@Cody1607638
Last seen: Mon 17 May, 2021
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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
I'd say it can be both, and that people using the term don't diiferentiate between the two meanings.
I'm not an author, but I do write software. I've been doing that for a very long time.
I've had days where I would write the structure of some program or class or whatever, then just sit there and stare at it and want to puke because it looked just like what I did yesterday or the week before. You want to get on to the interesting part of implementing new functions, and here's this pile of boiler plate that you have to slap down before you can get started. It sits there, staring at you and daring you to do something new - and your mind just goes blank. I have to find something else to work on for a while (fix a bug, or track down the cause of a problem somewhere) before I can face that screen full of mocking boiler plate again.
I'd imagine authors get the same thing, as well as having the other problem - the need to write to meet a deadline (or other reason,) and there's not a single damn idea or word to be had.
Another way I have of dealing with that screen full of mocking boiler plate is to not write it. Scribble the interesting parts together first, then go back and pack them in the needed boiler plate junk so that you can use it.
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: Re: Can the Hero's Journey be detrimental to the process of storywriting? When it comes to common writing advice, the Hero's Journey and Show, don't Tell, are the most common ones. The second one
After looking into your oblique reference to "Campbell," I see that you are actually referencing a specific type of "Hero's Journey." That's a particular definition with specific points.
Campbell's definition (as given on the Wikipedia page) is rather specific to fantasy and mythology, and is a rather specific formula that tries to be an all encompassing description of the content of myths and fantasy. It isn't a blueprint for writing a story so much as a distillation into one plot line of common elements across all of mythology and fantasy.
If you try to follow it as a blueprint, you'll go nuts.
It's not telling you how to write a story, it is telling you of all the things a story may be composed of.
You don't want to follow it to the letter. That'd be like ordering a pizza with everything on it - you'll choke trying to eat it.
Campbell's definition is saying that existing mythology is composed of elements from that huge list - and that if you write fantasy or myths then your story will contain elements from that huge list.
Original answer:
Keep in mind that the "Hero's Journey" doesn't have to be heroic.
The title "Hero's Journey" is one of many ways to say that your character grows or overcomes obstacles.
A short summary of the "Hero's Journey" plot is like this:
Introduce character
Character encounters problem
Character struggles
Character overcomes problem
Character learns or improves for having struggled and won
End of arc
That looks like the plot of pretty much any story or story arc.
What makes the "Hero's Journey" that most people think of is that the problem is enormous, the struggle titanic, and the character heroic. The "Hero's Journey" is really just a big name for a mundane thing.
Any obstacle the character meets is a "Hero's Journey" in small format.
Even if the character doesn't win (overcome) the problem, then it is still a "Hero's Journey" as long as the character grows or improves because of the struggle.
If your character(s) confront the obstacles they face and win (or at least learn from the struggle) then you've ticked the "Hero's Journey" box on your checklist - if you feel the need to use a checklist and do all the things people will tell you that you must do to write a good story.
A good story starts with a point to make. You as the author must have something to express. A story or novel without that goal is a series of pointless anecdotes.
If that goal isn't there then I, as a reader, will wonder why you bothered to write the story at all and why I should bother to read it.
Your characters don't have to know what the point is, but you as author must know. Without that, your story will wander aimlessly and you'll have trouble deciding what to do from scene to scene.
If you (as the author) have a point to make or a goal to achieve, then you can see how to warp your story and characters as you go along.
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: Re: A poker game description that does not feel gimmicky I'm writing a scene in which four characters play a high-stakes poker game. So far my narrator has been an omniscient third person, who
I think you need to know the psychology of poker players. Actually the real players will not show the emotions on their face. If you had watched several poker tournament videos, you would know that the stakes there are high. If you watched carefully, you would notice that most people who were playing are good and just stood quiet.
So the reason for having a poker face is simple. Emotions can create a lot of difference in one’s playing style. These emotions are a double-edged sword that your enemies can exploit or you can use.
To learn more about poker and poker psychology, click here.
