisenhorn again, plenty of authors have Titans show up in their stories, even as enemies. But there, it's genuinely terrifying. You don't go 'oh, a Titan'. You go 'HOLY FUCKING SHIT A TITAN'.
I'm sure those who like different BL authors can produce their own favourite examples as well, but the principle is the same. Bad authors have flat events, like a history book. Good authors make you feel what is happening and why, and that is where the emotional power comes from.