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Last seen: Mon 17 May, 2021
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: Re: Is it worth switching to Dvorak? I've occasionally thought about trying the Dvorak keyboard layout to improve my writing speed. However, I wonder if the speed gain is really worth the initial
First used Dvorak when I was working as a programmer in the early 1990s. It was on MacIntosh, where OS support was far better than Windows. I made the switch to control carpal tunnel, which was bugging me even though I was pretty young at the time.
When I shifted to Windows, I also shifted back to qwerty because I couldn't stand how inconsistently Windows implements keyboard layouts. Keyboard layout support improved with Windows XP. In 2011, the amount of time I was spending on a keyboard was getting closer to what it was when I was a programmer, and age made me even more susceptible to carpal tunnel, I switched back to Dvorak.
I use the Kinesis Freedom 2 keyboard that is split into separate halves. They are willing to custom program the hotkeys strip so that keys are mapped naturally using Windows, but the hotkeys are set to map to the correct commands when the keyboard is mapped to Dvorak. They charged me a reasonable amount to apply the custom firmware. I pay the same amount each time I buy a new keyboard.
I did have one Freedom 2 keyboard that I mapped to behave as Dvorak when Windows was set to qwerty. This was necessary for entering passwords because Windows machines had a BIOS hardwired to qwerty. My most recent couple laptops respect Windows keyboard mapping in the BIOS during startup so I no longer need that keyboard.
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: Re: Using colons and semi-colons in dialogue I've often heard writers say they don't like using colons and semi-colons in dialogue specifically. I don't often see colons and semi-colons in dialogue,
Colon in writing, not in speaking! I have noticed lately people speaking a colon-like inflection into the word preceding an implied colon. This sounds like the person split "like" into two syllables. In speaking it is better to use a pause without added inflection on a word that is not contained within the word itself.
Example--"When John goes fishing, he uses bait that attracts a variety of fish, lah/ike: crappie, blue-gill, and carp."
I'd like to see this trend stop because the colon is a writing concept, not a speaking one.
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: Re: How should I remind my teacher how to spell my name correctly? I would like to remind a teacher of mine, how to spell my name, Mackenzie. I do not want to be rude or demanding with this,
It's your name (therefore your spelling), and it's not an unreasonable or difficult request, so I don't see that anyone can really complain no matter how you ask. That said, politeness never hurt anybody; my go-to would be something along the lines of:-
Afternoon Ms [Surname],
I've noticed a couple of times that you changed my name spelling on zoom. No offense, but would you mind refraining from this please? My name really is spelt Mackenzie.
Many Thanks,
...unless you feel it would need some more force or detail? As I said it's not a difficult or unreasonable thing you're asking, and it's perfectly natural for you to be concerned as your name is pretty much your most defining personal detail, so the teacher isn't likely to refuse or be offended.
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: Re: I'm trying to write a short story for an assignment and my word count is 5263 and 12 pages on google docs, is this too long? I just need help with writing my short story, I don't want
It depends.
Magazines will give you a range for short stories they buy.
If this is for a class then your teacher should have given a range in words that s/he considers a short story.
Wikipedia gives this:
Novel: 40,000 words or over
Novella: 17,500 to 39,999 words
Novelette: 7,500 to 17,499 words
Short story: under 7,500 words
But Wikipedia does not give a minimum, and you can find ranges for even shorter works such as short short, flash fiction, etc.
Some sources will give different ranges than Wikipedia for any category, often depending on genre. For example, YA is usually shorter than an adult mystery, and chapter books would be even smaller than YA for a 'book'.
I would consider what you have as a short story and would worry more about how the story works as a story per se and not worry about word count. You can always cut if you write too much. Adding words is often harder to do so they fit well from an entire story perspective.
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: I am not a poet, but your question confuses me. It sounds like you have two things mixed together. You experience emotion by living. At least most of us do. I never felt any emotion writing
I am not a poet, but your question confuses me. It sounds like you have two things mixed together.
You experience emotion by living. At least most of us do.
I never felt any emotion writing anything poetic (except angst if forced to do that in school) although occasionally when writing an oped concerning politics I feel something.
I would say that you live your life and experience everything first.