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: Re: Does the main character have to be likable? I am often hearing / reading that the main character of your story should be likable or even if flawed should be something about them to get the
The readers need to care.
If the protagonist is likable, that is one reason to care.
If the protagonist is not likeable, you need to give the readers something else to care about.
This is difficult, but not impossible.
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: Can I get sued for a fictional version of a news outlet? In the fictional book I'm writing there are the institutions, Focs Schools and Focs Net. These institutions greatly distort history,
In the fictional book I'm writing there are the institutions, Focs Schools and Focs Net. These institutions greatly distort history, science findings, etc. Can I get sued by Fox News for the fictional name, when pronounced, sounding like the real life counterpart?
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: Are there better chances of being more credible by a grantor if you write about yourself in the third person? I was told that because I have a good eye for detail, I could do reasonably
I was told that because I have a good eye for detail, I could do reasonably well as a grantwriter for several nonprofit organisations.
I have previously applied for personal grants by writing about myself in the first person because I was clearly able to communicate a passionate goal in a clear and concise manner. In 95 percent of cases, I was approved for those grant.
But I'm wondering if my chances of credibility would improve if I wrote about myself in the third person, using a pseudonym as the person who is writing about me.
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: Re: How do I write "fantasy counterpart cultures" without being accused of cultural appropriation? In my book series, the various planets of the galaxy are inhabited by different cultures, most of
Hire a sensitivity reader as a consultant.
An increasingly popular option that certain businesses in creative industries have taken is hiring consultants from the culture they're depicting as sensitivity readers, who can inform them if they're indulging in harmful stereotypes. This might be quite expensive, depending on the scale of the project you're working on and how much budget you have, but it is well within the capability of many large corporations, and it should be within the capability of a project that is large enough to have hired multiple people such as editors, writers, and artists.
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: Re: A smooth way to make Dialogue I am an amateur fiction writer and a key feature in most of my pieces is dialogue. There are often 6-12 characters in the exciting scenes and a lot of the
If your plot really does require throwing 12 people in a room together, and most or all of them must actually talk at some point, don't try to write out the literal sequence of dialog word-for-word. Instead, give the reader a high-level summary of (at most) one to two paragraphs describing the conversation as a whole, and its result. If it's just "everyone brought character X up to speed on event Y," then this can be a single sentence.
For example, you might write:
With the twelve of them reunited, the bickering started almost immediately. Susan began throwing around her usual paranoid accusations in every conceivable direction. John responded with his trademark sarcasm, and the conversation deteriorated from there. Jane sank to the floor, head in her hands, trying to blot it all out.
(It is assumed, of course, that John, Susan, Jane, and the other nine characters all have established personalities that your reader will be familiar with. Otherwise, this would make very little sense.)
This sort of thing should be rare. Most of the time, you don't want 12 characters in a scene together. It's too hard for the writer to manage and also too hard for the reader to follow. To some extent, you can get away with it if there's some additional structure to help the audience keep up with the plot. For example, in Ocean's Eleven, when Danny describes the plan, he's doing most of the talking, and it almost feels like diegetic narration rather than dialog. If the film had instead tried to portray a scene of all the characters coming up with a plan collaboratively and organically, it would have been much harder to understand.
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: Re: How can I overcome that paralyzing fear that my writing isn’t good enough I've written a large section of my book. The questions that keep haunting me are: Is this story unique? Will people
This video of Ira Glass (from This American Life) gets me through that problem every time.
By the time you first begin writing, you've already developed good taste, being able to tell good work from bad. So in your early work you can see clearly how far it falls from the best stuff you've seen. You have to recognize that gap, but also recognize that everybody has one of their own. And know that you'll improve and narrow that gap with practice.
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: What are some examples of the "simple but vivid" description that Chekhov talks about in the quote below? (The quote below is from one of Chekhov's letters to other Russian writer, Maxim Gorky.)
(The quote below is from one of Chekhov's letters to other Russian writer, Maxim Gorky.)
