Reading Journal -- Review of When Heaven Came Down By Bryan Davis:

Click To View This Book On Amazon

I was offered a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Premise:

In a time of chaos, creatures known as angels took over the world, enslaving humans as their hosts.  A rebellion is desperate to get rid of the angels, but the odds are not in their favor.  Even so, the rebels do everything possible to solve the problems in their way and complete their mission to free humanity.

Audience:

Not many content cautions in this one.  As implied by the angels mentioned in the book's synopsis, there are a few mentions and brief discussions of religious topics, but it shouldn't be too much for most people.  And while this book features adult protagonists, the content is probably clean enough for both teens and adults.

Pros:

The idea of the angels and how they operated was easily my favorite aspect.  It's nice that, instead of simply having their mission and trying to fulfill it, the plot requires the chars to learn interesting tidbits about the angels.

Another upside is that the story emphasizes platonic relationships instead of relying on a romantic subplot.  There's nothing wrong with romance in stories, but sometimes it's nice to read tales where that isn't the focus.

There were several specific things I liked about the plot and angel design, but I won't get into them because they take place far later in the story and I want to avoid lacing this review with lots of spoiler warnings.

Cons:

The characters in this book weren’t as interesting as they are in some of Davis’ other tales.  A few basics of their backstories and personality were there, including things commonly fit into action characters (losing/trying to save a spouse or child) but since the story didn't feel as rooted into the characters' perspectives, it was hard to connect with them beyond the initial acknowledgement that they were going through a hard time(just like any other set of action movie characters).  And while there were differences and development for each character, those aspects felt more at a surface level of assigning a few beliefs/traits without using the narrative in a way that made us feel the pervasiveness of those traits.  So it was harder to experience the full breadth of each person's perspective/relationships.  

Some of the speech patterns and such also reminded me of several character types in Davis' other books.  That isn't bad in and of itself since it can be a stylistic thing, but when combined with the lessened depth to character perspectives, those speech patterns felt a little recycled, rather than simply following a style.

Because of that, everything seemed centered mostly on the plot, action, and creature design of the angels.  That’s actually not a bad thing.  It’s perfectly valid for a book to emphasize the situation/mission/etc, rather than harping on the unique perspectives of the characters and their feelings.  But since the book wasn't very long, it would have been nice to have a little more description and depth to character things and scenery.

Conclusion:

It's very rare for me to give five star reviews, and since the characters weren't as well developed as other Bryan Davis books I've read, I'm going to go ahead and rate this book as a three star.  But it's not a bad book at all, and I do recommend it for people that prefer quick sci fi reads focused more on plot, action or creature design.

Review -- Let The Ghosts Speak by Bryan Davis

To listen to the audio version of this review, click here: https://youtu.be/1qxNSJHdkwI

Or, if you just want the text version of it, read on :)

Hello everyone. Recently I was given the chance to read Bryan Davis’ new book, Let The Ghosts Speak, in exchange for an honest review.  The link to the book’s Amazon profile can be found here:  

https://www.amazon.com/Let-Ghosts-Speak-Bryan-Davis-ebook/dp/B084J7ST65/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=let+the+ghosts+speak&qid=1582172503&sr=8-1

Let The Ghosts Speak is a mystery story set in 19th century Paris. The protagonist is Justin Trotter, an orphaned English immigrant doing his best to provide for himself and his little sister. Justin’s faced tragic circumstances before, but he endures far worse after attending a party where his friend’s mother is found dead. Unfortunately, Justin is a prime suspect, and must navigate ghostly entities and unjust circumstances as he tries to clear his name.

Audience/Content Cautions: This story discusses a lot of religious themes and matters, so it is best suited for those that don’t mind that. Also, this story is mainly intended for older teens and adults, and thus contains a few mature themes. Although this book is fairly clean, there’s still some morbid content like hangings and beheadings. Furthermore, a character is accused of a very heinous sexual act.  Discussions around the issue are not gratuitous, however, and depict sexual abuse as the evil that it is.

Pros:  I don’t read mystery and historical fiction much, even though I don’t mind those genres, but Let The Ghosts Speak has an interesting premise with a touch of fantasy that makes it a fascinating read. At the very least, it’s worth hearing the way ghosts operate in this story world.

The tale itself had a dreary, tragic atmosphere with a bit of hope at the end. Several real life topics were discussed, such as societal injustice, finding ways to be at peace when everything goes wrong, and not letting romantic feelings lead to blind trust. There were also some portrayals of family conflict that were reasonably well done. Justin, as an outsider looking in, saw several hints of resentment from two of his friends, but later on he saw that those hints were only the tip of an ice berg of family drama.

