@Chiappetta298
Last seen: Mon 17 May, 2021
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: Re: Should I delete a character? I have two characters in mind, both share many traits. One of them is a side character (E) and one is a supporting (Z), but I'm wondering if I should mesh them
How important is E?
If he plays a very minor role and is so briefly mentioned, then I think that E can possibly be deleted. Will it make an enormous difference? Probably not. I would also suggest for you to change E's character so that he can be more unique and different from Z, if you really don't want to delete him.
Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm assuming that Z is the main character or an important character to the story? If he is important to the story, then I think having E and Z being similar is not a good idea. Why? Because you already have the main character with that personality, if E shares many similar traits with the main character, it's not going to make so much of a difference if you squish him into Z, right?
Personally, I don't think that two scenes will be enough for your character, even if he is briefly mentioned. Two scenes aren't enough for me to remember the character.
I would also agree with Chris Sunami supports Monica to have a smaller cast will be easier for the readers to keep up with.
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: Re: Is one book long enough to make my character fall in love? I am new to writing and this is my first story. I want to make my story believable and was wondering if one book is long enough
It can happen, but you have to develop the relationship carefully to make it seem more realistic.
Since I'm assuming that this is going to be a series, develop the relationship slowly. Start with her just simply thinking that he is a good guy, and then further develop stronger feelings for her.
You also need to show why she likes him, to make it seem more realistic. Maybe she likes him because he is kind. Or maybe because he has some admirable traits.
Also, include a few chapters or scenes where the relationship gets stronger. This could be a deep conversation.
Remember to show the character's whirling of feelings if she is "over-the-heels" for him. Think of the emotions you feel when you are madly in love with someone.
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: Aside from military, how do I write strategy in seemingly ordinary settings (something going on beneath the surface)? The question says it all, but the only results I'm getting are battlefield
The question says it all, but the only results I'm getting are battlefield scenarios that wouldn't translate well into the themes of my own story--which is more about escape, scheming, tactics, strategies, betrayal, the battle of the wits, over battle formations, bombs, and etc. Death can play a part in this kind of story, but it's less about any physical battle. Any in-depth answers will be much appreciated!
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: How long can a Children's Novel be? I'm currently writing a realism fantasy novel targeted for a 9-12 age group. Since it became so long(the first draft turned out to be at least 90,000 words),
I'm currently writing a realism fantasy novel targeted for a 9-12 age group. Since it became so long(the first draft turned out to be at least 90,000 words), I figured it would be best to split the book up into a series. Now after finishing the first book of the series, it somehow managed to be 70,000-80,000 words. Doing a quick Google search, according to this, it claims that the average word count for Children's novels would be 50,000-70,000 words as the average.
There is going to be like, 5 sequels to the first book, so the first book is just the beginning. This is the type of those books when there is a long journey. For most of the series, it's basically the character journeying around and running into many mini conflicts. So while yes, I could easily just cut off a part of the story and carry it to the second book and so on, this is going to be a bit difficult to do, because the ending of the first book is a cliffhanger, and I kind of like it that way.
Is my story too long for a Children's novel(targeted to that specific age range)? What can I do to make it shorter(perhaps I did too much fancy language or the show-not-tell?)?
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: A better word to indicate slow/high latency? We are comparing two techniques in computer science. We want to say X has "significantly high latency" when executed on system Y Is there
We are comparing two techniques in computer science.
We want to say X has "significantly high latency" when executed on system Y
Is there a better one-word term we can use for the above to mean the same as 'significantly high latency' ?
e.g., slow <-- but a better word than slow ?
thanks
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: Making your antagonist memorable Some memorable villains in beloved series, like Voldemort, often does things to prove just how evil and powerful he is. He tortures people. He kills muggles.
Making your antagonist memorable
Some memorable villains in beloved series, like Voldemort, often does things to prove just how evil and powerful he is. He tortures people. He kills muggles. He makes everybody so afraid of him that they are even terrified to speak his name! Consider adding scenes in your story that show just how evil the antagonist is.