Then if you are so motivated you could describe what you experienced to share with others or even just put it in a desk drawer to reread at a later time yourself if those experiences were pleasant.
I guess if you were a masochist you could instead put bad experiences in that drawer:)
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: Re: Can I write a different book before my sequel? I am just about done writing the first book in a series. I have an idea for the next book in that series (let's call it "book a"),
Of course you can do that.
Many top authors have several series going at once.
Some authors may write 20+ novels in a series, but that does not mean they have to finish all of them before they can write books in a separate series, or even a stand alone book.
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: Ways to write a person crying without using words like "sniff", "boohoo" etc There is a specific kind of scene that I want to write, where the protagonist has just killed his brother and he
There is a specific kind of scene that I want to write, where the protagonist has just killed his brother and he starts to cry. But I don't want to explicitly state that he's crying, either by stating it, or alluding to it, like saying: Hot tears roll down his cheeks What I specifically want are the 'sounds' of crying, but truly agonized crying.
The only thing I have at the moment is the following:
Brook turns around, stepping away from his brother's body. He's breathing heavily.
"Hah...hah...hah"
He takes another step away, and turns around.
"Ah...ah...ah"
He falls to his knees.
"Haargh...argh...aargh."
That's literally it. I'm not sure how to write what I want in a way that the readers will understand what's happening. I don't want to explicitly state what's happening because the whole thing with this character is that he doesn't understand what he's feeling, but his body reacts to it. If anyone has ever watched the English dub of One Piece, the scene where Luffy is
crying at Ace's death
That is the kind of crying that I want to describe.
I hope I have adequately described my dilemma.
*Edit: I am writing a novel, not a screenplay
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: Re: How to get a character that knows he's the main character to follow the authors agenda? I'm writing a story where at some point the main character is going to realize he is the main character
Love the concept!! Sounds to me though that this is about motives and goals - at the moment, the author/narrator has goals for a 'normal' narrative, and the character's goal is to disrupt the author's plan. Given the situation, the only way one will get the upper hand is by manipulating the perceptions/goals of the other.
Sounds simple eh?
We're working on the assumption that the author can control the character's situation and circumstances, possibly including direct control of the actions of other characters around him (e.g. if the main character refuses to fight a bad guy, the bad guy can be made to die suddenly of a pre-existing disease just to move the story on). However, the author can't control the thoughts or actions of the main character, he can only influence them by cleverly arranging the character's situation. It's manipulation rather than control per se.
But here's where it gets interesting - in order for the Author to directly manipulate the character, the author must behave cleverer than the character, and keep the manipulation very subtle. Overtly affecting the character's world to mindlessly direct the character's actions and wants is not a subtle strategy, so the probable result in the character you've described will just be an existential crisis and/or attempted suicide (as already described). Even if the author succeeds in making the character grudgingly do what is wanted of him, it won't make a satisfying read.
If on the other hand the character manages to be cleverer than the author, the whole thing becomes much more interesting as the character seeks to exploit tiny loopholes in the scenes / situations that he's given. The 'storyline' then becomes more and more irrelevant as it devolves into a battle of wits between an author struggling to contain his creation and a furious character using various tricks to dodge the intended sequence of events. I have no idea how this would end though - and I think it's going to be an extremely interesting proposition to write a character that is cleverer than you the author!
Again, 10 out of 10 for a great concept though, I'd quite like to try it myself sometime!
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: When Truth Meets Fiction Is there such a category in books as a fictional memoir (tales about one's own life with exaggerated elements included for entertainment)?
Is there such a category in books as a fictional memoir (tales about one's own life with exaggerated elements included for entertainment)?
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: How do you write a story with someone else overseas? My friend and I have wanted to write a story together for a while now. But she lives in a different country, so we are just confused
My friend and I have wanted to write a story together for a while now. But she lives in a different country, so we are just confused on how we can do this over calls. Because I know that we can't call all the time, like we can't just take turns writing and then editing each others work because it would just be confusing. So does anybody have any advice on writing with someone else when you aren't together? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks :)
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: Re: How can multiple viewpoints be used without breaking the flow of the story? I'm currently writing a story in first-person that has a connection to a series of external events - things that
Take a look at The Martian by Andy Weir. It's told mainly as first-person log entries of the main character, but also with third-person narratives following other people, and even some secondary out-of-band snippets following inanimate objects that become important later (e.g. the manufacturing and shipping process of a part that fails in a big way for the main character later on).