Some issues mentioned in the book, such as the dark historical conflict between Protestants and Catholics, could hold a parallel to our modern day. Such issues are reflected in conflicts between Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals. Those fights are usually less violent, but they still stem from harsh judgments and cause lots of harm and damaged relationships.

Cons: There were, however, times where this story came off as a little preachy. This is somewhat understandable since it’s told in first person and therefore all the character’s judgments and opinions are more in the reader's face.  But it was more blatant with several characters that were teachers to other characters. There's nothing wrong with the teacher dynamic, and many times teacher and student conversations can be good for relaying information naturally, but now and then those conversations didn’t feel like a natural discussion these characters would have.  The heart of their lessons surrounded good topics like love and mercy, but since they didn’t come across as natural, it sometimes just felt like the author preaching through the text.

Some characterization aspects could have also been better. I’ll discuss one example really quick, but please note that it is a bit of a spoiler, so read it at your own peril: <spoileralert>Near the end, Inspector Fortier talked about how the people of his era needed to stop being blind to their own injustices. That’s certainly true, and he did try to help Justin at various times, but the fact was that Fortier was part of the reason Justin’s life ended the way it did. Fortier jumped to a conclusion and arrested Justin before checking the facts and finishing the investigation, which led to Justin’s execution. In spite of this, Fortier did little, if anything, to show regret for that.

Fortier did express sadness, but it was more in response to societal injustice and trying to prevent a bad thing at the last minute, rather than acknowledging the part he played. And that’s a real shame, because Fortier could have gotten more character growth from that. Realistically, it would have compounded Fortier’s grief even further and made the story more powerful after showing that Justin forgave him in spite of everything. Or Fortier could have taken it as first hand proof of how easily someone could have a hand in injustice, and decide to do everything possible to avoid making such a mistake again.

But there wasn’t much, if any, indication that Fortier noticed his own faults, so instead of us seeing what Fortier would do after realizing his own contribution to injustice, he just seemed lacking in self awareness instead...  Particularly after criticizing the rest of society for an unjust outcome that he technically took part in. Everyone lacks self awareness in some area, but this seemed like a situation where most people would at least notice their part in this tragedy, even if they didn’t feel bad about it. </spoileralert>

Conclusion:  All that said, characterization is something I can be rather picky about, and a lot of the characters were still very interesting even though I didn’t always like the way they were presented.  I liked the dreary tragic atmosphere present in this tale, and the story felt a little different compared to what I normally read, so it was enjoyable even just from that standpoint. So if you like ghost stories, historical fantasy, mysteries, or explorations and critiques of society, this book might be for you.

Writing And Being -- What I Learned From Rushing Into A Story Contest:

In Fall of 2018, I decided to participate in Tapas’ annual writing contest.  The story I submitted is called Ascending Spires, and although I liked the idea of it, it probably won't get finished until I have more inspiration for it.  Meeting the contest deadline was a little stressful, but there were a lot of good things about participating that are worth reflecting on.

Participating opened me up to some opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  Tapas offered everyone participating in the contest a chance to join the Tipping Program, even if they wouldn’t normally qualify based on the amount of subscribers they have.  If Tipping is activated on a Tapas author’s profile, it means that readers can tip them with Tapas Ink, which the author can then exchange for real money.

This was pretty awesome for someone like me that is just starting out and would like to begin implementing ways to make money off my work.  Furthermore, Inksgiving was going on during this time, which meant that I had a series that I could design an ad for and submit to the list of Inksgiving episodes asking for Tips.  Although I didn’t get many tips off of this, at the very least Tipping is now implemented on my profile and available for when I start posting comics more regularly.

This event also encouraged me to post more work online.  Sometimes it's hard to cross that line and put a story out there for the world to see.  I've already posted fanfictions on other sites, but outside of roleplaying, I haven't posted many of my original stories.  Entering the contest got me started with that.

The contest provided a way to test Tapas' author user interface and get an idea of potential click through rates.  Participating in the contest kind of brought home the fact that, for novels at least, a lot of people might bookmark a series that sounds interesting, and then completely forget about it until a much later date.  This really seemed to be the case when looking through the series' analytics day to day. Often, people would only read a chapter or two at most before moving on or bookmarking the series and forgetting about it.  