Give your antagonist a unique physical appearance
Taking Voldemort again as the example, Voldemort looks quite freakish. He has this interesting pale skin. He has a nose like a snake. He has weird eyes. Make your antagonist look unique and somebody that looks feared.
Giving your antagonists a backstory, but make it believable too
I'm just going to take Voldemort again. Most of the time, antagonists are not born evil. They develop it over time, just like Tom Riddle. Give your antagonist some backstory that is believable and interesting.
Give your antagonist opposite powers of your main character, something that can overpower lightning
Give your antagonist the opposite powers of your main character. Something that is more powerful than lightning and have it as a shield the antagonist use to protect him/herself. To make the MC even more terrified of the antagonist, consider making your antagonist already targeting the MC. And have the MC know that. Then, she could be even more terrified of the antagonist when they meet. Have the MC know what the antagonist is capable of.
Here is a additional checklist of things that you should check off when you are creating villains:
He’s convinced he’s the good guy
He has many likeable qualities
He’s a worthy enough opponent to make your hero look good
You (and your reader) like when he’s on stage
He’s clever and accomplished enough that people must lend him begrudging respect
He can’t be a fool or a bumbler
He has many of the same characteristics of the hero, but they’re misdirected
He should occasionally be kind, and not just for show
He can be merciless, even to the innocent
He’s persuasive
He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants
He’s proud
He’s deceitful
He’s jealous, especially of the hero
He’s vengeful
Resources:
Now Novel
Jerry Jenkins
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: Re: Terminology: writer's block Does the term "writer's block" refer to the condition in which the author not having anything to write, or has the material but unable to put it in words
It can be either of those, but it's usually the second one (the writer has the material, but is unable to put it into words in the way they want).
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: Re: Is it okay to use a lot of questions to show my characters' thoughts? First off, I'm sure someone will direct me to this question, and I want to make it clear that my question is different.
I think it really depends on what questions you are asking.
For me, this isn't really annoying. The questions just make me wonder and curious. If you were to ask really obvious questions the reader might already be asking themselves, that might be annoying. But when you ask thoughtful questions that help the readers make predictions.
I do have one suggestion though: I do think that there is a little bit too much questions that you could cut off. At the "later on" part, there were two questions: What was it that had saved her? Was it pity? I think that maybe you could try to merge those together, maybe something like "Did the guard save her because of pity?" This question seems a little more complex, and sounds a little bit less annoying.
Other than that, I don't think that you should be too concerned about it. When you show that the character is asking questions, it's bringing out her thoughts more, it's showing her personality a little bit. It's showing that she is curious and likes to ask questions.
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: When two authors write a book, what order should I put them in? Me and my friend are currently writing a Sci-fi novel. When we publish it, we want both of our names to be on the cover.
Me and my friend are currently writing a Sci-fi novel. When we publish it, we want both of our names to be on the cover. Do I have to put our names in alphabetically, or some order?
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: How to describe a setting but without making it too cliche? There is this one author technique that I find a bit cliche, which is matching the mood to the setting. This means that for example,
There is this one author technique that I find a bit cliche, which is matching the mood to the setting. This means that for example, when one character is upset, the skies are grey to match the mood of the character. I wanted to add this technique to my story, but I don't want it to seem too cliche. Every time a character is upset, the skies are not always gloomy. How can I use this technique without making it too cliche?
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: Is it considered plagiarism to publish a novel that has characters of the same animal species? I am currently working on the last draft of my children's novel. Recently, I found out that several
I am currently working on the last draft of my children's novel. Recently, I found out that several of my animal characters are the same species from The One and Only Ivan, written by Katherine Applegate. I do not believe that the plot is similar, it's just the character's species.
In The One and Only Ivan, there was a gorilla protagonist named Ivan, a baby elephant named Ruby, a elephant named Stella, and a dog named Bob. In my story, there is a baby elephant protagonist named Ellie, Ellie's older brother named Ben(which is of course is another elephant), a chimpanzee named Monica, one dog named Poppy, and two puppies named Maggie and Scott.