Your nature descriptions are artistic; you are a true landscape
painter. But your frequent personifications (anthropomorphism), when
the sea breathes, the sky looks on, the steppe basks, and nature
whispers, talks, grieves, etc.—these personifications make your
descriptions a bit monotonous, sometimes cloying, and sometimes
unclear. Color and expressivity in nature descriptions are achieved
through simplicity alone, through simple phrases like "the sun set,"
"it grew dark," "it began to rain," etc.
As I asked in the title, what are some examples of the "simple but vivid" description that Chekhov talks about in letter excerpt above? (Examples can be from books, novels, your own writing—really wherever.)
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: I think silky hair is just too simple as that is one of the most common ways that great hair is described. You could choose a more specific type of brown, like chestnut, chocolate or cinnamon
I think silky hair is just too simple as that is one of the most common ways that great hair is described.
You could choose a more specific type of brown, like chestnut, chocolate or cinnamon brown. Cinnamon has the benefit that many readers might recall the nice scent.
Or you could emphasise the intensity of the colour: vibrant auburn hair.
If the poem is meant for a specific person, of course you cannot deviate from her actual hair colour. But still, finding out the specific tone of brown and using that sounds a bit more interesting to me than just using brown.
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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
It may add an amusing undercurrent if the friend was actually not a jealous idiot, and only the primary protagonist knows this - the jealousy is a public front used in an attempt to determine who the protagonist's friends really are. His acts of evil in "helping" the bad guys always fail in such a way as the blame points to one of the evildoer's underlings, who promptly get wiped out by the evildoer.
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: How to include a software license covering code samples in a book I'm working on a programming book, which will be distributed both electronically and (potentially) in print. It includes many
I'm working on a programming book, which will be distributed both electronically and (potentially) in print. It includes many coding samples, which readers may wish to use. To avoid the hairy, and usually-ignored issue of whether readers can use snippets of my code in their own works, I would like to release the code (but not the text of the book) as open-source--probably with the MIT license.
What is the best way to do this? I see a couple of options:
I can mention on the copyright page that the code samples are released under the MIT license, then include the MIT licence in the appendix.
I can mention that the code is available for download elsewhere, and provide a link. That link could include the MIT license and appropriate notices.
Something else?
In case it's unclear, I'm not seeking legal advice, only for practical advice on how to best express a software license in an otherwise non-software work.
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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
For side characters I try to get along with a common name or without a name; sometimes people can be referenced by their profession only, sometimes by a feature or habit.
Example: There is "the bird-watcher" who can be seen every day in a park and who has witnessed something. Later in the story, they can be referenced again as the bird-watcher which should work because it's memorable. They might tell us what they saw and then leave the story. There is no need to use a name for the person here.
If I have to or want to use a name, I will go for common names but make sure there are not too many similar sounding ones in the same story. You should avoid to have persons called Ann, Annika and Annabelle all in the same story. In the end, I do not think too long about naming my side characters, I decide quickly and am happy with it.
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: Re: How do you prevent a character from being a creator's pet? I have a character that I really like. They were originally intended to be the main villain for a particular story arc and then
This sounds like a great character!
I suspect one problem may be your other characters, they simply aren't equally interesting.
One solution is simply accepting that this is the main character. This is the person you want to write a book about. The rest are bystanders. This would solve the screen-time problem, but you would still have to look out for Mary-Sue-ness.
The other solution is to improve the other characters. Find reasons that you want to write more about them.
Either way, I see that you give your story to beta readers. That is good! You might want to prepare them by telling them in advance about your concerns. This will give you more advice about this, at the cost of getting less advice about other problems.
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: Re: When you can't even draw a stick man...? (concept art) Good day all. Hope the writing muses are with you all. I was wondering what helps you to imagine details in a scene? I can't say
You are overthinking it.
As a reader, I mostly don't give a rat's patootie about what most of the characters look like or how they dress.
There's a handful of important characters that you will describe in detail in your novel - and you will have described them in bits and pieces throughout the story. I don't need a long winded description of those characters in a scene.