Of course it isn't impossible to make people read more consistently, but those posting on Tapas need to be aware that even when someone bookmarks a series, it can easily get lost in a sea of other free stories.  It takes time and planning to facilitate reader engagement, and participating in the contest helped me get a better idea of how that might work on this platform.

Also, I gained further proof that forcing myself to work on something I’m not truly inspired for under a short deadline is bad for me.   I already know I have a hard time forcing myself to write things I'm not inspired for.  Learning to write decently under pressure is an important trait to develop, but this contest served as an example of why those circumstances are not usually conducive to forming my best work.

Overall, this experience was both exciting and stressful.  But I did learn from it and so far don't regret it. Do you have any art/writing related experiences that were both stressful and educational?  Do you have any input as far as facilitating reader engagement or churning out better work even under pressure? Let me know in the comments!

Writing And Being -- Why We Should Think About Characters and Their Authors Separately:

Reading is a wonderful medium that invites people to think, discover, and challenge.   Since readers are invited to contemplate a book's meaning and draw conclusions about the story and its characters, there is always the risk of misinterpretation, especially since many of the best authors won't bluntly state the point of every tale.

I know there's been times when I've disliked statements I've read in stories, and from some comments I've noticed online, most people have had the same experience.  

That's perfectly alright.  We are only human, it’s important to oppose bad things, and some authors do have beliefs that deserve to be challenged.  But, there are times when an author's intent is completely misunderstood .

Writers will often design their stories based on their beliefs and what lessons they want to convey, so to that extent, a story can and often does reflect its author, but not in the way we think.  Someone can write bloody horror without being a serial killer. People can write a racist villain without actually being racists themselves. A person of one belief system can write about characters of a different belief system.

This is often necessary, especially when tales have a large cast, go through a plot line that puts characters through heartache, and reflects an expansive world with complex cultures and history.

Furthermore, when writing from a certain character's point of view, we see what that character thinks and feels.  We get to learn each character's journey, see how and why they got there, and perhaps even feel angry or disappointed at their chosen path.  But that is vital for understanding how people operate. Knowing how people behave can make it easier to solve problems or even keep ourselves from becoming destructive.

People have to be careful when writing about things they haven't experienced, and writing about groups they are not a part of can be particularly challenging.  But, pretty much every story requires authors to step outside their own experiences in some way or another.

This is important on a personal level, because it makes authors empathize with others and invites their readers to do the same.  It is also important for at least some authors to show the world as it is.

Bad people exist, and villains reflect that.  If villains aren't bad people and don't do bad things, there's usually not a good reason for the heroes to fight them.

Furthermore, heroes are people, just like us.  Everyone has flaws. Sometimes those flaws are major and not socially acceptable by our modern standards.  Sometimes authors want to express that reality in a story, or even take those characters on an adventure that forces them to face their flaws and change their perspective.

Keeping that in mind increases our chances of interpreting a story accurately and getting something wonderful out of it, instead of getting angry and assuming the worst about an author.  This also helps us in writing our own tales. Why not study other people closely and learn how to write them accurately and fairly, even if they have a completely different belief system?  Why not illustrate the fact that bad things exist and have consequences?

The hows and whys of that are important, and would constitute entire videos of their own, but, hopefully this was food for thought. So, what do you think? Have you been angry at something an author wrote, only to learn that they meant something entirely different? What's your opinion on the relationship between what an author writes and how an author actually thinks? Let me know in the comments below!

Writing Tips -- How To Invent Psychology For A Species

When people think about creature design, they often think about the physical appearance of an animal, as well as occasional behavioral points. A cool, functional appearance is important for the creatures we invent, but the psychology of a being matters just as much, if not moreso.

This is especially true when it comes to a sentient being. Sentient beings are often faced with complex social situations throughout a story, and their psychology would, plausibly, affect everything they say and do. If they are not human, it makes sense to assume they would think at least a bit differently than us.

Being human ourselves, and not having any other sentient species to study the psychology of, how can we invent thought processes that genuinely feel different than ours?

Here are a few tips that have helped me explore what a different creature’s psychology could be like:

Think about what key traits the being has, then think very long and hard about why they have those traits/what the effects are. Nearly any trait will affect a being on a deep level. Let’s say the key trait is that, due to biology, the creatures’ natural lifestyle is a solitary one. Their psychology would vary greatly from that of social beings like humans. Humans might be alright with living alone, or can become so upset with people that they separate from society, but that isn’t usually their default state, and they can usually still form attachments to a special few. In fact, if a person can’t stand human companionship, they might be tempted to replace that hole in their lives with a pet, just because having some sort of companion tends to lessen human stress.