As mentioned before, I do not believe that the plot is alike at all. It's just the character's species that worries me. I think that the characters might be similar in some parts, like, for instance, Ruby and Ellie are both baby elephants from the savanna and then both are curious. But for the most part, the characters are different. I also can't modify the character's species because they will help later on in the story.
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: Re: Referencing figures, tables, sections and chapters: When to capitalize and when to use lower case letters I know this question has been asked before, but I am still confused. That’s why I
I am an engineer in a similar situation as well. I was quite confused about formatting and capitalization as well. My advisor suggested that I follow formatting rules based on the thesis of one of the previous students who graduated from my research group. Hopefully, my committee won't ask me to change any of it.
Having said that, I personally agree with all the formatting suggestions you have except the following:
I would just write
In equation 1 it can be seen that ...
without the parenthesis and since you are capitalizing many nouns, for the sake of consistency, I would also write In Section 1.1 / Chapter 3, it is stated that ...
At least based on my conversation with my advisor, it seems like the thesis committee is more concerned with consistency than with a particular type of formatting.
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: Re: A typical American food a grandma could cook that would spoil if left outside the fridge over night This is oddly specific and I'm not sure this is the right place for it but I'm writing
I am not an expert on this but how about shepherd's pie. Seems like this is both an Irish and English dish and goes bad in about 4 hours at room temperature (source)
.
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: Re: How to Structure a single-perspective Novel into Chapters? Now my case is not novel-wide; I have to do this in one part of the novel, but I extended the question to a more generalised one,
What I think you are asking about are chapter breaks (or scene breaks) and how to use them. Chapter breaks are gaps in the middle of a chapter that are used, broadly speaking, to gloss over any unnecessary parts of your story. Mind you, that doesn't just cover the everyday details of being human that nobody wants to read about. What is unnecessary to a story depends on the story and the writer and the readers, but broadly speaking, whatever does not advance the plot, show us something about the characters, and/or develop the world/setting, can probably be glossed over. Chapter breaks are one way to do that. If nothing very interesting happens for a few days between one important scene and the next, you can put a space between those scenes and begin the next scene with, "Nothing very interesting happened for the next few days" (or something; just an example). Or if your characters need to get from Point A to Point B, but you don't need to give every detail of the trip there. Enter the trusty chapter break!
Chapter breaks are also a way to indicate to one's readers that a new scene is beginning, which is why they are not to be used like commercial breaks. In TV shows, it's perfectly acceptable to show us the hero about to crash their ship into an asteroid (for instance), fade to black, and then pick up right where the action left off. Chapter breaks do not work like that. They are a visual shorthand that time has passed and we are now beginning somewhere new (and there's really no point to using them that way, since books don't have any commercials to pause for).
As for as your concern about glossing over boring everyday details seeming obvious and deliberate: Most readers assume that ordinary, mundane things are always happening off-screen, unless the character is in a situation where getting food/brushing their teeth/going to the bathroom/sleeping would be difficult to impossible to do, at least normally. For example, if you have a character who is wandering in the woods for a day or so, readers will notice if said character gets nothing to eat all day. Or your character has been kidnapped and is tied up in their captor's basement. Now how are they going to keep clean or relieve themselves? Or they have to spend the night in a train station, and the only place to sleep is a bench. You get the idea.
Readers might notice if they spend an entire book without a single mention of anyone eating or sleeping, since both those things can give a sense of atmosphere and character, but those activities, fortunately, are easy to insert into a scene that drives the action forward. As for tooth-brushing or bathroom-going, I have never in my life read a book where I thought, "You know, it's really obvious that this author omitted those details!" if, like I said, there was no real reason to include them, and I've never seen anyone else criticize a book for this, either. It's the same reason you don't need to describe clothes: We just assume everyone is clothed in reasonably ordinary outfits unless we are expressly told otherwise.