I'm currently writing a story in first-person that has a connection to a series of external events - things that the main character has no way of knowing but are vital to the progression of the overall storyline.
Put a brief third-person snippet at the beginning of each chapter, kind of like a teaser. This short narrative would make sense by the end of the chapter, or several chapters later. Some happen concurrently, some happen in the past but have thematic ties to the current chapter.
Honestly I wrote the first part of this answer before reading the question closely, but having read what I quoted above from your question, I think even more so that The Martian might be helpful to you as an example, at least as something to skim.
As an aside, it's a great book; I highly recommend it. This thinking about it has me considering adding it to my re-read list (again).
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: Re: Not wanting to "spoil" a story due to lack of skill I have a story that is dear to me and that I would very much want to write about. However, I don't have lots of experience in writing
Tolkien wrote the first drafts of what would become the Silmarillion during the first world war. He tinkered with it most of his life, writing and rewriting whole swathes of stuff.
Writing something out doesn't obligate you to finish it, nor does it obligate you to go out and publish it. You can bash the whole thing out and put it in a desk drawer and not look at it for a decade if you so choose. There's no 'rules' that you must follow in regards to how you go about writing something, nor is there an invisible community of established authors watching over your shoulder judging everything you do.
If it's in your head and itching to come out, put it on paper. You'll probably find plenty of issues with the story that need to be sorted out that you didn't think of. If the story's great, then great! If not, there's no harm in leaving it for a few years while you gather experience or do other things.
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: Doubt on the trope "power trio": what are their psychological basis? I will gather some non-standard characters in this question. Suppose then the Powerpuff Girls, Team Sonic, Totally Spies, Kanker
I will gather some non-standard characters in this question. Suppose then the Powerpuff Girls, Team Sonic, Totally Spies, Kanker Sisters (Ed, Edd n Eddy), and so on.[1]
Every time we can identify some external characteristics: The "gothic" personality, the "barbie" personality, and the "neutral/leader" personality. This is, of course, is a quite rough, imprecise analysis. But still, this trope forms a dynamic relationship quite interesting (which seems to work pretty well).
For instance, in the Powerpuff Girls, we have Buttercup and Bubbles; one is quite the opposite of the other: Buttercup has a destructive and impulsive personality, instead Bubbles is the most sensitive of the three, a bare wire of emotion. Then we have Blossom, some sort of a mediating factor between the two other girls.
It seems that these power trios are created when we "break the uno-persona." In other words, it seems that these three personalities can fit into a single character. But these characters (in power trios) seems to have just one single personality.
I would like to know: what are the psychological fundamentals of a power trio trope?
[1] www.gameskinny.com/bm24v/girl-power-5-female-driven-trios-that-deserve-their-own-video-games
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: A peculiar problem in my writing skills I have a problem and I'm not sure how common it is. I have often heard people say that reading will, just by pure habit, always develop the writing
I have a problem and I'm not sure how common it is. I have often heard people say that reading will, just by pure habit, always develop the writing skills of a reader; that just by sheer recognition of style and function of how sentences are formed, one can learn good writing technique even if he/she can't fully grasp the rules involved.
For me, that has not really been the case. What I often notice about myself is that I know something feels off when I make a mistake writing, and yet I'm not able to actually tell where my grammatical error is. I love literature and love being able to express my thoughts in writing, but I think that because I'm an ESL student (came to USA when I was 7, I am now 27), there is a fundamental gap in my understanding of grammar that has never been filled.
In light of this problem, are there any resources I can use to go back and relearn grammatical structure? I would appreciate any recommendation.
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: Re: How can you express sadness without using any word non-figuratively related to sadness? How can you express sadness without using any word non-figuratively related to sadness? I have been told
Posture: He drooped, head bowed, shoulders forward, back bent, silently dragging his feet as he went...
Gaze: Her eyes were unfocused, staring into an empty distance...