A being whose species has a biological tendency toward solitude might think differently, however. They might only see social rules and interactions as a threat, hindrance, or, at best, a way to further their own agenda. A solitary creature tends to handle everything itself, and any other beings it encounters will probably either be predators or competition. The solitary creature’s mind will be wired accordingly.

So, consider stepping into the shoes of a being like that. Day to day, how do these creatures handle themselves? Members of their own kind will often pose a direct rivalry for territory, food, etc., so encountering members of their own species might dredge up feelings of hostility or anxiety. Members of other species are less likely to be competitors, and thus may only be met with indifference or a hint of wariness(depending on whether they are a dangerous predator or not).

Once an author figures out how their creature operates in a natural setting, they can think about the ins and outs of how that creature might interact in a social setting. If a solitary creature joins the hero’s quest to save the world, he might only do so to obtain something he wants, or to keep the villain from destroying his territory. Thus, he’s forced to be social for the sake of that goal. How does this affect him? Does he cooperate on a surface level, but actually find the social setting stifling? He could even have some very extreme thoughts, like seeing society as evil. He probably has reasons for this that sound perfectly logical to a being ill suited for a social lifestyle, so a glimpse into his mind would probably make his beliefs sound passionate and/or reasonable.

Keep biology/environmental niche in mind. Humans are diurnal, which means active during the day. As such, we have poor night vision and are innately afraid of the dark/night. Primarily because it’s easy for things to sneak around at night and eat us, and we wouldn’t see the threat until it’s too late. As a result, we speak of darkness and shadows as evil.

Keeping this in mind, how might a strictly nocturnal animal feel about brightness? Maybe it scares them because it makes them feel exposed and in view of a predator. Or they see a need for excess light as a sign of weakness. At the very least, their psychology is different from ours in that they are more comfortable in the darkness, and we are not. Many of their beliefs and social norms, or at least way of describing the world, will stem from that psychological quirk.

Some other biological factors and niches to keep in mind are lifespan, location in the food chain(especially whether they are predators or prey), habitat, whether or not the creatures are generalists or specialists(generalists are usually more adaptable), if the animals are social, and what the relationships in their social group normally are.

Have them perform similar behaviors to animals or people in real life, but for different reasons. Going back to our first example of a solitary creature, how might the ‘same actions for different reasons’ idea be used?

We discussed the idea of the solitary creature joining the hero’s ‘save the world team’ in order to protect his territory. Normally, a social creature might think in terms of someone bringing large quantities of food back to camp out of a generous desire to feed everyone. So, let’s say the solitary creature kills a deer and, out of instinct, drags it back to the place he is staying the night so he can eat his meal in relative safety.

Afterward, he eats his portion and then walks to his part of the camp and sleeps, which clears the way for his comrades to eat a portion of the deer. His comrades might think him generous for bringing food back to camp every night, when in actuality, the creature is selfish and indifferent. He is used to hunting a large animal, eating his fill, then leaving the rest to scavengers. He is simply following that behavior, and doesn’t bother explaining that reality to his comrades because he doesn’t care if they know the truth and knows that it is to his advantage if they see him as kind and generous.

Consider manufactured/learned/ imitated behaviors vs. innate/normal behaviors.  Let’s consider our solitary creature again(I’m just going to call him Solitaire from now on). If Solitaire learns that he encounters issues whenever he behaves in ways his comrades don’t expect, he will probably alter his behavior accordingly. This can be as simple as teaching himself to say please and thank you to smooth over conversations, or expressing concern for a comrade regardless of whether or not he feels it. Sometimes learning how to cope in a society might fascinate Solitaire, but there will also be times when the learning process is inconvenient.

Learning the rules may be easy enough (show compassion, be helpful, apologize after upsetting someone, etc) but following them at all times is not. Learning how to apologize is easy in and of itself, but knowing when isn’t always. It’s easier for humans, since we’re usually wired to at least try and cooperate with each other, so it’s easier for us to recognize when we’ve genuinely hurt someone and desire to make amends.

That is not how Solitaire’s wired, however. He may learn to apologize whenever someone seems visibly upset at him, regardless of whether or not he means it. So what happens if he does something offensive, but the person he wrongs doesn’t show how hurt she is? Solitaire’s other comrades might demand he apologize, causing him to refuse, feel annoyed, and justify his behavior.