I will note that, despite chapter breaks indicating that time has passed, it is still disorienting for a reader to see a scene end with, "'There's no time! We have to get to the cathedral!'" and a new scene open with, "They parked their car at the city gates. 'From here, we have to go on foot,' Rita announced.'" You should begin a new scene with a line or two about where we are, what's happening, and how we got here in the first place. But with the chapter break, you can avoid including all the boring details, and keep your book from becoming nothing but a very large and very pretty doorstop.
I hope all this was helpful. Good luck!
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: Re: Not sure how to continue my story I'm writing a story (I think a bit long to post here, but I could if someone would like), which is a metaphor for depression. In the story (from a 3rd
Reflection, as Alexander says in the comments, is a good one. There are a million different standard negative thoughts depressed people usually have about themselves: "I'm not good enough," "the world would be better without me," "my friends just pity me and they won't miss me when I'm gone", etc. Even picking one could serve as a good structure.
In order for the emotional landing of the story to stick, there needs to be some sort of climax and then some sort of relief. What's the climax going to be? Is it an emotional thing? Is something dark and scary approaching the windows? Does he see something he knows he can't miss? Is it just the sheer volume of the person's knocks?
Once you pick the climactic event that forces the character to open the door, the rest should hopefully fall into place.
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: Re: Using 'somehow' in a sentence This is what I have: Entering the house, she realized that somehow, inside was worse. I'm just using the comma here as a natural pause but should it have a comma
"Somehow" is an adverb. It is usually placed close to the verb it is describing and can be used without commas as a regular adverb.
Your sentence above doesn't require commas.
Entering the house, she realized that somehow inside was worse.
This isn't a "rule," but it's fairly common to see "somehow" used at the beginning or end of a sentence rather than in the middle...
Entering the house, she realized that inside was worse somehow.
... unless it is used as an aside, and then it would need to be surrounded by commas on both sides of the word.
Entering the house, she realized that, somehow, inside was worse.
As the sentence is written now, no commas are necessary.
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: Re: Can we save the name of a book we want to publish? I want to publish a book in India, with a particular name. Can I save the name for using it in future? Or if there is already one book
"Copyright does not ordinarily protect titles by themselves or names, short word combinations, slogans, short phrases, methods, plots or factual information." (https://copyright.gov.in/Documents/handbook.html) (Sometime while searching on amazon, you may have seen several books with the same title. This is not uncommon.) You can trademark a title if it is a distinctive title for a series of publications (example: Harry Potter). (www.biswajitsarkar.com/blog)
You may not use the title of an existing book that is world-famous or nationally famous, at least not without permission. If you try, you may get a cease and desist letter from the publisher of that book.
You can register copyright for a titled manuscript that has not been published yet, as long as you can prove when the work was created and the fact that it is original, but this probably would not prevent someone else from using the same title in the meantime. There is copyright protection even if you do not register the copyright of an unpublished work, but unless you register it, you will not be able to defend any claim in a court of law. (https://copyright.gov.in/Documents/handbook.html)
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: Re: Capitalization for a thought mid-sentence This is an example of something I've run into: I felt my excitement grow at the view, with “now THIS is a true alien world!†running through my
Capitalize it.
It's the start of an internal, quoted sentence. No different from this:
Joe looked at me and said, "How are you doing?"
For the sentence itself, I might split it like this (or edit further to put it in italics and take out the "dialogue" tag), but up to you!
I felt my excitement grow at the view. "Now THIS is a true alien
world!†ran through my mind.
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: Hyphen or no-hyphen for adjective phrase for impact/emphasis/clarity? Here are two alternatives, one with a hyphen of previously-obscured one without as previously obscured: As our global society
Here are two alternatives, one with a hyphen of previously-obscured one without as previously obscured:
As our global society becomes evermore connected, we become increasingly aware of the previously-obscured impact of our actions on each other and our environment.
or
As our global society becomes evermore connected, we become increasingly aware of the previously obscured impact of our actions on each other and our environment.