Probably other physical ways also.
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: Re: How can I show time passing with no way to measure time? In the writing, I was doing recently, a character is locked up in a wagon and dragged across the country by rich slavers. How could
I think George R. R. Martin does this quite well in his various novels. A good few characters in A Song of Ice and Fire are locked up at some point, and GRRM always dedicated a good couple of pages at least to hammering home how long they've been in captivity.
These chapters often deal with the mental toll of being confined to a place with no brain stimulation, just as much as the physical toll of wasting away. At the start of such a chapter, the character attempts to keep track of days by counting how often they're fed. Inevitably they lose count as the days start to blend together. They try to keep their mind occupied by playing games with themselves or by trying to recount old stories, but that inevitably stops after a while, and they find themselves sleeping most of the time. At some point, their dreams and waking become indistinguishable and they feel like they've been in captivity for decades even if the actual time spent is only a couple of months.
Your character's captivity will take a toll on him, both physically and mentally.
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: Re: Is the punctuation of my dialogue in this novel section correct? I am just starting out my novel, if I can get this quotation punctuation correctly it'll massively help me throughout the book,
Here's my crack at it (but don't assume I'm 100% correct xD):
“In six months' time, Vledos Manis will be leaving Moran due to the periodic Rotation. He has served his twenty-year tenure as Consul of Moran. We want the handover to be as smooth as possible for the incoming new Consul, Martalus Tollen, and his Legion. For that, I have come here for your reassurance that it will be so,†Aumerien Ikhrane, a spokesperson for Vledos Manis, said calmly as he sipped his cup of alchur.
He sat on a plastic ebony chair; one of a pair. On the other one sat Jehkara, the Dib, leader of the Ghonian people. Jehkara had no surname. A man lost his surname upon becoming a Dib. It was the custom. If a man on the street were to refer to Jehkara, someone would naturally ask, “Which Jehkara?â€
“The Dib Jehkara,†the response normally was, and that’s how people knew.
“Five hundred and forty days in a year, and no less than one hundred of them you come to my fortress, Aumerien. Have I never reassured you?â€
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: Re: how do I tell my main character’s backstory throughout the book? I'm loosely working on a trilogy. Book One and Two are supposed to contain the main character’s backstory, divided by two
thanks for reaching out. So. My main concern is that the past events of A's life will directly reflect on the "major" plot. A big death happening in book Two is related to someone A has met in his past, so I'd need to tell that story more detailedly in order for the death to have impact. Another major plot point also comes from A being associated with the bad guys in the story, and while the other characters don't know A has nothing to do with them, I want them readers to suffer with A, you know? Like, the reader also knows that A has nothing to do with the bad guys, but "because reasons", A still gets shamed for it.
For that to happen, the readers will need to know more about A's life than just the average little snippets I could throw here and there.
A's past is the key to major plot points throughout the story, therefore I'd need to tell his story in more detail and light, give the reader perspective and understanding.
Seems to me the best way would be to interchange the "present" story with chapters containing the events from the past...
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: How do I tell my main character’s backstory throughout the book? I'm loosely working on a trilogy. Book One and Two are supposed to contain the main character’s backstory, divided by two
I'm loosely working on a trilogy. Book One and Two are supposed to contain the main character’s backstory, divided by two parts that will be exposed accordingly: on book One, the first half, on book Two, the remaining part.
I have three "main characters", with one being more in display, as the epicenter of the story, than the other two. So character A, the really main one, has a very long, interesting backstory that will need to be exposed (both to the reader and the other characters eventually) to further the story.
A, B and C grew up together. At some point, A goes missing. Book One starts ten years later, when B and C finally reunite with A. My main probably is, by choosing not to tell the story of their childhood and the subsequent years, how will the readers engage with the reunion, not having any attachments to this characters yet?
My worst problem is: how do I tell, along with book One's story, the background of all the years A has been missing without losing pace of the main story?
My initial idea was to introduce this characters childhood in the prologue, giving the reader something to work with, and just do flashbacks throughout the books, telling what I need to tell. But it doesn't sound very engaging, and the reunion of these characters has no actual payoff because the reader won't be really attached to them to care...