At this point, Solitaire’s manufactured behaviors become clear. He learns certain things in order to get by, but since social behaviors are not innate for him, he falls very short of social norms, though he often hides it. Of course humans can make fake apologies as well, but Solitaire’s reasons for being fake are a little different and far less likely to change. In fact, depending on the psychology the author chooses for him, he may not even have the ability to feel guilty for harming someone.

Solitaire may not like having to expend the effort to fit in with a species that expects so much of him, either. Even after learning to imitate social behaviors, he may sometimes dwell on the fact that he never had to deal with this when he was alone. He might also wonder why social creatures love living in a way that forces them to adhere to others’ expectations.

So, yeah, these were the first few ideas that came to mind. I may do a follow up post with a few more ways to brainstorm different psychologies.

What do you guys think? Do you have any methods for developing different psychologies for your characters? Are there any creatures/characters that you think have a unique or fascinating psychology?

Feel free to comment with questions as well. If anyone wants me to expand on anything in this post, feel free to ask and I might do a follow up article. Feel free to subscribe to this blog if you want to read more.

Writing Tips -- Why Is Romance Important?

Romance kind of gets a bad wrap for being silly and frivolous when included in a story.  In some cases, this is for good reason. Mainstream media often depicts romance in a stereotypical manner, or in a way that’s so cheesy most can’t help but scoff at it.  As a result, some might see it as an annoying interruption, a deviation that has nothing to do with the main plot. Furthermore, some people have little to no personal interest in romance, and thus have no desire to include such things in their story.

Some stories are indeed better when devoid of romance, but there are many cases where a tale may actually benefit from the inclusion of romantic elements.  For the sake of this post, ‘romantic elements’ will encompass the normal connotations of falling in love, but also other issues that surround it, such as lust and marital conflict.

First and foremost, romance benefits stories by reflecting reality.  Romance impacts everyone, even those that abstain from relationships.  When people’s parents don’t get along, that shapes their childhood. Furthermore, practically no one would be born without romance and lust.  In general, even societies that lack romance and handle reproduction through more scientific means were probably affected by romance in some way.  In all likelihood, something in their history made them see romance as a hindrance to progress and thus caused them to focus on other means of sustaining their population.  Thus, even then, some sort of romantic element might merit discussion to explain the origins of that society.

There are ways to avoid a story being impacted by romance, but they often require writing about beings vastly different than us.  Having all the chars be immortal is one method. Another is to write about a completely asexual species that has always been like that and has no contact with creatures that reproduce other ways.

Romance can provide sequel material.  If the main character’s story arc is over, either because they died or they are done adventuring forever, sequels are going to have to focus on other characters.  Although it may be possible to use previous side chars or new chars as the sequels’ protagonist, focusing on the next generation instead may have more impact. This gives authors a chance to build off the previous arcs of well loved chars and show how they impacted others.  A character’s behavior is often going to impact their family greatly, after all. Even further, the character’s children can provide a fresh perspective on previous events and people.

Using next gen characters is also usually easier than starting completely from scratch, since next generation stories ground readers in pre-established situations instead of having to take time for exposition to introduce new ones.

But next generation characters are harder to introduce without some degree of romance(unless the stork dropped them on the parent’s doorstep one day).  If someone has a biological kid, the question of who that kid’s other parent is will likely come up at some point. Maybe the question would realistically occur in the story, or it will simply be something readers want to know.  But having a kid is a process, an entire segment of the character’s backstory, and thus would impact the character almost regardless of the circumstances around their child’s birth. If, for instance, a man has a child because he got married and his wife died in childbirth, that should have some bearing on his characterization.  In turn, this will have a bearing on their child’s characterization.

Writing romance well can be very vital in cases like that.  Main characters have the spotlight on them. If everything else about them is well written, yet their romance arc is flat, stereotypical, and/or barely discussed, it might weaken the story’s quality.  Or, even worse, it can cause people to misread the character. If a character is supposed to be kind hearted and empathetic, yet his spouse dying in childbirth has no impact on his behavior going forward...he may come across as callous, or at least inconsistent.  It would also be strange if that romance arc didn’t impact the character’s child in some way. The child might not be sad, due to not knowing the mother, but such things would impact how the child grows up and sees the world. This can fuel a sequel by giving the next generation character challenges to work through.

Romance is an excellent way to explore human psychology.  Many normal relationship dynamics, such as friendship, conflict, etc. are present within romantic relationships, but the two characters are more deeply intertwined.  Because of the impact they have on each other, their relationship dynamics are magnified. If two regular friends don’t get along, it’s usually a lot easier for them to go their separate ways, so we may not see what would happen if their conflict worsens due to close proximity.  