As for the others (new characters introduced in the scene,) I don't want to be flooded with details that impede the flow. A short description that gives a (very) quick sketch of the character's personality is all that fits.
Examples:
Your "military leader" who shows up in a fancied up, non-regulation silk version of the standard uniform is of questionable quality as a commander.
Your "religious" leader who has a couple of heavily armed "choir boys" in attendance is probably more than a simple preacher - this character may give the "military leader" a really tough opponent to deal with.
The "low ranking official" wearing a suit of better quality (finest material, tailor made) than the supposed head of the government might be the "power behind the throne."
Details are to help the reader understand the characters. You want to think in terms of sketches rather than paintings - the minimum of detail necessary make an impression.
Give your readers a framework, and let them fill in the finer details themselves. It is boring as F to read pages upon pages of details that the reader will forget or ignore anyway.
I'm not reading your novel to see how well you can describe a physical scene.
I'm reading your novel to see the ideas and concepts you are presenting.
If you have nothing to say, the level of detail of your (physical) character descriptions won't help - I'll skip all the fluff, figure out that you're telling me pointless anecdotes, and toss your book in the pile of "don't bother, can be used for kindling in the fireplace."
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: How do you deal with burnout? How do you break through writer's block? I've been working on a book for about four years now. Every time I reach the middle, I get stuck and I go back and
I've been working on a book for about four years now. Every time I reach the middle, I get stuck and I go back and edit and rewrite everything. I've probably rewritten the whole thing at least seven times now. At first it was just editing out parts I felt were extra or amateurish or inconsistent but each time I do so, I start to question the plot even though I've done years worth of research to assemble it.
As of right now, I haven't written for months because I've had multiple ideas on how to entirely change the plot of my book and I don't know how to execute them. I have all of these ideas but piecing them together into a complex plot for the first time feels difficult.
Being a full time pre-med student in university isn't exactly helping either. I don't know what to do to bring myself back to writing. Even if my fingers haven't touched the keypad for months, my brain is constantly working. The standard solution would be to read more, work on other things, go for walks or force the writing out but I've tried.
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: Can I reference a Lego Millennium Falcon in my book? I read the post about referencing real and fictional characters but would like to know what you think about this. I am writing a book
I read the post about referencing real and fictional characters but would like to know what you think about this. I am writing a book where the character is looking back at his childhood toys and I mentioned a Lego Millennium Falcon he put together as a child. Is it all right to reference this or should I just leave it out altogether?
Thanks
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: Re: How to refer to siblings who are friends? Two of the MCs in the novel I'm working on are half-sisters, and also great friends. Currently, when referring to them, I alternate between using "sisters"
The answer you have accepted is incomplete.
Take three people:
Dan - Captain of a ship.
Adele - Communications officer on Dan's ship, and a very good friend of Dan.
Bob - Captain of another ship.
When Dan and Adele interact, you might want to emphasize their friendship and refer to Adele's friend Dan.
When they are on the bridge of the ship working, then it would be appropriate to refer to Dan's communications officer Adele.
When Dan talks to Bob in their official capacities, it would be appropriate for Dan to refer to Adele as his communications officer.
When Dan talks to Bob over a beer in a bar somewhere, he might discuss his friend Adele.
Randomly switching will confuse and irritate your readers. Switching to appropriate words in different contexts can help your reader understand the relationships.
In your example, you would refer to them as siblings when they interact with other family members. When outsiders refer to them, then those siblings could be discussed as though they are friends - that underscores that the outsiders know the two siblings, but not well enough to know that they are siblings.
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: Re: How can I shorten a piece of writing without losing its original essence? I need to know how to make my writing more brief without maring its original meaning and message. I have been struggling
I write 100-word stories. In order to do that I write a longer one and cut it down. Like this:
Upgrade the verbs so they carry more meaning. Remove adverbs and change the verbs accordingly, if necessary.
Remove adjectives and upgrade your nouns, if necessary.