Any advices are welcome :)
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: Re: How much of a Novel's Point of View should be from the Narrator I am writing a Novel. How much of the story should be from the Narrator's Point of View. For instance, Narrator knows that
It depends on the point of view of your story.
1st person - For example, if your story is narrated from Person A or Person B, then you can tell the reader all the intimate details as long as THAT PERSON knows them themselves.
3rd person limited - It sounds like, since your narrator doesn't know A and B's intimate details, your story is probably narrated in third person. If it's third person limited, the narrator isn't inside any character's head but they follow one person in particular. You can tell the reader things that the target you're following knows - so even here you might be able to explain intimate details.
3rd person omniscient - The narrator not only is in nobody's head, but they don't follow any one specific character. They know everything, and they can tell the reader whatever they want, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong).
If the narrator is another character that knows A and B, then they should only narrate what they know, right?
Overall, I would say that the narrator may only narrate what she knows to the reader unless it's told through an omniscient point of view.
Hope this helped a bit!
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: Re: Repeated Use of Short Sentences I am confused about why the repeated use of short sentences is read quickly when there's a period at the end of every sentence that should make the reader stop
I used mostly short sentences in a novel draft once. It seemed right. Mostly. It was easy to read, but something seemed off. I couldn't tell what it was in the first place.
But after a while I realized: part of the tension lingering above the whole story, above every scene and conversation came from the short sentences. Because somehow I tended to synch my breath to the sentences. Even with reading in my mind, it felt like taking a breath at every period.
It was an effect that really served the story, but now I tend to vary the length of my sentences more to avoid a feeling like in this Video.
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: Re: Repeated Use of Short Sentences I am confused about why the repeated use of short sentences is read quickly when there's a period at the end of every sentence that should make the reader stop
Short sentences are short. Simple. They don't tend to be that complicated. They're easy to understand. Yes, the period is something that makes people stop. But when you have many separate phrases that are easily swallowed, the reader doesn't have to spend too much time trying to comprehend them. They read easily and therefore quickly.
Personally, I would say that long sentences are a bit slower to read because they are more complicated, and the reader needs to track more words before completing one idea - if one sentence is considered one idea - like this sentence - especially when complicated punctuation is implemented and/or a lot of commas, so if I were reading this sentence without being the one to write it, I would have trouble following exactly what was being said and would need to take a bit more time to fix that.
Also, for me, my brain sort of skips over periods. Not actually, but I just register them as breakers between sentences. You always need a period at the end of your sentence. They're predictable. I pause more in my mind when encountering a comma, because they're deliberate tools that authors can use with a reason, and their purpose is to give a pause. I don't necessarily think periods slow readers down that much - but maybe I'm alone on this opinion.
No matter what, I've heard that it's not a good idea to have a bunch of short sentences in a row or a bunch of long ones. You want variety, or else the writing becomes mechanical or super confusing. Hope this helped at least a little bit, and good luck!
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: Re: Is it OK for a first person narrator to directly state the other character's emotions? Example: I gasped. Tom swallowed. He was also surprised by the maid's sudden appearance. In this case
If the POV character knows the other character really well then they may be so connected that they can basically read each others' minds. You could probably have the POV character directly state their friend's feelings and get away with it just fine.
As for those who aren't close, I'd have to agree with Dale Hartley Emery on that one. :)
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: Re: How a character displays disdain for someone I am struggling trying to get one of my characters to display disdain for someone. I've tried him "snorting", "twisting his lips", "rolling his eyes"
In the right context, wincing or cringing can show disdain, as well as recoiling. Maybe someone looks someone else up and down and glares, or squints/narrows their eyes at them.
Also, upon looking up the definition of disdain online, their sentence actually is: "her upper lip curled in disdain", so lip movement might be a good way to go here.
Observe what other people do when they feel this way, and what their body language is (and even yours). You could have fun by grossing someone out and then pull the excuse, "It's for a book I'm writing. Thanks for your help." And if narrative isn't working, maybe the dialogue itself could be used to display the emotion? Just an idea.