In a romantic relationship, however, breaking ties can be harder.  The two chars are more likely to be emotionally bound, or they built a life together that will fall apart if they stop interacting.  Factors like that may force them to stay together and in conflict far longer than people who are just friends. This is the perfect opportunity to show how a detailed, somewhat inescapable conflict looks like over the long haul.

But conflict isn’t the only psychological aspect that can be explored through romance.  There’s also long term friendship and camaraderie. Normal friends have a higher chance of moving away and growing apart, but a romantic partner may very well stay there a lifetime, if all goes well.  This can be used to explore how such close friendship impacts someone’s life. When people always have someone they can count on, that greatly affects their behavior. People might be a little more daring or effective if they know someone’s always got their back, for instance.

Romance doesn’t have to be cheesy or stereotypical.  Not only can it can be an intricate study of human nature, but it can be used as a well thought out plot device.  The way people treat their significant others, for instance, says a lot about them and helps with characterization.  A romantic partner can be a help or a hindrance, depending on the story. When characters responds to each instance of that, they show who they are and move the story along.  At that point, the romance doesn’t have to be sappy and cheesy, but an interesting set of behaviors instead.

If authors want to write stories and characters that feel real, they often need to address romantic elements at some point or another.  Simply because of that, learning to write romantic elements adds another tool in the author’s arsenal. One way to start learning is by finding shows/comics/etc. with well written romantic elements and various types of relationship dynamics.  When people find romantic elements in a story they enjoy, it becomes far easier to internalize how to add those elements in their own tales. Additionally, pay attention to romantic elements that occur in real life and compare them to romance stories that seem poorly written.  Based on what is seen in real life, what did those romance stories do wrong and right?

So, just my two cents worth on the subject. What are the best and worst examples of romance writing you've seen? What are your habits/opinion when it comes to romance in stories?

Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a comment, or follow the blog if you want to read more.

Writing Tips -- Good Cooks In Stories

Recently I've been watching Kakuriyo -- Bed And Breakfast For Spirits, and it's an enjoyable break from all the serious stuff I normally watch.  As the story progresses, however, it's obvious that (so far) it's fallen into a trope common in stories involving a skilled cook: characters tend to automatically like whatever food is made by the skilled cook, regardless of individual preferences.

Here are a few brief responses and proposed solutions to this trope:

Let some taste testers dislike the food.  Everyone has different tastes.  Some things are so gross to me that I can't imagine them tasting good to anyone, like this really bitter tea I had once.  But then someone else near me tried it and liked it.  This can be a challenge when writing good cooks because it is necessary to show how skilled they are.  And the easiest way to do that is to show everyone loving their food.

It's not necessarily 'bad' to depict characters that are so skilled their food is always perfect for whoever eats it.  But to make the story more realistic and deep, the author can also show what happens when someone doesn't like what the skilled cook prepares.  Such a thing could be an opportunity to explore and address ways of politely telling someone 'I don't really like this'.  Or maybe to show how the cook handles criticism and learns from it.

The taste testers don't have to dislike the food very often, but it would be realistic for that to happen once or twice.  For a real life comparison...when people go to a fancy restaurant, all the food is made by competent chefs, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'd enjoy every single thing on the menu.

Allow skilled cooks to mess up now and then.  Of course this shouldn't happen very often.  These cooks have to appear competent after all.  But allowing them to mess up now and then can provide good character building moments.  Are they distracted by worries or excitement?  If so, they may accidentally burn a batch of whatever they're making.  

Are they learning to make something completely new and out of their realm of expertise?  Show that they are skilled enough to make good guesses when it comes to cooking this new thing(which could be an entirely different genre/culture of food) But also show them making a mistake that causes the dish to be lower quality than their food normally does.

Have them receive input from another skilled chef.  This can be someone on the same level as them, or someone more advanced.  Even if the skilled cook's food is normally good, that doesn't mean they do everything completely right and could still benefit from another's chef's tips and tricks.  

To address the taste and personal preference aspect of this...  If a professional chef dislikes a certain type of food, they might still be able to tell if it is well cooked or well prepared.  This might not always be the case, but in some instances at least, the professional will understand the 'standard' for common dishes and judge the dish based on that criteria, rather than their own taste buds.

So, yeah, just my two cents and observations on the matter.  

Have you noticed this trope yourself?  What are your thoughts on it?  Are there any other cooking story tropes that come to mind?