Remove other superfluous stuff: descriptions, unnecessary dialog tags, unnecessary dialog, backstory, thoughts, etc.
Sometimes the original meaning is changed, but that can happen in any revision. Your new meaning can be greater than your original.
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: What kind of metaphor is "colors of the wind"? What kind of metaphor is "color of the wind"? I am not sure it's a metaphor, because we're attributing some traits that shouldn't be associated
What kind of metaphor is "color of the wind"? I am not sure it's a metaphor, because we're attributing some traits that shouldn't be associated to wind. It's a figure of speech, but I don't know if it's a metaphor or something else or several figures of speech combined.
I am referring to the song: "Colors of the wind".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_of_the_Wind
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: Re: How can I get 2 characters to bond while standing alternate watches? Setting is standard space opera. I am writing a story in which 2 characters are crewing a spaceship. The characters are:
I think the key here is in the method of communication. Whilst face-to-face, using the verbal communication, the male character appears curt and uncommunicative. But on reading his logs she finds pure poetry from a man who is only able to fully express himself through the written word. The reading of the previous shift's logs becomes a back-and-forth which each of them secretly looks forward to.
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: Re: How can I abbreviate "Equations" and "Recommendations" in a text? When I want to abbreviate the words "Equations" and "Recommendations" in a text, how can I do this? for example
In scientific papers, Eq. is pretty common.
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: I'm trying to write a blog about future tech and science - where can I find ideas? I watch Isaac Arthur and John Michael Godier; I’m looking for a site to help me write an online blog,
I watch Isaac Arthur and John Michael Godier; I’m looking for a site to help me write an online blog, that talks about a future science tech or idea every week (or every month; depending on my schedule). The site should
be ongoing and consistently at once a week or month with new ideas, and
postulate SPECIFIC and oftentimes creative ideas, and
recommend amateur stuff.
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: Can overwriting be made to look intentional from a first-person narrative? I am an aspiring author, trying to get my 80,000-word traditionally published, though I will self-publish it if that
I am an aspiring author, trying to get my 80,000-word traditionally published, though I will self-publish it if that doesn't work out.
this article suggests that we avoid it altogether.
I've used Microsoft Word's clarity and conciseness tool to refine words like have to to must. However, I noticed that some things were over-described or a little repetitive, and I tried to fix that as best I could. My novel has already been developmentally and copy-edited on a pro-bono basis, and I revised it according to their feedback and suggestions.
I don't know if this would make me look lazy, but what if I made that look intentional by making my main character say in the present tense something like,
' Sorry if that last part was a little too long. I tend to think and self-reflect a lot. That's how I write in my diary, though.
I recently joined an online marketplace for writers, designers, and marketers, called Reedsy, to collaborate on a professional level. One proofreader who had read the excerpt said that although it was interesting, they felt it was a little overwritten. Another person said that the novel was too early in its stages for their services. However, I also received some positive feedback, as well.
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: Re: Should a scene break always be put in place when there is change in location, times, and dates? I have read many books where the character is in one place at a certain time and, without
Your question seems to be a style issue. Personally I cannot recall ever using a scene break within a novel.
More often than not the end of a scene is also the end of a chapter. Where the end of a scene is not the end of a chapter I simply insert a blank line between paragraphs.
I use a blank line where the next scene involves a change in time or location. I also use a blank line where narrative commentary interrupts the story.
Scene breaks intercept flow and diffuse tension. Once a writer has established character and locations the breaks are counter-productive.
Imagine a scenario where "Jane" has escaped her evil captors and is racing toward St Pancras train station in a stolen car. (Character 1, Location 1). "The Bad Guys (Hans & Uri)" are chasing her. They are a few minutes behind in a van using the tracker in her phone to locate her. (Characters 2, Location 2). "Detective Inspector Bob Smith" is thrashing the shit out his police car trying to get to the bad guys before they get to Jane. (Character 3, Location 3). "D.I. Smith" is being directed by his partner "Pam" who is at head office watching the pursuit via satellite. (Character 4, Location 4).