Does adding the hyphen work to provide impact, emphasis, and clarity that previously obscured is an adjective or will it be confusing to readers to see a hyphen here between words not usually seen put together with a hyphen?
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: Does a glossary make sense in a computer science thesis I am currently writing my master thesis in computer science, more specifically on voice activity detection, a sub-area of automatic speech
I am currently writing my master thesis in computer science, more specifically on voice activity detection, a sub-area of automatic speech recognition using neural networks. I asked my supervisor if I needed a glossary and he told me that was up to me. I looked at other computer science works, some have a glossary, some don't. Now I'm unsure on what to do. Here are my thoughts:
On the one hand, a glossary is useful especially in printed documents to quickly find the best explanation for important terms. It provides a proper place for definitions. And to me it provides a feeling of "scientificity".
On the other hand, almost all readers will use my work in pdf form. Thus they can easily search for appearances and definitions on a given phrase. Given my work is only of use to computer scientists I'd consider them aware of these functionalities. Thus a glossary feels a bit anachronistic.
I hope this qualifies as a proper question and isn't too opinion based, I figured rules here might be a little less strict considering the "proper" way of writing something is often influenced by personal preference.
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: Misspelling and punctuation how to improve? Love telling/writing stories except I am the absolute worst at both spelling along with punctuation. Normally I care less about these things because
Love telling/writing stories except I am the absolute worst at both spelling along with punctuation. Normally I care less about these things because I can still read them although many people get extremely angry and dislike that I do this. I currently use the free version of Grammarly for it to fix my writing/texting and I feel embarrassed about it. Is there a way to fix these naturally or is it something all writers go through every day fixing their mistakes?
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: Can you omit words from a sentence and correctly cite that text? In a source, I have the sentence: Trafficking in children from Togo, Nigeria, Mali, to Cote d’Ivoire’s plantation and domestic
In a source, I have the sentence:
Trafficking in children from Togo, Nigeria, Mali, to Cote d’Ivoire’s plantation and domestic servants in Gabon, and of women from Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Sierra Leone as exploited sex workers in countries of the European Union has also taken root.
However, for my work, I only need this:
Trafficking domestic servants from Sierra Leone as exploited sex workers in countries of the European Union has also taken root.
Can I correctly cite the text when omitting words like this?
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: Re: What is the literary term for a technique where expectation is built up by hinting at the future? I've been reading a fantasy-novel series where the author cleverly seeds expectation in the
This sounds a bit like dramatic irony. Defined as when the audience knows something about the story that the characters are unaware of, it can have a similar effect to what you're referring to, creating tension and anticipation.
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: Re: I love the world and characters I've created for my story, but I dislike the plot. How can I proceed? I've spent several years periodically writing and developing a high fantasy story I mean
In my opinion, you've already done a lot of the hard work. Creating the characters and well-constructed world-building leaves you open to follow endless avenues of plot. This is why fan-fiction is so popular because once you have the characters and the world, the plot can start writing itself.
That said, as @JonStonecash has said, finishing the first draft is so important. I have been in your position and immediately fell back on, 'I hate my plot. It's too similar to x y z. Let's start over!' and there's a lot to be said for finishing your draft. You may fall in love with ideas you have along the way and then wind up somewhere you never thought you could be, or you get to the end and realize you still don't like it. But I guarantee the journey will expose ideas and plot you otherwise wouldn't get.
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: Re: Naming Side characters So, basically, how do you name side characters? I get that you should give the main characters meaningful names, but finding suitable names for all of my characters is
To me it depends on how important I think this side character would be. If it's a shop owner, worker, a throw away character for a one line in a battle, or the human roadblock stopping my character for that scene I may not give them a full name but a generic first name for the region my characters are in. My regions are loosely based off of actual countries so I can think what sounds like it would be from there.
Otherwise if a name must be given I will ether choose something random like Male%%% speaks to Female@! or use a baby registry that contains names selectable via country of origin and choose the name based off the first letter to pop into my head.