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: Maybe this tag could be used on questions for authors who want to write from the perspective of someone who is different than most 'average' people. Maybe they are drunk or drugged, and instead
Maybe this tag could be used on questions for authors who want to write from the perspective of someone who is different than most 'average' people. Maybe they are drunk or drugged, and instead of just using dialogue to show their altercation, the author is writing from their point of view, inside their head. Maybe they are insane.
Maybe the author is unclear on how to do this from lack of experience, conflicting information, etc., so they could tag their question with this so people know their character's POV isn't normal. This could apply to any POV that is altered.
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: Writing Someone Drunk So I want to write a scene from a teenage girl in 1st-person present tense. She's drunk. I've never been drunk before, so I can't tap into personal experience to make
So I want to write a scene from a teenage girl in 1st-person present tense. She's drunk. I've never been drunk before, so I can't tap into personal experience to make this relatable and/or realistic. I want to show that the alcohol is affecting her way of thinking, but I'm not sure how to go about making that clear.
How would drunk perspective differ from sober perspective in this context? Would sentences be shorter and simpler? Run-ons with a bunch of commas? Odd structure? Any advice would be appreciated.
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: How to write a drunk character slurring in speech Question for the English pros: I am working on a scene in my novel I am writing and have a question about the style of wording in a drunk
Question for the English pros: I am working on a scene in my novel I am writing and have a question about the style of wording in a drunk character’s speech. I have included the character dialogue below. The character is drunk and is slurring. When my wife looked at this, she did not get my character slurring. She asked what type of language he is speaking. Should I italicize his dialogue to emphasize the slur?
“H-h-h-hey baebae!†slurred Brock. “Where ya fuckin’ been?†The buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned from the neck down to the middle of his pecs. He was perspiring profusely; it showed on his forehead. His pupils were dilated, and white powder lined his nose. He grabbed Isabella’s forearm and growled, “Whada hell you doin’?â€
“Ouch! Brock!†cried Isabella in a hushed whisper, “you’re drunk and you’re hurting me!â€
“Hey!†Yousif shouted. “What is your problem? Do not grab her like that!â€
Brock released his grip and stumbled towards Yousif with a reddened face. He glared at him and said, “Boy, I know you! You the boxer, right? Well you gerring close t-t-to gerring your ass beat. I-I’m a street fighrer and c-c-can k-k-kick yer ass!â€
Thank you in advance folks.
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: First-Person Instability Hello fellow writing nerds. I have a series idea that I am toying with that has one character that ultimately goes insane (this downward spiral is brought upon her largely
Hello fellow writing nerds. I have a series idea that I am toying with that has one character that ultimately goes insane (this downward spiral is brought upon her largely because of events, once those are eventually dealt with she'll get out of it as much {as much as one can}). There will be times where readers experience events from her perspective early, before the big turning points occur. As she falls into becoming an unreliable narrator, I want to show that change over time through things like thought patterns and word choice. But even without any specifics, I'm wondering -
When it comes to reading from an unreliable perspective, what throws you off balance and entices you? And if that's too opinion-oriented, then: What are some tools you have used or seen (these could be writer's craft related, text format/appearance, anything) that effectively convey a character with an unstable mind?
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: Re: How can you insert more emotions in scenes? I have a scene where my character has to feel scared, sad and alone. I'm good at describing her surrounding but describing feeling are a bit harder
If you are willing to be mean to yourself, maybe listen to sad songs, or read sad things, or tap into past memories of when you felt sad/heartbroken yourself (this applies to any emotion). Remember how your body responded then. Maybe, if you get involved enough, you'll feel reactions during the exercise (if you can even call it that). Then you can incorporate those into your writing.
Also, we all know that cliches and very overused tropes sound stiff and simple. They pull readers out of the story and make them go "Aha! There's that thing again! The author is trying to display _____!" So avoid using those kinds of things that you've seen a lot before, I guess.
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: Re: Where to take names for characters? Where to take names for characters? This is not about names, themselves. This is only about source for them. For examples: Cassandra, queen in post-apocalyptic
If you want readers to have an easter egg to find, pick your names based on the meanings. You can find meanings that fit their personalities, or that are ironic, weird, etc.
Also, it's a good idea to not make characters names sound too similar to prevent confusion from readers.
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