Once we've established the characters and locations we can run all the locations through a single scene. (Ignore the line spaces. I don't get how formatting works on this site).
Speed cameras flashed as Jane hurtled along Baker Street. "Move! Asshole!" She bashed the horn and gave a taxi driver the finger.
Uri's eyes remained focused on his phone. "She went left. . . No. Your other left! Shit for brains!"
Jane powered along the bus lane, mounted the kerb, and drove the wrong way along Bristol Mews.
Pam took the headset from the analyst. "Bob, it's Pam. She appears to be heading towards Kings Cross. Take Gower St . . ."
Hans stood on the brakes. The black Mercedes Sprinter screeched to a halt. "Where'd she go?"
Hopefully you can see where I'm going with this. For me, if I try to see the scene: Inserting scene-breaks for every switch would be like fading to black each time.
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: Re: Is it possible to write a short story in 500 words? There is a short story contest where the limit is five hundred (500) words and I want to know if that is a possible limit for a short
Somebody who used the (very) short form as a congenial tool is the German Marxist poet Bertolt Brecht, known for the Three Penny Opera. He wrote a series of very short stories (link in German) about a fictional character Mr. Keuner.
Maybe a little background is in order to appreciate these stories. In very short stories much must be left to the reader's imagination because there is no room to flesh it out. This fit well with one of Brecht's political-poetic core principles. His goal was to provoke his audience into thinking for themselves, instead of passively accepting given stories, in the news as well as in the arts. His strategy was alienation: A story would not provide closure; or contain other unusual elements which would interrupt any "reception trance" in the audience. These stories are examples for his method.
I'll translate one of the more famous stories:
The Reunion
A man who hadn't seen Mr. K in a long time greeted him with the words: "You haven't change one bit!" – "Oh!" said Mr. K. and paled.
Generations of students have wondered in their interpretations why Mr. K was put off by this remark; Brecht achieved his goal.
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: Re: How do I rephrase this overly long descriptive sentence? I'm trying to describe the landscape of a dystopian city but I'm getting tripped up. "The city is rather a hellish sight: the endless,
The City, endless rows of monotonous buildings back lit by the flames of industry spewing acrid murk into the starless night sky... a glimpse into hell itself.
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: Advice for indicating sources in tables I'm writing a thesis about the Accords by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). If I put a table exactly from the Accords, I write in the
I'm writing a thesis about the Accords by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
If I put a table exactly from the Accords, I write in the table note "Source: BCBS (year)".
If I start from a table of the source but add something mine, I write in the table note that I started from BCBS (year) and I added something.
But if I take a table from the source and only change the order of the rows, to group the elements in a different way, or if I merge two tables from the source into one, without modifying the elements, should I write "Source: based on BCBS (year)" or is "Source: BCBS (year)" enough?
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: Re: Difference between Indian and English lyricism? Suppose we sing or rap about dark themes (similar to modern American music from 1970-present day) in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, or Malayalam over Indian
The short answer is yes. The long answer would run to several volumes.
Whatever the language popular music has its genres. Within the MOBO sphere there is gospel and blues and blues and one end of the scale and jungle at the other. Lyrics, styles and topics range from blues: "My baby left me" to funk: "Happy Birthday" to Hip-Hop: "I shot two nggrs and I fcked your btch. (Nggr, nggr, ngger - pull that trigger)"
With India and Pakistan coming late to commercial party tempo, tone and message are often derived from western music by using samples. The UK has a genre which is a marriage of UK Garage and Bhangra. Probably the most successful song from this genre was "Panjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke". The track uses a sample from Knightrider (a popular US TV series) together with UK Garage rhythms and beats flavoured with youthful Asian culture. (I admit I have no idea as to what he's singing about).
There is a pattern with the majority of emerging (dance) genres. When a genre becomes popular the youth hijack that genre to convey their message of frustration and anger. e.g. The UK Garage genre broke with choons such as "Closer than close" (Romance) and "Gabriel" (One of God's angels). Eventually gun violence became a regular topic.
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