Then I put these into my mastery list of characters with details on who they are and what they were doing to jog my memory of this scene. Like:
Guard Emily - Refused heroes entry into the city.
Guard Male## - Smuggled in heroes on May 14, 1312 for a bribe into city of Rapid Falls.
I also highlight over the bogus names in both the master list & the actual draft story so I can easily spot them for editing later.
You can use places like:
Baby registries like www.babynology.com/
Random Name generators like - www.mithrilandmages.com/utilities/Modern.php
Or some writing programs under options have a random name generator equipped with them.
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: Writing Historically accurate diversity vs. Telling someone else's story I am writing a story that takes place in a period of heavy political tension. It is a fictional world, but based off
I am writing a story that takes place in a period of heavy political tension. It is a fictional world, but based off reality, especially American history. One of my main characters is a POC who joins a political movement protesting the tyrannical government, specifically focusing on women's rights. The more research I do on the subject, the more I come to realize the role women of color played in the women's suffrage movement.
While, as a white author, I want to be sensitive of telling a story that's not mine to tell, I also want my novel to be historically accurate and representative of all aspects of history. Even if I do all the research I can, I still will never fully understand the pov of a POC in politically heated environments, but I also don't want to "white wash" the women's rights movement.
So my questions would be: Is there a way to approach writing this character's plot line and pov to acknowledge the reality of being a POC in a political movement without writing an experience that isn't mine to write about? Where is the line between writing historically accurate experiences for your MC and telling someone else's story?
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: Re: How to ask someone why they didn't attend a meeting in a formal email? I want to write an email to a person who has volunteered to teach students online. we have scheduled the first session
There are a few things that need to be included in such a letter. I start by writing out how angry or disappointed I am about the outcome of the situation. Then I go about trimming this down to very polite and business like language. This will include the consequences of the missed meeting. Then I write the beginning part up above which will be much more polite and concerned about their possible welfare and unknown condition. This will be phrased as "Are you alright" "We hope you are well" etc. The ending will list the possibilities that are available to them; If you wish to proceed/reschedule; Perhaps you do not have the time; or your own choice of "We will find help elsewhere." depending on your options and choices.
You begin with concern of their welfare, detail gently the consequences of their absence and finish with discussion of the next steps. You are not to worry about your own failings, limitations or problems. The problem is their own. They said they would meet and they did not.
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: Writing mumbled speech I've got a character that mumbles, and I'd like good advice on how to write his dialogue. He isn't a POV character, and I won't give him too much dialogue that would
I've got a character that mumbles, and I'd like good advice on how to write his dialogue. He isn't a POV character, and I won't give him too much dialogue that would make the reading tedious, but it's important that I show his mumbling through his dialogue, when necessary.
What sounds would the character have difficulty pronouncing?
This thread on writing slurred speech has some useful ideas, though I'm not sure any of them apply to mumbled speech.
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: Re: How to protect my unfinished work? I am currently writing a fiction novel. I have about 5 finished chapters. But, since English is not my native language, (it's actually my fourth language)
The answer to this question very much depends on your jurisdiction and what kind of artistic theft you intend to prevent. In terms of protecting your writings themselves from being plagiarized by the native English speaker, there are a variety of ways of proving you wrote the text first. In terms of the native English speaker "stealing your idea" whatever that might mean, that's a risk you take when you share your work with anyone.
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: Re: How do I make my plot more interesting? This is gonna be long before I ask the question itself. Here is a quick overview of my plot: In the fictional world named Slavaz, there is a great
Can you make your God Creator request something that the Prophet considers to be totally against the god's own rules? In the Mahabharata, Krishna, the god of compassion, tenderness and love uses advises Arjuna to break every moral rule to win a battle.
Your prophet could fear that following the path he has been given will cost him the beauty of his soul... Is that the sacrifice his god is asking from him, or is there a way for him to follow the letter of his god's instructions and retain his righteousness?
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